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Report shows majority of CVs contain at least one error

4% of CVs have more than 20 mistakes  

According to new research from Adzuna, most, or 87%, of UK CVs contain at least one CV error with over 10,000 CVs, or 4%, having more than 20 mistakes.  

Adzuna analysed over 267,000 UK CVs uploaded to Adzuna’s online tool ValueMyCV in March 2023 to highlight the most common errors made in job applications. 

Of the 267,140 CVs analysed, 13% (35,071 CVs) had no mistakes. The majority (232,069 CVs) contained at least one mistake. 

“Compared to a year ago, UK job applicants are getting sloppier when writing their CVs,” Adzuna stated. Fewer than 100,000 CVs (62%, 91,931 CVs) analysed in 2022 contained one or more errors, and only 5,011 CVs (3%) contained 20 or more spelling slip ups. 

Adzuna’s data also found that 99,716 CVs (37%) contained five or more errors while 4% (10,717 CVs) contained 20 or more mistakes. 

Among common errors include spelling mistakes, with nearly 762,000 misspellings spotted in the CVs analysed. Approximately one third forgot to add a personal summary highlighting their strengths and career ambitions (33%), 29% submitted their application without a valid postal address, while 29% had unexplained employment gaps. 

According to Adzuna, other common jobseeker errors are improper CV length (22%) and using an inappropriate file name (16%). This means that they included words such as ‘draft,’ V2,’ ‘untitled’ or ‘document’ in the file name. 

“An ideal CV should have a filename that includes the applicant’s surname and the word “CV,” for example ‘John Smith CV,’ so that a recruiter or hiring manager can locate the document quickly and easily,” Adzuna stated. 

Andrew Hunter, Co-Founder of Adzuna, said: “One CV mistake and your application can go straight into the virtual bin. In today’s tightening jobs market, it’s concerning to find that jobseekers are making CV mistakes that can easily be avoided and that these errors are becoming more prevalent. Having an error-free CV demonstrates to your future employers that you are meticulous and pay attention to details. Run a spell check and take the time to double-check everything before submitting your CV. Don’t let a CV error cost you an interview opportunity and even a job.” 

 

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