This week, we are profiling one of the worst cases of CV abuse we have seen in our careers, the hobbies and other interests section.
To be perfectly honest, we here at CV strategies don’t care much for this kind of detail and would usually recommend leaving this out altogether unless writing a skills based CV.
Why? Well, employers are seldom swayed by what people do in their spare time unless it’s truly remarkable and (or) salient to the job in some way. It’s a section that can often do more harm than good. But, if you are going to write a hobbies and interests section, here’s some tips to avoid turning your CV into a crime scene.
Keep it tidy: Don’t use a hundred words when ten will do.
Don’t be boring: Under no circumstances should you claim to enjoy ‘reading, eating out and socialising’ on your CV. It serves only to say that you couldn’t think of anything interesting to write. Most employers scan a CV in under 10 seconds. Do you really want their lasting impression to be that you like the same things everyone else likes?
Consider the implications: Perhaps the worst crime we’ve seen committed under the banner of hobbies was a graduate CV that stated the applicant was heavily into house music and night-clubbing. We read this as meaning the applicant would be out late nights at the weekend and tired during the week. How could this be construed by anyone as a positive message to an employer?
Think carefully about what message people will take from your statements. Come visit us for CV help
No comments:
Post a Comment