Spelling and grammar mistakes come top of the list of things that employers find annoying in CVs, according to a new poll from GSM London.
Senior decision makers across a number of sectors and business sizes took part in the survey and 87 percent revealed that they would find spelling and grammar mistakes the most annoying. This put it top of the list, ahead of poor CV design and including too much personal information.
Ranking second on the list, with 76 percent was the inclusion of incorrect information, such as wrong contact name or company name. This was closely followed by missing key information, such as contact details and dates of employment, with 74 percent.
Also revealed in the poll, employers found CVs that were too long more annoying (46%) than a CV that is too short (26%), suggesting that briefness is key for jobseekers.
Andrew Falconer, director of Careers & Employability at GSM London, says:
“This survey confirms that it’s essential to get the basics right. Qualifications and experience count but if you don’t present yourself professionally it could all be for nothing. Employers are looking for succinct, targeted information that helps them make a decision. With so much support available, there can be no excuses for not getting this right.”
The majority of employers said they were fine with an applicant including a picture of themselves in the CV, with only 13 percent saying they would be annoyed by it.
Gender seems to be a dependant factors on what was found to be annoying, with females more likely to be annoyed with short CVs (28%) than men (25%). However, men were more likely to be annoyed if a CV was too long (49%) than women (37%).
Men were also more likely to be annoyed by too much information (30%) than women (26%), and if irrelevant experience and education were included (25% vs 21%).
Business size also seems to be a factor, as larger businesses were more likely to find long CVs (52%) and too much personal information (34%) annoying.
Amie Filcher is an editorial assistant at HRreview.