Why are CVs rejected?

First impressions

First impressions matter; if your CV does not attract the reader's attention in the first 20-30 seconds then your chances of obtaining an interview are greatly reduced. An employer may have a hundred or more CVs to look through and probably only a couple of hours in which to make their selection. So put your work experience at the start of your CV, not personal or educational details, unless you have only just left education.

What an employer really wants to know is why they should invite you for an interview. For this reason a short summary of your capabilities and/or a list of your major achievements can often be a good idea. This should make an employer want to invite you for an interview - but please be careful that you do not oversell yourself.

Poor visual layout

The visual layout of your CV is very important. Even though the wording you use may be correct, if people cannot find the information they want quickly they will move on to someone else's CV. You should use plenty of 'white' space in your CV and appropriate headings and section breaks.

Always use a word-processor/DTP package. Never use a typewriter as you will look old fashioned and out of date. Use good quality A4 paper, preferably 100 gram for both your CV and cover letter.

Length of CV

It is usually best to try and keep your CV to two pages of A4, unless someone specifically asks you for a longer CV. If you cannot keep your CV to this length then you probably have not understood an employer's requirements. Employers do not want to know your whole life history - just enough to decide whether they should interview you or not.

If you would like to learn a further 7 major reasons why CVs are rejected then please click here now to get your copy of our FREE Report: Is your CV letting you down?: How to dramatically improve your CV

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• Why are CVs rejected?
• What information will you need?
• What should you leave off a CV?
• Selecting a CV format
• General CV writing tips
• Example performance CV
• How to write a performance CV
• Example functional CV
• How to write a functional CV
• Example targeted CV
• How to write a targeted CV
• The alternative CV
• Example student CV
• Example graduate CV
• How to write a student / graduate CV
• Word-processing and printing
• Cover letters