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CV errors that drive recruiters crazy!

CV errors that drive recruiters crazy!

23 CV errors that drive recruiters crazy

Seasoned, friendly and best of breed could very well be adjectives used to describe a dog rather than candidate.

Yet more and more jobseekers are routinely overusing generic buzzwords on their applications, to the point that some phrases have lost all tangible meaning. Paul McDonald, Senior Executive Director at Robert Half, told Business Insider: “Nearly everyone is guilty of using buzzwords from time to time, but professionals are evaluated increasingly on their ability to communicate.

“Avoiding overused terms can help job seekers convey their message and stand out from the crowd.”

With the help of recruiters such as Mary Lorenz, Corporate Communications Manager at CareerBuilder, and Career Coach Eli Amdur, Business Insider has compiled their definitive list of the top 23 phrases that candidates use on their CV which drive hiring managers, and recruiters, insane.

Alyssa Gelbard, Founder and President of Résumé Strategists, told the publication that superfluous words like “responsible for” and “Oversight of” are redundant nowadays, and should be struck off all CVs. She said: “Be direct, concise, and use active verbs to describe your accomplishments.”

Amdur suggests that candidates remove the word “phone” from their CVs, saying that there is no reason to have it in front of their telephone number: “It's pretty silly. They know it's your phone number. The same rule applies to email.”

Rita Friedman, a Philadelphia-based Career Coach, noted that her most hated word had to be “seasoned”. She claimed that it had undue connotations: “Not only does this word conjure up images of curly fries, but it is well-recognised as a code word for 'much, much older.''

The full list of ultimate CV sins can be found below;

  1. Best of breed
  2. Phone
  3. Results-driven
  4. Responsible for
  5. Highly qualified
  6. Seasoned
  7. References available by request
  8. Team player
  9. Ambitious
  10. Microsoft Word
  11. Hard worker
  12. Interfaced
  13. Honest
  14. Punctual
  15. @
  16. People person
  17. Hit the ground running
  18. I
  19. My objective
  20. Successfully
  21. Innovative
  22. Extracurricular activities
  23. Address

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