As an applicant, your CV should be as direct as possible, at least to capture your employer's interest at first sight.
What's a CV?
Curriculum vitae is a Latin word meaning "course of life", it is a written overview of someone's life's work (academic formation, publications, qualifications, etc.).A CV can either be in a hard copy or in an electronic form (soft copy) normally sent via mails to the employers. It can also be sent via an online employment website or using a a job-oriented social-networking-service website, such as LinkedIn.
In countries like the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Russia, Pakistan, Cuba and India, a CV is a comprehensive document used in academic circles and medical careers that elaborate on education, publications, and other achievements.
It usually contains greater details than a résumé, a shorter summary which is more often used in applications for jobs, but it is often expected that professionals use a short CV that highlights the current focus of their academic lives and not necessarily their full history. A CV is generally used when applying for a position in academia, while a resume is generally used when applying for a position in industry, non-profit, and the public sector.
While in the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth countries (including Nigeria), a CV is short and usually contains only a summary of the job seeker's employment history, qualifications, education, and some personal information.
Some parts of Asia might also require applicants' photos, date of birth, and most recent salary information. CVs are often tailored to change the emphasis of the information according to the particular position for which the job seeker is applying. A CV can also be extended to include an extra page for the jobseeker's publications if these are important for the job.
What shouldn't I include in my CV?
Before publishing this article, one of our editors had a chat with the Human Resources team fora big Nigerian media company and they revealed that the hiring managers get an average of 50 per position they post.
According to the information, tens of applications keep flooding in even after the deadline. As a result of these huge amount of CVs or resumes, the team just have a few seconds before deciding to either keep or delete the CVs.
This is why it's very important for you to avoid making mistakes while filling in your CVs.
Below are five unnecessary things you should never put on your CV:
• Primary/ Secondary Education
To be honest, I've made this particular mistake a couple of times in the past. But come to think of it, what does the company have to do with your primary education?I once came across an article by a Izevbizua, a Product Specialist at the tech company, where he stated that including details of your primary and secondary education is a waste of time. She even further described it as a 'space filler that irritates the hiring manager', adding that this will most likely cause them to stop reading and immediately delete your CV.
You can however include it in your CV when applying for an internship.
• Your picture
It might be a norm in pother countries, but including your picture while applying for a job in Nigeria is not really necessary.Being handsome or pretty doesn't give you an advantage over the other applicants. Your qualifications should do the speaking for you.
• References
Adding numbers or email addresses for reference purposes might sound great to the applicant, but it is also a waste of time to the company.According to the Product Specialist of a Fintech, including such contact details is a waste of time and should be provided on demand.
• Irrelevant hobbies/ interests
Unless your position requires it, you shouldn't tell your employees how much you enjoy singing or dancing.If you must put something there, you can include hobbies like blogging/writing, volunteering, graphics designing, or even technical skills like programming. Hobbies that you're sure wold impress your employee and can contribute to the growth of the company.
• Personal details
Once upon a time, including personal details like religion, marital statue, and age/date of birth was totally okay, but things have changed now.Including personal details like these can be discriminatory and should be avoided except in cases where it is a job for a particular age. For instance, if a company needs an intern between the ages of 17–25.
These are the five things you should never put in your CV. What did I miss? Kindly drop us a comment and don't forget to share with your friends.
Before you leave, also check out our next article on 5 reasons why majority of job applicants never get hired. It explains some of the reasons behind the rejection of majority of job applications submitted and how you can scale through.
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