What Not to Include in a CV
Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resume is a formal document that provides a summary of the educational background, achievements, and capabilities of a job applicant. Recruiters use CVs to determine the suitability of an applicant for a specific job. If the recruiter is impressed by your CV he may call you for a job interview.
The difference between an excellent CV is a poorly written CV is not just in qualifications, rather in the layout and general presentation. When learning how to write an impressive CV, it’s much easier to know what to omit rather than what to include.
- Do not include failure. Any kind of failure whether in exams, marriage, business, extracurricular activities, etc should be avoided.
- Do not include photos. Employers are not interested in your photos unless applying for acting, modeling, fashion design, cabin crew, etc.
- Do not include reasons for leaving jobs. Whatever your reasons may be for leaving your previous jobs are irrelevant to the current job. If need be, the recruiter may ask during the interviewing process.
- Do not include salary information. Your previous salary can be used to reject your application. Unless the advertisement specifically required such information, it’s always advisable to leave it out.
- Do not beautify your CV– avoid using calligraphic fonts, fancy borders, fancy bullets, etc because they may distract the recruiter from your presentation.
- Do not use folders and binders. Your CV is not a research project; using binders and folders can easily put off the recruiter. In fact, it may appear that you do not understand what is required by the recruiter.
- Do not include lists of publications. Unless asked for, leave out any publications and presentations from your CV.
- Do not include age. Unless asked for, do not include your date of birth, marital status, weight, height, health status, or any other unnecessary personal information when writing CV.