There are many reasons why your CV or resume can be rejected. Some of the most common reasons are listed below:

The Initial Impression From Your CV - As statistics have shown, a potential employer looks at a CV for around 10-15 seconds before an impression is created in their mind as to the suitability of the individual for the job. This shows that unless you attract the attention of the reader, your chances of getting an interview will have been reduced straight away. You have to remember that a potential employer may have scores if not a hundred or more CVs to look at, and there may only be a limited time to analyse these CVs and create a shortlist. Therefore, you have to ensure that your CV or resume shows the reader that you match their requirements and that the reader is able to recognise that from your CV very easily.

The Length of Your CV - The best size for your CV is two pages of A4. For resumes, the best size is one page in length, and only use two pages if it cannot be avoided. You should only make CVs longer if it is specifically required from you to provide the potential employer with additional, or more detailed information.

The Way Your Information is Organised - If the potential employer is not able to follow your CV and locate relevant information they will most likely not bother to try any harder to find the information and instead just give up. This means that your CV or resume will be put on the rejected pile. You must organise and arrange your CV or resume in such a way that the potential employer will see what they are looking for more or less instantaneously. Avoid cramping too much information and make sure there is plenty of white space.

Your CV is Overwritten or Provides Too Little Information - Both of these should be avoided. Too much information in lengthy paragraphs makes it hard for the reader to find the relevant information. And on the other hand, not providing all the relevant details from your qualifications, career history and other experiences will leave the potential employer without anything to determine your suitability for th e job. You must first analyse the requirements for the job and then choose the most appropriate information from your skills audit to include within your CV or resume. This will ensure that you do provide enough information and only what is relevant.

Spelling Mistakes, Typos and Poor Grammar. - No matter how hard you look and check over your work, there always seems to be something that you have missed. Errors such as these can make you appear unprofessional and as someone who is careless. Therefore, you should always get somebody else to check your CV for grammatical errors.

Your CV Does Not Demonstrate Results of Achievements - Your CV or resume is your personal marketing tool. If you do not demonstrate past results and achievements to prove to the employer that they should employ you as opposed to others, then your CV or resume has failed. You need to clear state that you are suited for the job and then present evidence for that suitability. This is the objective behind your CV or resume.