CV Mistakes To Avoid
By Blog

Your CV is the first thing a hiring manager will see and it’s your ticket to hopefully landing an interview and, fingers crossed, receiving a job offer. With this in mind, it’s important to make sure you lead with your best with your skills and experience expertly showcased.

Our expert Recruitment team have put together a guide below on what mistakes to avoid what crafting your CV and how to lead with your best foot forward!

Be Specific:

  • Your CV should be tailored for each role you’re applying to. This is to give you the best chance of being progressed to interview. Sending a generic one-size-fits-all will not work in your favour. Do your research and find out exactly what they’re looking for in the job description and then adapt your CV by showing the experience and skills you have in those areas using their keywords.
  • Show the impact your skills, experiences and achievements had on your employer. Present facts and figures to illustrate your examples.
  • Don’t just list your relevant accomplishments, go into brief detail about them.
  • Keep all aspects of your CV relevant to what you’re applying for.
  • Don’t include irrelevant personal information. It takes up space you may need for other information and it’s not necessary.
  • Explain any gaps in employment and be honest about it, otherwise you may get caught out at another stage!
  • If you include an introduction in your CV, make sure it’s to the point and includes the key qualities the recruiter is looking for (which you’ll find in the job description mentioned above.) Avoid meaningless buzzwords like ‘Dynamic, results-oriented, driven, personable team player’ and instead clearly outline your key qualification for the role. Show through your experiences and examples how you’re a results-orientated team player.

Correct Your Formatting:

  • Ensure your CV is clear and concise – noting all relevant experience in bullet point format as this is much easier to read (see how relevancy is becoming a theme here?) And avoid page breaks between sentences.
  • If you’re sending your CV as an attachment, send it as a Word document. This tends to be the most universally accessible formatting.
  • Keep fonts simple and sizing to an 11 or 12. There’s no need to go overboard on fancy fonts and designs! (Unless your applying for a design job perhaps!)
  • Keep your CV updated with your current skills and experience, your current role is the one you may be asked the most about and having it updated regularly ensures you won’t forget key achievements you want to show off.
  • There’s no need to include your references in your CV as these will be requested upon offer stage and may just take up room you may need for other information.

Have Examples:

  • Start your roles with a brief intro that describes the company you work for, where you sit within the hierarchy and what the overall goal of your role is. Then bullet point your responsibilities to show the work you carry out and showcase your skills and output. Finish your role off by highlighting some impressive achievements you have made during your time in the position.
  • Use real facts and examples, all of this will be fact checked and references will be followed up on so don’t get caught out on a lie.

Now that you’re ready to write a stellar CV, it’s an excellent time to get in touch with our team and find out how we can help you in your search for your next pharma or life sciences job. At Recruitment by Aphex, we’re with our candidates every step of the way, from the submission process right through to the acceptance of an offer. We’re on hand to answer any questions you may have about your role, potential company, CV, or interview technique. We also provide our candidates with mock style preparation interviews with our in-house experts and engineers to ensure you’re feeling completely prepared and confident in your abilities. Want to find out more about how we can help you in your search? Contact us to set up a conversation with our team to discuss how we can help you.