Sunil Duggal, MD at Just IT Recruitment, receives hundreds of CVs and cover letters every day, some brilliant and others appalling. In a bid to educate job seekers, he identifies the 'don't dos' by revealing some of the worst to land on his desk from potential candidates.
Here are the some of the best of the worst, and tips on what to avoid when applying for a job:
- The neurotic: a candidate submitted a password protected CV which could not be accessed;
- The evangelist: a candidate ended a covering letter with 'Jesus loves you';
- The banker: a candidate put their bank details on their CV;
- The cyber-criminal: a candidate put that their life's ambition was to be a hacker;
- The punctual one: a candidate put 'I'm good at timekeeping. I wake up at 6am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday' on their cover letter;
- The bone idle: a candidate sent across a generic template leaving gaps where there should have been information describing the job position they were applying for, and the company they were applying to;
- The enigma: a CV was submitted with no name or contact details;
- The pervert: CVs with inappropriate email addresses such as 'caught ****ing@school.com';
- The narcissist: a cover letter from a candidate with one objective - 'to please and attain supreme perfection';
- The adult film star: a CV was submitted including a photo more suitable for a glamour shoot.
'While these examples might be extreme, the reality is that there are so many applicants who submit CVs which are below par and will not make it past recruiters' inboxes,' said Duggal. 'There is an ongoing concern that graduates are limiting their chances of success at the first hurdle.'
'So many candidates are getting even the basics wrong. On average, almost a third of job-hunting graduates who approach us will be rejected simply for their poor grasp of language. Badly written, poorly punctuated CVs and cover letters reflect inadequate communication skills, attention to detail and attitude - automatically relegating those candidates to the bottom of the pile,' said Duggal.
'It is up to universities to ensure that graduates are not only on track for first-class degrees, but also equipped with the basics, by offering advice about the job application process,' continued Duggal.
