RED FLAGS ON YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE

NOT CUSTOMIZING

The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) will automatically chuck

your CV if it doesn’t contain keywords from the job description.

Why? Because employers don’t want people who aren’t

genuinely interested in the job or who haven’t even taken

time to read through the posting.

APPLYING TO MULTIPLE OPEN POSITIONS

AT THE SAME COMPANY

This isn’t so much a problem with the structure of your CV as it

is with what you do with it. There is very little chance that one

person will be legitimately qualified for multiple positions in a

company, so if you apply to more than one on the company job

board, you risk irreparably undermining your credibility.

IRRELEVANT CLUTTER

Although you may have been king of the chess club at John Smith

high school, if it doesn’t relate to the job for which you are applying,

get rid of it. Some hiring managers will think you don’t have anything

meaningful to talk about. Note: this same rule may not apply in

Europe where CV’s are oftentimes much more detailed and personal

than in the United States.

HOBBIES

As we just mentioned, this is relevant only if you are applying

for jobs in North America (and possibly a few other places).

By and large though, American companies don’t care what

you do with your free time and don’t want to know. Although it

may not be so much of a red flag, it can certainly get your

CV discarded in the initial stages.

AGE

Age discrimination in jobs is a real thing. Standard advice for older

candidates is to leave your graduation date off your CV.

Also, only use ONE space after periods. Double spaces are

actually used to screen out older candidates (we know,

you learned on a typewriter).

OBSOLETE WORK EXPERIENCE

This goes for older candidates as well. If you start listing things

you did 20 years ago, all that is going to tell someone is that

you are too old for the job. Anything that is more than 15-20

years old is probably no longer relevant in most industries.

SALARY INFORMATION

Including your past salary information in your CV may send the

wrong message. Salary negotiation will come later.

BUZZWORDS

Terms like “guru”, “ninja” or “self-starter” run the risk of getting on

the hiring managers nerves more than anything. Let your

achievements speak for themselves.