10 Common CV Mistakes, and How to Fix Them
The mistakes that hurt most are simple: sending the same CV to every job, listing duties with no results, and leaving errors in your name, dates or contact details. All of them can be fixed in an evening. Here are ten to check for, roughly in order of how much they matter.
1. Sending the same CV to every job
A general CV makes the reader do the matching. Change the summary, and put your most relevant work first. It usually takes about ten minutes per application once you have a good base.
Before Seeking a challenging role in a growing company.
Better Customer support lead with 4 years in online travel, applying to run a bilingual help desk.
2. Listing duties instead of results
A job description says what the role was meant to do. Your CV should say what you did with it.
Before Duties included answering phones and booking appointments.
Better Booked about 40 appointments a day for 3 dentists and cut no-shows with reminder calls.
3. Empty praise
Words such as “hard-working”, “team player” and “detail-oriented” can't be checked, and almost everyone uses them. Replace each one with something you did that shows it.
Before Detail-oriented self-starter with excellent communication skills.
Better Found a billing error affecting 60 customers, then added a check that stopped it recurring.
4. Writing in the first person
On a CV, the person is assumed. Drop “I”, “my” and “we”, and open with a verb. It saves space and reads more cleanly.
Before I was in charge of training all of our new staff.
Better Trained 8 new staff in a month using a checklist written for the store.
5. Typos and wrong names
A spelling mistake is a small thing, but it is easy to notice. Worse is the wrong company name left over from your last application. To catch these:
- Read it aloud, slowly.
- Read it from the bottom up, so that you see each line by itself.
- Check names of employers, schools, and tools against their own websites.
- Ask someone else to read it. Your eye will skip your own mistakes.
6. Weak contact details
Check your phone number digit by digit. Use a plain email address based on your name, and make sure that any links open without a login.
Before [email protected]
Better [email protected]
7. A layout that gets in the way
Decoration should never make the text harder to read. Crowded columns, rows of icons, skill bars and pale grey text all do that. Simple layouts with real text are easier for both software and people to read.
Here is a quick test. Open your PDF, select all the text, and paste it into a blank note. If it comes out in a strange order or doesn't select at all, for example because it is a scan or an image, make a new PDF from a text source.
8. Too much personal information
Share only what the employer needs at this stage. National ID numbers, parents' names, and full home addresses generally don't belong on a CV, because the file may pass through many hands. Date of birth, marital status and photos vary by country, so follow local habit and the job ad.
9. Dates that raise questions
Use one date format throughout, and check that your dates agree with each other and with your other profiles. Don't stretch dates to hide a gap. A short honest line usually works better.
Before Sales Executive, 2022 to 2025 (really left in early 2024)
Better Career break, 2024 to 2025: cared for a family member and completed a bookkeeping course.
10. Stretching the truth
Don't claim a degree you haven't finished, a level you don't have, or results you can't explain. Employers may check, and a false claim can cost you the job even after you start. The same goes for AI-written lines. Tools can help with your wording, but read every line and keep only what is true and what you could talk about in an interview.
One last check before sending
- Send a PDF unless the ad asks for something else.
- Name the file with your name and the role, not CV_final_v3.pdf.
- Open the file on your phone to see how it looks there.
- Reread the ad once more to see whether it asks for anything you missed.