Lack of care and silly mistakes on your CV could cost you the job of your dreams so make sure you are aware of the pitfalls before you start so you can avoid them!

1. It may seem like an obvious one, but Poor Spelling and Grammar can detract from the qualities of anyone’s CV no matter how qualified they are for a job. Do your content justice – check, check and double check. Why not ask a friend to read it over? They may spot inaccuracies that you have overlooked or read as correct.

2. Lack of a covering letter: A covering letter is equally as important as the CV it accompanies, it allows you to introduce yourself, identify the job you are targeting and add meat to the bones of your CV.

3. Length: There is no set rule but make sure you keep it relevant. A graduate CV should span no more than two pages. Technical or academic CVs may be significantly longer (4-5 pages). Keep it as short and as sharp as possible, packed full of facts so that the reader can see your key selling points at a glance.

4. Poor visual layout: To increase readability, your CV should use bold and variant text sizes. Make headings stand out. Use lists. If you must paragraph, then keep it short and ensure that key points stand out by underlining them.

5. Lack of structure: Your personal details and profile should always be at the top of the document, but what next? Career History or Education? You should begin with what is most relevant to the job you are targeting. A university graduate, who has funded themselves through university with bar jobs, should begin with their Education (at this stage in their career, this is their most valuable asset).

6. Irrelevant information: Do your research, learn about the job you are targeting and tailor your CV towards it. A detailed rundown of a telesales job you undertook five years ago isn’t relevant to the accountancy job are targeting today, but the transferrable skills you obtained whilst in this employment, such as team leadership and communication, are. Irrelevant information wastes valuable space and will dilute the importance of other content on your CV.

7. Gaps in employment history: These will not go unnoticed and in some cases might arouse suspicion. If you took a year out to travel, then give details, use it to your advantage, it could add value to your CV.

8. Whilst many will warn against over-hyping your CV by embellishing skills and achievements or hiding periods of unemployment, a more common mistake is actually underselling yourself. If you are a recent graduate and are worried about your minimal work experience then look at the skills you have acquired throughout your academic life and highlight how these would apply to the job you are going for. Whilst it is important to be selective and not take up pages with descriptive text, equally you must ensure that every piece of relevant information and experience is showcased.

9. Fourthly, OK so you may have just left university but that is no excuse for having an inappropriate email address ‘sexychick@’ or ‘cooldude@’ will not be well received in a professional environment. If you only have one email address then create another for purely professional correspondence, this will serve you well throughout your working life and avoid employers asking you embarrassing questions about the origin of that cryptic email you had aged 15.

10. And finally (and perhaps most importantly), don’t fire out generic CV’s. Whilst job applications can be time consuming, there is no excuse for not knowing or researching the company you are targeting. E.g. if in your ‘Objective’ section of your CV you state “I am interested in working for a small company”, make sure you’re not applying for a multi-national!

Remember your CV represents you so don’t let it show you up! The mistakes above can be avoided by careful proof reading, a bit of research and common sense. So read these rules and read them again to ensure you’re not making mistakes that could cost you a job!