Your Fired! -Although Technically You Were Never Hired!

I have been recruiting and I thought I'd share my experiences, regarding the applications I received.

1. Spelling
If you are going to bother to apply, get your spelling right. With spellchecker these days there is no excuse. Even worse is when my name is spelt wrong! I would'nt mind but it was on the advert and on the website.

2. Attachments
I had been accepting CVs by email.  I've had quite a few where applicants have not actually attached their CVs, even though they say they have. Check and make sure before you send it. It looks really sloppy and most dont even realise they haven't attached it.

3. Company research
A real bugbear for me. Ive had a couple of promising candidates who knew nothing about the company. All it takes is 5-10 minutes on Google so there really is no excuse. If you have'nt got time or nous to do that or cant be bothered then why should I make time for you.

4. Relevance
I received alot of CVs which dont seem to understand what they are applying for. Either they are not qualified or over qualified. It may be that emailing a CV means you can fire them out quickly at no cost, and little thought. Ask yourself would you hire yourself for this role?

5. CV Layout
Set your CV out in a logical manner and simple and clear layout. I spend about 1 minute scanning the CV so I need to see quickly if its worth considering. Your CV needs to tell a story-if you have gaps-then explain your gaps in your covering letter. If you dont explain them then I'll make assumptions which may not be correct.

6. Achievements
If you are going to put these on the CV then make sure they mean something, alot of the achievements I've seen are frankly a load of waffle. Achievements should be specific, what objective was achieved, and it should be measureable.
For example - "I reduced debtors from £100k to £50k within 6 months". Not I "produce accurate accounts" - thats not an achievement-thats your job!

7. Dress
For heavens sake dress appropriately. Open neck shirts and denim jackets are not acceptable. A smart appearance looks like you've made the effort, and you want to impress.

Some of my favourites were
"I worked for William Hill Bookkeepers" - I assume she meant bookmakers!
"I didnt have time to research the company" - This from a candidate who had been out of work for 18 months!
Under Hobbies - "Cleaning" !!!