Avoid putting your age or date of birth on your CV
Similarly, avoid putting dates for events that might give away your age (e.g. date graduated). This may seem a challenge when it comes to describing your distant career history. However the reality is that most prospective employers are only interested in the last five years – ten at the outside. You can list dates in the last ten years, but prior to that just be less specific.
Your CV. Keep your CV to two pages – three maximum. Make your CV look modern. Keep the font size at least 10. Go for a more “modern” font (a sans serif one like Arial is always a good bet). Avoid including a picture (good advice regardless of your age!)
Avoid any phrase that may sound overly formal or ‘pompous’. Different people have different views on this of course, but here are examples that we feel generally fall in this overly formal category:
- CVs written in the third person (e.g. ‘Clive has in-depth experience....’)
- Covering letters with phrases like ‘herewith’
- Use of the phrase ‘curriculum vitae’ rather than less formal abbreviation ‘CV’
- Use of the phrase “I have over twenty years’ experience” – recruiters are – of course – after quality (i.e. what you did) not quantity (how long you did if for)
Above all, make your CV a good one. A good CV highlights your strengths, is relevant to your target audience and is easy to read. We will feature an article of General CV writing rules later.