Claiming you’re a hard worker could stop you getting a job

 

Unimaginative clichés on your CV could be stopping you getting a job. 

A new study says claiming you’re a “a hard worker” and “I work well under pressure” actually hinder your chance of landing that dream career.

Commissioned by the New College of Humanities, the study lists the top 10 overused phrases most likely to make employers bin a CV.

The survey also lists recruiters’ other biggest hates, with spelling and grammatical errors causing business owners the most stress, aggravating 59 per cent of respondents.

Also topping the list are casual email sign offs such as “cheers” (50 per cent), use of emojis and cringe worthy quotes (39 per cent).

Two thirds of CVs are discarded within three minutes. A quarter of those surveyed even revealed they make an initial decision on the majority of applications in less than 60 seconds.

Childish emails come across as unprofessional – the majority of respondents said they were sick to death of underscores and kisses.

With 400,000 graduates having flooded the job market this summer, a third of candidates surveyed have applied for five roles without getting a response, while nine per cent haven’t heard back after sending more than 50 applications.

The competitive nature of today’s job market means many hopefuls are happy to bend the truth in their applications. One in 12 admitted to fabricating years of their employment history, while one in 20 even lied about the position they used to hold.

Swatee Jasoria, Director of Professional Development at New College of the Humanities, said: “There is clearly an art to writing a great CV, and we want our students to stand out from the crowd where the competition for graduate jobs is still high despite a recovering economy.”