CV Writing Tips: 8 Common Mistakes You Need To Avoid

By CareerExperts

When it’s time for your job search to commence, reviewing your CV and checking CV writing tips should be at the top of your list.

We all know that it is important to have a properly-formatted and up-to-date CV. However, while we focus our efforts on ensuring our CV looks great to potential employers, it is easy to overlook simple mistakes that could actually be quite damaging to your application. Once you have sent your CV off, this damage is irreversible.

Some mistakes are minor grammatical errors and some are just extremely awkward!

1. Check and double check spelling and grammar

This is the number 1 most common mistake made on CVs, it happens a lot! It is also one of the easiest mistakes to avoid, so there is no excuse!

Poor spelling and grammar tells an employer that you have poor attention to detail and suggests that you may not care too much about the opportunity. To avoid this, rather than just relying on a computer to check your mistakes (computers are not very good in the grammar department), get at least one friend or family member to carefully read through your CV and check for mistakes. They should be able to spot any that you have missed.

2. Avoid long sentences that say nothing at all

Your CV should be concise and direct. Employers do not need a lengthy explanation about everything you have ever done, you can go into more detail at your interview. Try to use concise bullet points instead of paragraphs that will highlight key achievements and skills that are relevant to the role that you are applying for.

3. Always tailor your CV

Remember that every opportunity is different, so using the same generic CV is unlikely to work if you are applying for numerous roles. Consider the role requirements listed in the job advert and make small changes to your CV to show that you match all of these requirements. An employer will then clearly see that you have taken the time to understand the role and know exactly what is required of you.

See all 8 common mistakes and the complete Career Experts article

How To Get A Summer Internship In 8 (Pretty) Easy Steps

Sabrina Rojas Weiss

There are so many more tempting alternatives to working in an internship over the summer. You could be backpacking through another continent or partying on the beach. You could be earning more money as a nanny, or hanging on to your childhood as a camp counselor. But if you've clicked on this story, you know that those probably aren't the smartest, most responsible ways to spend the summer months as you look toward building a future career.

 

While there's no guarantee that you'll be offered a sweet job immediately after completing an internship, it's a pretty reliable way to get there eventually. For one, you'll be building up a résumé with more than just retail and babysitting jobs. You'll also be meeting people in the industry you've set your sights on, and those will become part of the network that you'll need to find work later.

 

"The biggest issue with applying for a job on a job board is that there are hundreds of other people also applying for those same jobs," career coach Elana Konstant tells Refinery29, reminding everyone why networking is the key to everything.

 

Another benefit of internships no one talks about: This is a great way to determine if the career you think you want is really right for you. Maybe you actually wind up hating it. Or you might discover that there's a specific path within that industry that you want to pursue.

So how do you go about landing the summer internship that will launch your future? You could park yourself in front of the computer and apply to every opening you find. Or you could work a little smarter. Here's how:

 

#1

“

Start early (but it's never too late)

”

"Some industries recruit [interns] almost a full year in advance of the summer," says A-J Aronstein, associate dean of Beyond Barnard, Barnard College's career-development office. Financial services, consulting, and tech companies tend to be the ones with that early timeline, especially because some of them actually do hire directly from their intern pool. But many other industries and smaller companies without rigid internship programs don't hire until spring, so don't panic if you get a late start.

#5

“

Be open to smaller companies

”

As you're searching on LinkedIn, you can also see where people who work at your dream company wind up working next. Some go on to smaller companies or less well-known organizations that could have opportunities for you. While you may think you need a big, famous brand on your résumé, those don't necessarily make for the best internship experiences if you'll just be getting coffee and doing data entry.

"The best internship, regardless of the size of a company, is one where you're actually learning real things that will help you be the best professional you can possibly be down the road," says Porter Braswell, CEO of the career platform Jopwell and author of the book Let Them See You: The Guide for Leveraging Your Diversity at Work. When you network with other employees and at your interview for the internship, try to get a sense of what kind of work they'll be asking of you and whether you'll receive guidance and mentorship along the way.

See all 8 Tips and the complete Refinery29 article