The Key CV Trends of 2015 ... and How They Can Help You
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 9:48 am
Its official, recruiters really do dislike certain words on a CV. Earlier this year Purple CVs ran a survey which found the top eight most overused clichés. These are: hard-working, reliable, team player, dedicated, passionate, strategic thinker, results driven and dynamic.
While these words are loved by candidates, if you think about it, they don’t offer any real insight into who you are. These words are generic and the first four in the list could be used to describe most candidates so why bother wasting precious space on your CV with them?
Make yourself a credible candidate. Base your personal profile in facts rather than well-worn phrases. Think about what kind of team player you are. Do you provide team cohesion or boost morale, are you the organised one who keeps colleagues on the right track towards a goal? The more specific you can be, the better insight a recruiter will get. Factual statements that are backed up by evidence throughout the rest of your CV will also make your CV much stronger.
Candidates with specialised skills are getting harder to find
According to a CareerBuilder 2015 candidate survey, 50% of employers say it’s hard to find peru phone number resource workers with the right skills. You can capitalise on this by ensuring that your CV is fully tailored to a job advert with emphasis on key skills. The more you can match yourself to the role, the much better your chance of being shortlisted. Check out this strategy for boosting your chances when applying for a job.
Candidates still lie!
A perennial it appears, but yes, people are still lying on their CV and hoping to get away with it. Some candidates admit this. A recent survey by First Advantage found that one in four had lied on an application.
CareerBuilder found a larger figure when it ran a candidate survey. They discovered that 56% of employers found a lie on a candidate CV. These lies relate to: embellished skill sets or responsibilities, dates of employment, job titles and academic degrees.
While over half of employers surveyed had caught out a candidate with fibs on their CV, 50% of these would automatically dismiss a candidate for lying. The same survey also found that employers in the financial services were most likely to detect lies on a candidate’s application.
While you should certainly make the most of what you have to offer on your CV, you shouldn't confuse being creative with outright lying. Dates of employment and job titles are easily checked via references, and qualifications by contacting academic institutions or using the Higher Education Degree Datacheck service.
While these words are loved by candidates, if you think about it, they don’t offer any real insight into who you are. These words are generic and the first four in the list could be used to describe most candidates so why bother wasting precious space on your CV with them?
Make yourself a credible candidate. Base your personal profile in facts rather than well-worn phrases. Think about what kind of team player you are. Do you provide team cohesion or boost morale, are you the organised one who keeps colleagues on the right track towards a goal? The more specific you can be, the better insight a recruiter will get. Factual statements that are backed up by evidence throughout the rest of your CV will also make your CV much stronger.
Candidates with specialised skills are getting harder to find
According to a CareerBuilder 2015 candidate survey, 50% of employers say it’s hard to find peru phone number resource workers with the right skills. You can capitalise on this by ensuring that your CV is fully tailored to a job advert with emphasis on key skills. The more you can match yourself to the role, the much better your chance of being shortlisted. Check out this strategy for boosting your chances when applying for a job.
Candidates still lie!
A perennial it appears, but yes, people are still lying on their CV and hoping to get away with it. Some candidates admit this. A recent survey by First Advantage found that one in four had lied on an application.
CareerBuilder found a larger figure when it ran a candidate survey. They discovered that 56% of employers found a lie on a candidate CV. These lies relate to: embellished skill sets or responsibilities, dates of employment, job titles and academic degrees.
While over half of employers surveyed had caught out a candidate with fibs on their CV, 50% of these would automatically dismiss a candidate for lying. The same survey also found that employers in the financial services were most likely to detect lies on a candidate’s application.
While you should certainly make the most of what you have to offer on your CV, you shouldn't confuse being creative with outright lying. Dates of employment and job titles are easily checked via references, and qualifications by contacting academic institutions or using the Higher Education Degree Datacheck service.