There are plenty of articles telling you what to do when it comes to finding a new role. From writing a CV, applying for roles, through to the interview process- tips upon tips of what to do. But what about the not-to-dos?
I asked some Saleslogic recruiters for their tips to form a ‘What-not-to-do-guide’ to getting a job
Now, be honest- Have you done, one, or (and I shudder!) more than one of these things?
What-not-to-do guide to CVs
On average a CV will spend 20 seconds in the hands of a recruiter before they make a decision to either keep reading or giving you a call. That’s not a lot of time for your CV to make an impression.
Here are some things not to do:
Don’t include a picture… especially if it’s not a good one.
Including a picture can actually be a distraction from your CV. What you look like doesn’t matter, and doesn’t and certainly shouldn’t come into play when a recruiter is making a decision, so it’s not needed on your CV.
Don’t have your CV written in the third person
People may think that having their CV in the third person makes it seem like they're more important, so important that they’ve had to have someone else write their CV for them. If you’ve written the CV yourself, then it shows you actually took the time, meaning the job hunt is important to you
Don’t forget your CV is not a novel
Remember your CV only has 20 seconds to make an impact- keep it short, and to the point. Bullet points are a great way of getting information across and it's easier to spot the details. Also remember, your CV is trying to prove how great you are for a specific role, so make sure you’ve focused on your skills that match or compliment the job you’re applying for.
You’ve not included any figures or targets
One of the key things a recruiter is going to want to know is not just what you did, but how well you did. Make your CV shine by including the targets you smashed, deal sizes you dealt with etc.
Don’t include your high school grades
If you’ve been working for longer than you spent in school- don’t include them. Especially don’t include them if you didn’t get good results! In fact, just don’t include them. If they’re not relevant to the experience required for the role, they don’t need to be on your CV
Don’t use company specific jargon
It is quite easy to get caught up doing this without realising it. You use these terms every day and it becomes part of your daily language. Unfortunately, the sales recruiter might not speak that same language as you, so if they see it in a CV, and they don’t know what it means, they’ll disregard it.
Bonus what not to dos:
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You’ve said your multilingual, but not included the languages you speak
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You’ve got spelling, grammatical or formatting errors in your CV
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You’ve included a graph, table or any other graphic. - Let the numbers do their own talking.
More articles in the ‘What-Not-To-Do Series’
Saleslogic is a leading sales recruitment agency in London. We specialise in digital sales jobs, SaaS sales jobs, software sales jobs and more. Click here to view sales jobs we are currently recruiting for.