To ask for the biggest CV fails you've come across?

[Kidulthood2027]

Have just realised I've been sending off a CV with a sentence that reads "I undertook regular security checks of the hotel during evening shits." I had meant to say "shifts". I thought I had proofread the CV thoroughly before sending it off, but clearly not enough. I was wondering why I was receiving so little interest for basic retail/food service jobs. Absolutely mortified. Any stories to make me feel better? Can be from you or from CVs you have reviewed during your working life.

I once received a cv from an applicant for a junior office administrator role and his opening line was “I really need a job as I got my girlfriend pregnant”.
I did feel a pang of sympathy for him but oh dear…

An application for a head of English addressed to 'The Principle'.

"Was giving it big about how much she loved White Stuff and demonstrating her company knowledge, to then wonder why she didn't hear anything as ticked all the boxes, then she realised she had actually applied for the White Company!"

Someone I know turned up for an interview at a women's sex shop named "Shh" and was confused to find they knew nothing about it
Eventually she worked out that she actually supposed to be interviewing at a Kebab restaurant named "Shish".
She'd applied for both and was offered the interview over the phone.
She had to turn up for the interview with the Kebab place dressed in the outfit she'd picked out for the sex shop.
She didn't get the job .

Hobbies can reveal - or be interpreted as revealing - socieoeconomic background and various protected characteristics. The assumptions made about someone mentioning riding and lacrosse will not be the same as those about someone who lists boxing and rap.

Even if they don't give away specifics, including them can encourage cultural uniformity and employing PLU rather than recruiting purely on skills and experience.

Yes lovey I did! It was an error caused by being in a hurry to catch the post, having been distracted by the phone back in the olden days of paper applications. I did get the job, taught a major subject up to A level and got in trouble with the English lot who said we were more strict on spelling than they were.

Early 2000s. Two young blokes came into our office and handed their CVs in for the same job. The CVs were completely identical, apart from the names! Obviously there was one person reviewing all the applications, so I don't understand how they thought we wouldn't notice!

Yes, I can see that, but it would only be an issue if it was compulsory to include hobbies and interests, surely?

Just remembered one more. A CV from a young man whose contact email address was "[email protected]".

Not a CV one but something I read at work today. Email about a new till spit that is coming to push people to use a loyalty card.

'It will read "You could of saved XXX blah blah"'

I really really hope it doesnt actually say that, and I am mortified for the person who wrote the email as it was sent as a full company document!

it would only be an issue if it was compulsory to include hobbies and interests, surely?

If they are optional, people can still gain unfair advantage by including them.

Imagine 2 people apply to a company known to be somewhat stuffy, sexist and elitist: one puts down polo and member of the Garrick, the other leaves the optional field blank. Is the privately educated man more likely to get an interview than the woman with equal experience and qualifications who went to state school?

People will put anything on their CV that makes them stand out from the pack.
This can't be news to you?

An old friend of mine was a very funny charming guy, he was a bit marmite and a big personality, but his CV had nothing to reflect this and he was applying to big corporations so knew he wouldn't make it past the first round. So made up ridiculous hobbies and interests and usually one a bit shocking that made you wonder if you misunderstood. Like: gin tasting, taxidermy and dogging. He got called for lots of interviews, people thought I just need to meet this guy. At interviews he straight away owned up to it and apologised for the lie but he really wanted this opportunity and thought it was a good way to get their attention etc, he really just liked drinking in the pub with his mates. It worked, he got offered a few jobs.

In an interview for a visitor attraction I asked a candidate what they would do to increase footfall. They kept talking about football.

Not mine but when I was shortlisting for a very specialised health care professional/rehab physio position, we had an applicant who was neither a qualified HCP nor had any relevant experience at all. In fact he was a grave digger.

When I applied for my first job, way back when a letter would do, before even CV's, I didn't sign the letter. Got an interview for a PO counter job but he'd only asked me in to say "what a way to go about applying for a job"

Once got one where the cover letter was a single line that invited me to check the candidate's Instagram and see whether our company might 'fit with my vibe'.

Another memorable one came with the cover letter and cv both in pdf format in 8pt Edwardian script bold. To this day I have no idea what either actually said.

My favourite was from a candidate who sent 7 pages and 4 photographs of himself in different hats. The 7 pages was a slight surprise from a new graduate... but 1 entire page was a complete list of all the VIPs he had served in a restaurant over the summer - the biggest name being the local mayor. (The job he was applying for was for a research position not a restaurant).

How nasty is that?

I am not sure it is. Presumably she wasnt getting any interviews at all, so hopefully came away from it with some useful information about how to better apply for jobs and be more successful.

Unless it was done just to take the piss and call her an idiot of course, in which case yes it was nasty.

I read it as a mistake, rather than her not actually understanding that a letter should be signed.

@ThisHumanBean it really made me laugh too! But I got a blank look from her when I pointed it out by saying "So, you like to do your dog, do you? I am sure that's illegal?"

@TruthorDie nope! In her forties.

Where did you see that @HaventGotAScoob ? I've been using PDF only because of advice saying ATS scanners can't always accurately read Word docs e.g.:
https://www.jobscan.co/blog/resume-pdf-vs-word/

Hope all my applications haven't been auto rejected!

We did get a memorable CV at one point where the prospective candidate stated “I thieve in a pressured environment.” I presume that was an autocorrect of a misspelling of “thrive”, and hopefully not an honest admission.

😂

I work in an industry where everyone dresses casually most of the time. I once advertised for an entry level short term freelance job and got hundreds of CVs.

One of them stood out because her default email avatar showed her in so few clothes she may as well have been in her pants. It was deeply inappropriate, not just a low cut top.

I assumed she had inadvertently sent the email from a personal / private account she didn’t usually use for work. Easily done. I almost told her because the CV itself was OK, and it’s a male dominated industry. I’ve done well because some excellent women in positions of power supported me well at the right times, often with very direct feedback, and i try and return the favour to the next generation when I can.

But I was very busy so never did it, then decided it was too late and would be a bit weird, so I moved on.

Imagine the sigh of relief I heaved four months later when she appeared in a major London newspaper claiming she had got a new freelance gig and been sent straight home for wearing inappropriate clothes. Believe me, this is quite an achievement in my industry… she was claiming it was a normal white blouse and it was gender discrimination because she had big boobs.

i think it was probably the blouse she had on in her avatar. Jeez. Lucky escape. If I had emailed to mention the avatar thing it would likely have been me in the press. But I still can’t believe anyone would think it was OK for anu professional environment.

😂😂😂 omg classic