JOB SEEKERS are missing out on interviews and new jobs by producing poorly written CVs full of meaningless waffle, according to Workthing+, a UK online career management service.
More than 60% of CVs contain so much irrelevant trivia that recruiters reject them immediately, says the Trinity Mirror-owned company.
To help candidates resolve the 'CV waffle problem', Workthing+ has launched a competition for jobseekers to produce a Twitter-sized 140-character CV to prove your vital career information can be condensed to the essentials.
Gareth Lloyd, director of Workthing+, said: “First impressions count. In a normal CV candidates have two pages to sell themselves, but so many CVs waste time and space on waffle and jargon. The waffle adds nothing to a CV, other than distracting from a candidate’s skills and experience. We’re encouraging job seekers to focus on achievements not adjectives, facts not fluff.”
A survey of Workthing+ clients identified the top five CV waffle turn-offs:
1. Motivated self-starter.
2. Able to work alone or as part of a team.
3. Good timekeeper.
4. Dynamic and enthusiastic.
5. Enjoy reading and spending time with my young family.
To demonstrate that a CV can be really concise, the Workthing+ resident industry expert, The Career Insider, is challenging jobseekers to distil their CV down to a single 140-character Tweet.
Mr Lloyd added: “We want to help people hone their CV-writing skills and see the error of their 'waffling ways' by taking the CV to its most condensed form – literally 140 characters or less.”
Jobseekers can submit their waffle-free CV @WorkthingPlus on Twitter with the hash tag #wfcv or email thecareerinsider@workthingplus.com by January 31 for the chance to win a Flip UltraHD video camera.
