4 common CV traps we want you to avoid

When you sign up to AUT interNZ one of the requirements is that you upload a copy of your CV which we’ll approve before it is viewed by a potential employer.

Think of your CV as working directly for you, your own personal employee or assistant to go out and do your bidding in the professional marketplace. Naturally you want it to look and sound as good as possible.

CVs have been around for a long time and there are some pretty straightforward industry standards, but you’d be surprised by how many things people get wrong. Here are some tips to avoid common mistakes.

  1. Check your spelling!
    Nothing looks more unprofessional than spelling mistakes. It takes two seconds to hit spellcheck, and that’s half your work done for you.  Ask people in your network to proof it for you, too, to pick up any grammatical errors or nuances that won’t be picked up by a computer.

  2. Provide it as a PDF
    Export your CV to PDF, so no changes can be made to it by accident or otherwise in transit to a future employer. It also takes two seconds to do, and saves time scrolling through all the formatting you made to get your document to where it is.

  3. Know the difference between referees and references
    When appearing on your CV, a reference, is a written document that is usually attached. A referee, is a person and should feature on your CV as contact details, position and place of business and their relationship to you. As a rule: a reference is something you read, a referee is someone you contact.

  4. Put your most recent information FIRST
    Most employers only spend a few minutes looking at your CV, you want to tell them all the best stuff about you as fast as possible, as easy as possible and in the best way possible. Make an impression, make things stand out with style. Talking about your college job from seven years ago, unless it’s incredibly relevant to the industry,
    is wasting time.

Did you know as an AUT student/graduate you have FREE access to Employability Services? Don’t know what Employability Services does? For a start, the friendly team will review your CV and help you tailor it to suit you and the job you want. It is a fantastic resource and comes highly recommended by AUT interNZ.  Make an appointment here: http://www.aut.ac.nz/being-a-student/employability