18 Things to Remove From Your CV

In Pakistan hiring managers and HR Departments are highly unpredictable and there are no standards for screening any ones Resume or CV before shortlisting. So to be safe during the initial processes, following are some of the key things which you should remove from your CV, if you already have an existing CV draft with you.

In my career as an HR Head of highly reputable firms, I know for a fact that each position is treated differently and screening is done on an adhoc basis with a strong focus on a few ideal skills, abilities, personal traits, industry experience and sometimes specific skills.

Now the question here is how you can improve your chances of getting shortlisted. Fact check: There is no definite way of ensuring you will get that interview call, however as a proactive approach I would suggest that you subtract the following key things from your resume or CV to make it easier to navigate and make it less cumbersome for the hiring manager. Although hiring professional CV writing services is an ideal situation, but this exercise can be carried out by anyone who wants to sanitize their CV.

Following are the key things to bring under the hammer when making your professional resume

Non-related Work Experiences

Suppose you started your career as an IT Assistant checking for desktop problems and you were in college and needed the money, but once you did your majors in marketing and now have 4 to 5 years of experience as a Marketing Manager, it is highly irrelevant if you are applying now for a position of Brand Manager and you include this position in your resume or CV. Always make sure to bring this up in the interview if you think any of your past positions or work experience might leverage your chances of landing this job. Otherwise the best route is to avoid any unnecessary positions or irrelevant jobs you might have done in the past.

Private Data

In my experience with candidates and also as an HR person, I have seen many times people putting highly confidential and private data in their public profiles. Your CV sends a very odd impression about you if you put your marital status, your religion, and the number of children you have. All such information should be omitted from your professional resume and should only be imparted once you have landed that dream job.

The Dreadful Hobby Culture

See hobby is something which people (mainly unwanted strangers or relatives, used to ask you when you were a kid) HR guys and recruiting managers in Pakistan are least interested and not at all bothered with what you do in your spare time. Just drop it, while writing a professional CV draft, make sure you focus on your strengths, but if you have something very unique to show, (if you can write algorithms) then go ahead and put it in your resume.

The Age Question

This information should be left for the interview call, never put your date of birth, your age in number or even your birth year in the CV. If age is relevant to the job you are applying, even then don’t put it in your professional resume draft. Do us all a favor and if you do not qualify for the age bracket then don’t even bother applying at all. I know it’s tough but you should try your chances elsewhere. It’s a vast world :)

Too Much Text

Your resume should never be too cluttered with a lot of text. Let me divulge a secret to you: HR people and anyone hiring, never has read a resume completely, we quickly sift through the key information we are looking for to shortlist candidates, in fact if you make your resume less cluttered and make it more neat instead of more crowded, believe me it will be a great relief to the person viewing your CV. I think I have been very clear here.

Employment Gaps

If you took time off from work (or quite frankly were forced to take time off) then do not make it a part of your professional resume draft. Leave it for the interview please.

References

Putting references on a Resume or CV is a thing of past. Even if some employers will require references, they will do so at a later point in your interview process. Merely putting “ Reference will be provided on request” is a strong waste of your CV space and their valuable time.

Present Tense for a Past Job

This is more of a mistake then an element to be deleted from your professional CV. Never define past work experience using the present tense. Only your current job should be written in the present tense. This sends a very strange notion about your communication skills as well sometimes the HR may consider your CV based on that job which later on become a valid reason for your rejection. Always use professional help as there are many professional resume writers and resume writing companies in Pakistan now.

Drop Your "Favorite" Email ID

I can’t tell you how many times, I have seen HR departments having a laugh over emails ids such as these : princeofhearts@whatever.com, bluemoon@whatever.com, I mean seriously, it only takes around 10 minutes to get an email ID these days, get a graceful email ID and use that.

Company Email Address

Never ever. Let me repeat: Never ever send job applications through your current official (company) email address. And at the same time never put your Official email ID in your resume draft.

Company-specific Jargon

I have seen much software and internal processes mentioned on a resume which even baffle and confuses Google. Make sure that you do not put these things on your Resume or CV, simple jot down the task or use generally used names like Soft wares or sheets or processes name e.g. if you have a specific performance management system which is glamorously named Top-10, please do us all and favor and just use the traditional name which everyone can understand.

Irrelevant Social-media URLs

Links to your opinionated blogs, Pinterest page, or Instagram account have no say in your candidacy for a job, unless you are a content writer or from any writing profession that is. However it is highly recommended that you list relevant URLs, such as your LinkedIn page or any others that are professional and directly related to the position you are trying to acquire.

Salary Information

Sometimes people write their current salary and expected salary in either the application letter or sometimes in the resume itself. Let me tell you the expression I have when I see this “THIS IS PREPOSTEROUS”. It is sin, a rather unforgiveable sin. When making a professional CV for Pakistani job market, just hit the delete button. This document is intended to showcase your professional experience and skills. Salary comes later in the interview process.

Outdated or Special Fonts

Do a basic search of fonts in your word processor, if it doesn’t look good to you, why do you think it will leave an impression on the hiring manager? Ask for professional help and even friends and family’s opinion is sufficient in this matter.

Annoying Buzzwords

A word of advice, the biggest fun time HR people have during interviews is when they start toying with you based on the fancy words you have put in your resume. Don’t put those words in your professional resume of which you have no idea, always read and re-read your CV or resume 2 – 3 times before appearing for an interview.

Reasons for Leaving Your Jobs

Ok, just leave this information out of your CV, this information is not relevant and at this initial point of viewing your CV this is perhaps the last thing on the mind of your hiring manager. Leave it for the interview and always have a strategic answer for leaving your job. Or jobs. Everyone has skeletons in the closet. But they don’t have to come out during your recruitment process.

Facts, not Opinions

People, especially those straight out of college or with a few years of experience, mostly tend to be arrogant about a lot of stuff, I have seen “Leadership skills”, “Visionary” type of words thrown around a juvenile resume as if they were being sold for a dime a dozen. Let me clarify once and for all, the above two words are such over which there is no consensus among any community or nation, everyone has a different definition and a version of it.

Try to avoid these words, unless at least you know how to spell it. On a serious note, if you are done reading a few books on the subject matter at hand. Otherwise just rid your professional CV of them.

Short-term Employment

Avoid including a job on your CV if you only held the position for a brief duration. You should especially avoid including jobs you were let go from or didn't like.

So here you have some key information that can help you make your resume a bit better than others. Writing resume is not an easy task. It takes time to find out the right type of information and present it in a matter that it leaves a lasting impression on any recruiter. Hiring professional help for drafting your CV is a norm in the west and other countries and is widely adapted and now ProfessionalCV.pk is offering the same in Pakistan. So if you don't have enough time or expertise, you can now adopt the easiest way and hire professional CV writing services of Pakistan's No. 1 Cv Writing Service.

 

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This article is written by one of our HR consultant who has served as HR Head in various leading companies including Banks & top IT companies of Pakistan.