Resume/cv: 11 reasons why it is not getting you job interview invitations

CV, Curriculum Vitae, or more accurately (for job seekers) Resume, occupies a larger than life position in the mind of every job seeker. And you can’t blame them. Most vacancy announcements invariably require a Resume/CV as the first point of contact for evaluation/screening purposes. Whenever you inform a contact you are looking for a job, the next question is “can you let me have your CV?” Without it, nothing can be done apologies, to Sir Shina Peters Really, I cannot take away anything from that reality. A good CV is pivotal to an effective job search. Then it is no wonder that the road to a good job will bumpy and may be barren if your Resume/CV is not good enough. Unfortunately not less than 60% of documents brandied about as Resume/CV are really of any use. Another 20% are barely manageable, and cannot survive fierce competition, which is not unusual in the Nigerian job market. In fact less than 10% are perfect or near perfect. So what are the fatal errors?

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i) Undefined and ill- defined job target. Though it may not necessarily be on the Resume/CV, having a clearly defined job target/ objective is sine qua none for the development of a good Resume/CV, indeed for an effective job search. It provides the focus of the Resume/CV. It affects the content and points of emphasis. Unfortunately most job objectives are not clearly stated and clarified, while some job candidates don’t even have a job objective. “ I don’t mind any job, just anything”, is a usual response to the question,“ what kind of job are you looking for?” The issues are what would you like to do, given your skills and experience? Where (industry, locale) do you want to work? What are important to you- career, opportunity for growth and development, traveling, room for creativity, independence, conditions of service, salaries, emoluments, training opportunities etc). You need to get all these clear in your mind, or better still, produced in a written form as your objective. (Whether you will eventually put it on your Resume/CV is another thing) ii) Poor understanding of the purpose for a Resume/CV. You must understand this; Your Resume/CV on its own is not meant to get you a job. This misguided reasoning is why you have Resume/CVs that is more or less a detailed life history of the candidate, sometimes, in flowery prose or crammed bullet power points. And when you are not qualified for the job, or not in any way near qualifying, your C.V won’t give you the desired response. Your Resume/CV is your sales brochure – except you are the product! iii) Inclusion of irrelevant information and exclusion of useful information. The errors of including information that have no bearing on the vacant position/job search are fairly common, and often due to ignorance or the need to ‘bulk-up’ the Resume/CV. The other variant is provision of incomplete information is but in this case, it is usually due to carelessness. I have seen Resume/CV without a contact address. The usual destination for such document is the bin. Your Resume/CV is expected to provide basic information such as your education attainment and work history. It is should also contain other information that is relevant to providing prima facie evidence that you are not only worthy of consideration for the job, but also better than the other applicants. Recently, I was involved in conducting interview for technical sales person. One key requirement was at least 1-year sales experience. So I was a surprise to see the Resume/CV of a candidate with 2-year relevant experience, but nothing on the Resume/CV reflected this. We had to find out in the course of the interview. He was extremely lucky. Most people are not that lucky, as there are usually hundreds of applicants to be screened, leaving no room for detailed examination of uninspiring CV/Resume. Your Resume/CV must contain all key information relevant and required to position you as suitable for the job. For example, if a job requires considerable experience and training, all your on -the -job- training, seminars and workshops attended are as important as formal education. They must be included. But such training that has no bearing whatsoever on the position at hand must be excluded. iv). Inconsistency and obvious lack of integrity. A while ago, a candidate claimed that he was a sales manager with a pharmaceutical firm. Unfortunately, he was taking to people with extensive experience in that industry. One of the questions he was asked was “ can you name some of your customers? “ He fell flat. “Can you name you main products? ” He could only ramble. You must be ready and adequately able to defend the claims, facts and figures reflected in your CV/ Résumé. More relevant to the topic of today is that your Resume/CV must be internally consistent, and must show integrity. For example, when a 40-year old claim to have started primary school at 4, he needs a solid defense. Most children started school at 7-8 yr in the 60’s and 70’s. Can your educational and work history hold together? Your Resume/CV should hold up to scrutiny. You are heading for trouble when your parts and number are not compatible. Or when the content of your Resume/CV are not in harmony. It is an extremely serious error when dates are not consistent; and claims of experience and related activities do not support your qualifications. Another critical and immutable rule is that you should not lie in your CV: it is usually the end of the road whenever it is discovered in the selection process. Besides, it may come to haunt you much, much, latter. O yes, you are allowed to avoid putting negative things about yourself, and to stretch the truth as much as you can. In fact you are expected to present an honest presentation of your best abilities. v). Poor visual impact. People in marketing knows the importance of physical attractiveness of product packaging- it is a key selling element. When your Resume/CV /CV is poorly laid out, crammed, haphazardly arranged, full of variations of fonts style, size etc, it is a sure put off. Some Resume/CVs are have be photocopied so many times (using bad photocopier) that it requires great effort to decipher what was there. A piece of Resume/CV, likes sales literature has only 2-3 seconds to attract the reader’s attention, even before it is read. Many advertising techniques apply including use of white space, bullets, indentation and moderately varied type style. Never, never handwrite your Resume/CV (I have seen this!) Being unemployed is tough, tough on ego, tough on finances, tough on self-esteem. It paralyses. Don’t be immobilized. Whatever you do, don’t give up. Permit me to quote Martin Luther King Jnr. “ We cannot afford to give up now. If you cannot fly, run. If you can’t run, you walk. If you can’t walk, you crawl, but by all means keep moving”