Sunday, January 6, 2013

The Number 1 Mistake Women Make on Their CVs



In my time as an Executive and Career Coach I have reviewed umpteen CVs – from men and women alike. I’ve noticed that women tend to commit the same errors time and time again.


The most problematic of these, in my view, is focusing too heavily on the 'Responsibilities' they have had throughout their careers.

I think this stems from the fact that women, in the main, want to do 'a good job' or rather, they want to be seen to be, or thought of as, doing 'a good job'.

I fell foul of this when I used to work for major international organisations – my driver was doing my job to the best of my ability, which meant diligently dotting the ‘Is’ and crossing the ‘Ts’ every single day.

Taking your responsibilities very seriously is important (dotting Is and crossing Ts can be tough going) but unfortunately, when it comes to your CV, those responsibilities are meaningless by themselves.

What recruiters, and potential employers, want to understand is how those day-to-day responsibilities delivered results.

Doing your job is not enough.

They want to know what happened as a result of you doing your job.

Action: Review your CV. Is it crammed with responsibilities? Or is it packed to the rafters with accomplishment, after accomplishment, after accomplishment?

- Rebecca


Read other related posts written by Rebecca:

Read all 5 of the Most Common Mistakes Women Make On Their CVs (you can also receive a FREE subscription to Rebecca's fortightly ezine 'Presence')
Why Your Experience To Date is Just Not Enough
3 Questions To Help Your CV Stand Out From the Competition
The 5 Keyword Types To Use in your LinkedIn Profile



No comments:

Post a Comment