Guest Blog

Advice on common CV mistakes by Alex Patient, career and leadership coach at PatientMind.

Common CV mistakes can make it harder for employers to see what you offer. Here’s how to make your experience clearer, strengthen your applications and combine your job search with useful conversations.

I coach people through job searches and career changes, and I see the same CV mistakes over and over. They’re rarely about ability. The people making them are usually good at what they do. They’re just going about the search in a way that hides it.

1. Common CV mistakes: an opening paragraph that says nothing

“Dynamic, results-driven professional with a proven track record of delivering in fast-paced environments.” You could swap in nearly anyone’s name and it would still fit.

A recruiter reading a hundred CVs skims past that paragraph because they’ve read it a hundred times. Your opening lines are the most valuable space on the page. Use them to say something only you could say: what you’re best at, the kind of problem you solve, and the evidence for it.

Here’s what that looks like in practice. This is an invented example for an operations manager applying to a regional distributor.

Before: “Dynamic, results-driven operations professional with a proven track record of delivering in fast-paced environments.”

After: “Operations manager with eight years in food distribution, known for fixing late-delivery problems without adding cost. Cut missed deliveries from 9% to 2% across a 40-vehicle fleet, and keen to bring the same approach to a growing regional distributor.”

The second version works because it does four things:

• It says who you are in plain terms.
• It names what you’re known for.
• It backs that up with one piece of evidence.
• It points towards what you’d do for this employer.

Try writing yours in that order, using your own numbers and your own target role.

2. Treating applications as the whole strategy

Applying for advertised roles is a perfectly good way to find work. The mistake is making it the only thing you do. Most people job hunting spend nearly all their time on applications, because it feels productive: you can watch the number climb, and that creates a sense of momentum.

The better approach is to combine the two. Apply for roles that genuinely fit, with a CV tailored to each one, and alongside that, talk to people. Contact someone who works at a company you like. Ask a former colleague what they’ve heard. Tell your network what you’re looking for. A targeted application backed by a conversation, or a connection who can put in a good word, will usually be noticed more than one that arrives on its own among hundreds.

If your week is entirely applications and no conversations, you’re only using half of what’s available.

3. CV mistakes that hide the thread running through your career

Many CVs read as a list of jobs. Each role was fine, but nothing connects them. So when the interview starts, the candidate can’t say in a sentence what makes them different, because the CV never worked that out.

Before any interview, you should be able to answer: “What is the one thing I’d want this panel to remember about me?” If your CV doesn’t point to that answer, the interview will drift, and you’ll sound like every other capable candidate.

4. CV mistakes: focusing on your past rather than the employer’s future

Most CVs describe what the person did. Employers are asking something different: what will you do for us?

Your history matters, but only as proof. The strongest CVs use past achievements to show what the person will bring to this employer next. The weakest are a record of where you’ve been.

How to fix these CV mistakes and improve your job search

• Replace the generic profile with two or three sentences specific to you and the role, using the four-part structure above.
• Combine targeted applications with conversations with real people.
• Find your thread: the single story that connects your experience and makes you the obvious choice.
• Rewrite your CV around the employer’s future, using your past as evidence.
• If you’re recruiting, Ad Talent’s recruitment advertising packages can help you get your vacancy in front of relevant candidates.

Why this matters to employers and recruiters too

A candidate who has done this work is easier to assess. Their CV is clear, they interview well, and the person reviewing them can see quickly why they fit. That means better shortlists and fewer wasted interviews. For the candidate, it usually means a shorter gap between jobs, or a move into a role they’ll want to stay in, rather than one they took out of desperation.

Want help with your CV, LinkedIn profile or interview preparation?

If you’d like guidance on getting these things right, I offer career coaching covering CVs, LinkedIn profiles and interview preparation. I’m independent of Ad Talent, and you’re welcome to get in touch directly.

Email: alex@patientmind.co.uk
Phone: 0775 382 6096
Website: www.patientmind.co.uk

About the author: Alex Patient is the founder of PatientMind, an executive and leadership coaching practice. He helps professionals sharpen their CVs, build their networks and prepare for interviews, drawing on senior leadership experience at NatWest and the Financial Conduct Authority.