Common Mistakes In CVs And Cover Letters-Part 1

Adler Talent Solutions is a top non-tech recruitment agency in Ahmedabad  providing recruitment solutions and customized HR services,for the past few years, we have been continuously recruiting and hiring candidates across varied fields, with all being said, we highly feel the need to educate the general mass as to what are the common mistakes that we come across and how it can be prevented.

We have listed a few below:

Failure to follow instructions/poor attention to detail

Follow the firm’s application details and method of selection.  

For example, if the instructions are a CV (two pages maximum) plus a one page cover letter addressed to a specific person, then prepare a CV (two pages maximum) plus a one page cover addressed to the specific person.

If the firm’s minimum qualification is a “2:1 degree in any discipline”,do not apply if you achieved a 2:2 or 3rd without talking to the law firm/recruitment consultant first to ask their advice.

Incorrect sign-off

We often see cover letters beginning with “Dear Sir/Madam” and ending with “Yours sincerely”.  This is wrong. “Yours sincerely” is only the correct sign-off where you are writing to a specific person.  If you don’t know who you are writing to, the correct sign-off is “Yours faithfully”.

Most law firms will give instructions to write to a specific person; if that is the case, the sign-off you should use is “Yours sincerely”.  The “sincerely” part does not need to be capitalized.

Incorrect use of capital letters

You only need to use a capital letter in certain circumstances, for example:

•           At the beginning of a sentence

•           For any proper noun – which is a specific person, place or organisation

•           In abbreviations, e.g. United Kingdom becomes UK

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Learn the correct use of apostrophes.  Some of the most common mistakes we see on CVs and cover letters are:

• It’s and its. “It’s” is a contraction for “it is” or “it has”. “Its” is used to indicate possession.

• A levels and GCSEs. It is incorrect to write “A level’s” or “GCSE’s”.

• Your and you’re. “Your” indicates possession. “You’re” is a contraction of the words “you are”.

These were a few of the many errors, there are more grievous errors which we have taken care of in the next blog to follow. Keep reading our blogs, and if you want any further assistance contact us.

Non Tech HR Service Provider Company in Ahmedabad