Key takeaways
  • Remove personal details like religion, father's name and marital status.
  • Replace objectives with a short profile.
  • Show results with numbers, not duties.
  • Tailor the top third of your CV to each ad.

I review many CVs every week. The same twelve mistakes come up again and again, and most take minutes to fix.

The 12 mistakes

  1. Personal details. Religion, father's name, caste or marital status don't belong on a European CV. Anti discrimination laws such as the German General Equal Treatment Act exist for a reason.
  2. An objective statement. Write a two line profile instead.
  3. Duties instead of results. "Handled clients" says nothing. "Grew key accounts by 18%" does.
  4. Four pages. Two pages is the maximum for most roles.
  5. Every tool you ever touched. List what matches the ad.
  6. Designs that ATS can't read. Columns, icons and text in images break parsing.
  7. No location. Write your city and, if relevant, when you can relocate.
  8. Unexplained gaps. One line is enough.
  9. Inflated language levels. Interviewers test them.
  10. No LinkedIn link. Recruiters check it.
  11. Spelling mistakes in English. Run a spell check and ask someone to read it.
  12. The same CV for every job. Change at least the profile and the first bullet points.

A 20 minute fix

  1. Delete personal details and the objective. Add a profile in their place.
  2. Rewrite your top five bullets with results. Use numbers.
  3. Switch to a simple one column layout. Save as PDF.
  4. Compare with one ad. Make sure its main keywords appear in your CV.

Common questions

Is a photo a mistake?

Not in Germany, where it is optional and still common. In Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands, leave it out.

Should I include my 10th and 12th marks?

Usually not for experienced roles. For freshers, add them only if they are strong.

Is a two page CV too long for a fresher?

Yes, one page is better for freshers.

Free PDF: The European CV, cover letter and LinkedIn checklistDownload it free in under a minute, or send CV to @swapnil_in_germany on Instagram.

Sources

Written by Swapnil (Samadhan Mule)

I moved to Germany for my master's, collected more than 1,000 rejections, and then got multiple job offers within six months. I work in digital marketing in Germany and help international professionals get hired in Europe. Read my story.