Confessions of a recruitment consultant 10 top howlers found on CVs

In addition, it's probably fair to say that career decisions, the jobs you apply for, and ultimately the jobs you get will be defining moments in the course of your life.

Given these facts, as a recruitment consultant I am still amazed at the variety of howlers which we see on CVs as recruitment consultants. Here's some of the most common errors.

• CVs typed completely in block capitals

• If you're not sure about this try typing out your CV in normally and then in block capitals and compare! It's extremely difficult to read anything entirely in block capitals. If it's in my in tray, it'll probably head straight for the 'round' cabinet under my desk.

• CVs typed without using any capitals

  • A CV is a formal document and should be written in proper English with capital letters at the start of a sentence, for names and so on.

• Inappropriate e-mail addresses

  • Very common this one. People don't like to use a company e-mail address in case their recruitment pursuits are rumbled, so they use their hotmail address. But just think about it before you include it on the CV. gamblingbloke@hotmail.com or shiftylad@yahoo.co.uk will not conjure up the right images for you potential employer...and by the way, these are polite/clean examples!

• Spelling errors

  • You don't even have to get someone to do this for you, the computer will do it. What does it say about you if you haven't even been bothered to run a spell check your CV.

• Not using capital letters

  • A CV is a formal document and requires proper use of the English language. Not using capital letters to begin sentences, or for names just looks lazy and sloppy. It also shows poor judgement in not recognising that a CV is a formal document.

• Gaps in Dates

  • Don't leave any gaps in the dates on your CV, an employer will assume the gap is negative, if it wasn't, the gap would be detailed. My favourite example was a chap I interviewed and only spotted a year missing at the end of the interview. The interview had gone well. I asked about the gap to receive the rather sheepish response, 'GBH, I got one year'!! Mmm, I wonder why he left that bit off?

• Not updating your CV properly for new job searches

  • Another surprisingly common one. You can only have one job detailed as having been 'x date to present' . Unless off course you have two jobs at once, but this is rare. So having your last three jobs as 'x date to present' because you have added new jobs but not altered previous jobs is as bad as not running a spell check. It looks sloppy, lazy and shows poor attention to detail.

• Too long

  • In the UK, 2-3 sides should be about right. More than this and you have too much detail. If you have done a lot of jobs, provide more detail for the most recent and rationalise the older ones.

• Too short

  • An American resume is usually 1 page. In the UK this looks like a rushed job without enough detail to see who and what you are. As above, aim for 2-3 sides.

• Use of different fonts

  • This either looks like the CV has been constructed from a number of documents cut and pasted together, or it's been written over a few days, and each time the PC has been turned on, a different font been used. It looks sloppy.

Remember CVs are formal documents which may change the course of your life. to the recipient they are the only representation of you they can see. Spend some time to ensure your CV doesn't end up in the 'howler' tray of some recruitment consultant and appearing in an articles such as this.

Good luck.