A new survey has revealed some of the most outrageous errors in judgement made by candidates going through the recruitment process in the UK.
The survey carried out by online recruitment advisers Career Builder uncovered some unbelievable items that candidates have submitted to potential employers. One applicant listed lion-taming as a hobby, while another wrote their entire resume in rhyme.
Prior employment titles included ‘Master of Time and Universe’ while one person put down their primary referee simply as ‘God’.
Feedback from employers pointed out the key points that would quickly turn them on or off a candidate during the one minute or less that the 32 per cent of 194 employers surveyed admitted to affording each potential CV.
Quite simply, presentation is paramount. Around 36 per cent of the employers said they were automatically turned off by large blocks of text, while 26 per cent said that no cover letter made them instantly tepid about a candidate. CVs of three pages or longer were also an efficient turn-off according to 18 per cent of the employers.
Recruitment expert, Geoff Newman, who works with online recruitment agency Recruitment Genius said there were a number of crucial but simple things that candidates can do to stack the deck in their favour – but all too often they are completely overlooked.
“Ensure your CV is relevant to each application by bringing crucial and quantifiable information to the beginning of your CV” he said. “Don’t forget that even your email address will be scrutinised so ensure it’s not quirky.”
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