5 CV Mistakes Students must avoid

Running Letsintern.com gives me the privilege of going through dozens of CV's everyday. I constantly come across some fatal errors, errors which leads to immediate rejections or a strong negative perception. This read is for fresher looking for jobs or students looking for internships but are applicable to all.

Mistake No.1: Naming your CV "resume.doc" is a clear turn off as it shows the candidate is not serious about his/her application or does not understand he difference between his desktop and mine. Own your CV, don't get lost in the crowd, make it easily searchable for your recruiter - neatly name it "First Name.Last Name.pdf". Also, avoid suffixes like "final", "latest", "ver2" etc.

Mistake No.2: There are things your recruiters wants to know upfront and things he doesn't. Your CV should cater to this. Your Religion, Father's name and caste are not required. Your Academics, Extra-Curricular's (Relevant), Achievements are of key interest. Please note: Drawing competition in Class VIII needs no mention on your CV. Keep it succinct, to the point and no more than 1 page. Respect your time and others.

Mistake No.3: Contact information is critical and needs clear mention. If we like your CV, we would like to get in touch with you. So your email address (the one you check everyday) and phone no. (personal cellphone please, not land-line) are as important on your CV as your name and age. This is as much personal information as you need to give, the rest is not required. Focus rest of the white space on points mentioned above. Lots of CV's miss out on this or have residential address but no email address.

Mistake No. 4: How difficult is to run a spell check ?? 2 out of 10 CV's seem to have a grammatical error or a spelling mistake. This is the document which is going to sell you, if you are not serious about this, there is little you will be serious about in life. Your chances of being taken seriously, are seriously minuscule.

Mistake No. 5: I write this last, because this is the most important. The objective statement - "I would like to contribute to the best of my ability and leverage my knowledge etc etc...." -  sounds cliche and is full of jargons. Want to make an impact - 15 words is the limit. A thought simply put. "I want to make money while doing what I enjoy" is a great objective statement and is what most people want to say,  so why not write it. This is bound to catch anyone's attention because it is honest, simple and straightforward. Be simple, be true and do not complicate this line to sound more "Corporate".

At the end its a reflection of your academics, experience, achievements and attitude. Make sure its reflects your best self across these parameters.

WT'F' Conversations Overheard

1. At a Restaurant.

19-20 year old girl, not skinny but not plump either, walks in and sits with her family.

Girl: I want Pineapple Juice.
Waiter: Anything else, Ma'am
Girl: Juice, fresh hai na ?? ( It's fresh juice, right??)
Waiter: No Ma'am, all juices are canned.
Girl: No, then cancel the juice. PAUSE
Waiter in anticipation of order of some other beverage/drink.
Girl: Bhaiya, Thumbs Up le aaya ( Get me thumbs up )

MY Reaction: Laughing my frigging  a** off.


2. At an ATM waiting line

Guy:  You look Frustrated
Girl: Yes! No! Somewhat!
Guy: Work?? Looking for a change in job??
Girl: No No..are you mad, job is great.
Guy: Uhmmm..
SILENCE
Girl: By the way...do you know of any marketing openings??

My Reaction: WTF!! Conversations like this only women can master.

3.  At McDonalds

Harayanvi Boy:  2 Burgers.
Mcdonald staff: Have it here or take away.
H. Boy: Nahin! Gadi Mein khanna hain ( I want to eat in my car)
Staff: Sure Sir. Here you go.
H. Boy opens the brown bag looks at the burgers inside, gives an amazed look to the satff boy. 
Sraff: Any problems sir
H.Boy: Paper plates nahin hain kya??