A recruitment specialist has revealed the key mistakes she regularly encounters on job applications that companies absolutely detest seeing. If you’ve been searching for employment recently, you’ll understand the frustration of submitting countless applications, attending interviews, and completing assessments only to receive radio silence or generic rejection emails from potential employers. The job-seeking process can feel utterly disheartening, but persistence remains essential if you’re determined to secure a position.
However, one crucial element that must be perfected to impress prospective employers is your CV – and it seems numerous recurring blunders are deterring hiring managers from considering candidates.
Anna Papalia, who penned Interviewology: The New Science of Interviewing, is a respected author and employment application specialist who has been offering her expert guidance. Anna, who has amassed 1.5 million followers on her TikTok account @anna..papalia, revealed there are five critical mistakes you must avoid if you’re serious about securing employment.
Anna explained: “Things I don’t want to see on your resume in under a minute…I’m just making sure you have the skills to pass you onto the interview.”
Anna emphasised that declaring your objective for pursuing the role is unnecessary.
The specialist stated: “I know what your objective is, it’s to get a job. I’d rather see a summary, summarise your work experience.”
Anna advised: “I also don’t need to see your home address.”
Instead, she recommends simply including your email address and phone number so potential employers can contact you.
Anna pointed out that it’s best to avoid using the word ‘I’ on your CV as it’s implied.
She explained: “Under your professional experience, in your bullets when you write ‘I worked at blah blah blah’, I never want to see the word ‘I’. I’d just take it off and just lead with worked or consulted with or whatever it is.”
One shocked commenter posted: “Imagine not getting hired because you wrote ‘I’ on your resume.”
Anna has observed people listing a number of irrelevant skills on their CVs.
She bluntly stated: “I don’t care about your volunteer experience… No one cares about your volunteer experience… Especially if it has nothing to do with this job. No, it doesn’t make you sounds well rounded. And no I don’t care about your personality.”
Commenters were taken aback by this. One person commented: “Not caring about volunteer is WILD. It’s shows they’re a person who sites about other people. You should want people like that.”
Another individual disagreed, stating: “Hard disagree on volunteer experience. Such a green flag for culture fits, additional soft/hard skills, and it’s excellent for those in challenging job markets and those with low to no work experience. Coming from job coach for non profit that supports single parent families.”
Anna emphasised that the most important thing she wants people to remember is to save their CV document under their own name.
She pointed out: “I receive thousands of resumes and they’re all saved as resume.”
