6 Reasons Employers are Rejecting Your CV

If you have been applying for jobs and not succeeding to the interview stage, then check that you have not fallen guilty to these innocent yet fatal CV mistakes. Studies have found that prospective employers spend an average of just seven seconds to browse a CV before deciding whether to keep or bin it. First impressions are imperative.

Here are five reasons why your CV could be ending up in the bin:

1. Irrelevant Information

To an employer, reading irrelevant information is very tiring and quickly turns them off to stop reading your CV and move on to the next CV.

Unnecessary information will include marital status, religion, tribe etc.

Quick Tip: Keep your CV brief and only point out what’s relevant to the job. Don’t use your CV as a dumping ground for everything you have ever done.

2. Lack of keywords.

If you are applying for an Accounting job, for example, the keywords that should appear many times in your CV should be Accounting, Accounts, and Finance etc.

Technology has made it easy for employers select candidates using computer programs that shortlist candidates based off of keywords. The computer can be able to skim through your CV looking for a keyword related to the job and shortlist you.

Quick tip: Ensure that you indicate keywords, and even though your previous job titles do not contain the keyword, you need to tweak them in order to match what the employer is looking for.

Also, you need to read the responsibilities and the skills required from the job advertisement, then map your skills with those required to appear like the perfect candidate.

3. You do not highlight your accomplishments

You will agree with me that the only things you highlight on your CV are your responsibilities and job titles.

But, your accomplishments are your main selling points.

Quick Tip: If you are in customer service, for example, you can say that “In my tenure at Company C, customer engagement, improved by 50% due to timely email responses and personalized calls.”

You should highlight such key accomplishments to show your value as this will warrant the employer to want to meet you in person to discuss your strategy further. After all, they would like to benefit from it too.

4. Poor CV Structure

A confused flow will be distracting to the employer and your CV might end up in the bin.

Quick Tip: Have a steady and neat flow, right from the beginning to the end.

5. You don’t qualify

Obviously, if you don’t qualify for the job you will automatically be disqualified. Most people indicate unrelated work experience to the job and end up selling themselves out.

Quick tip: Remove any information that is not relevant. Alternatively, ensure that you tailor your previous unrelated experience to the current job you are applying for.

6. Lack of contact information

Believe it or not, but some candidates send their CV’s without contact information.

Quick Tip: Ensure that the contact information you provide is working and use a professional email address.

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