Jobseekers have 'too much waffle on CVs'

Sales recruitment hopefuls are losing out on their ideal job because they are filling their CVs with too much waffle, according to a new survey.

Research by Workthing+, a leading online career management service, said that 60 per cent of resumes contain so much irrelevant trivia that recruiters are rejecting the applications immediately.

Gareth Lloyd, director of the service, said: "First impressions count. In a normal CV, candidates have two pages to sell themselves, but so many CVs waste time and space on waffle and jargon."

He also added that the rambling adds nothing to a CV, other than distracting from a candidate's skills and experience.

Workthing+ found that five of the top waffle topics included details on sales recruitment candidates being self starters, team players, good timekeepers, enthusiastic and reading as a hobby.

Aaron Wallis, a leading sales recruitment agency, recommended keeping a CV down to two pages in length, three at most.

The firm's managing director Rob Scott, said: "Whilst a 'personal profile' is rarely read by recruiters and hiring managers it is a useful place to detail keywords that will be picked up by job board and recruitment software. In addition I would recommend keeping 'hobbies and interests' in there as it gives the viewer a flavour of who you are as a person."

For some of the most comprehensive and unique CV advice and tips visit the career tools section of www.aaronwallis.co.uk. Stacked with hints, tips and advice the Aaron Wallis career tools section is one of the largest resources available to sales candidates. Aaron Wallis is a leading sales recruitment agency.

Posted by Wayne Bly

Filed: 03-02-2010