A woman revealed the one-minute adjustment she made to her CV that led to job offers rolling in.
Cerys Gardiner had a theory about why recruiters were turning down her application. She feared many employers were overlooking her career experience due to her age.
The 25-year-old is a marketing manager who has worked in the industry for six years. But as she is youthful, some wrongly assume she is inexperienced.
To combat this bias that some have, she decided to remove all traces of her age on her CV. And apparently, this minor tweak “absolutely changed the game” as she had nine interview requests within two weeks.
This was followed up by four job offers – so it’s worth following her advice if you are a young person who is struggling. It can also be handy for those who fear they are overlooked for being older than others in their industry.
Cerys, from the East Midlands, said: “I often receive feedback that I come across as mature and people have been shocked by my age and experience in the past.
“I was 23 applying for marketing manager roles and was conscious people may have had a negative bias against my abilities based on this.
“Although I had six years of industry experience, I had only graduated that year as I was studying for five years alongside my full-time job…
“I just can’t believe that in this day and age people are still holding age against anyone. I know people that will be twice my age and useless at what they do, and people that are younger than me that are incredible – and these companies should want to snap these people up.
“But we’re still caught up on age… and that narrative needs to go. Take your graduation year off your CV – it could be doing you more harm than it is good.”
Before submitting your CV, it’s also important to check that it is readable. Cerys recommends sticking to a traditional format instead of opting for “fancy designs” that can distract employers from the words on the page.
As well as this, she urges people to outline their key skills in simple bullet points that are easy to digest. Remove any detail that could draw attention away from the information too, such as photos of yourself.
Cerys added: “I also made sure to remove some elements of a CV which are often included, like a profile image, address details, and any dates that gave away my age as a young professional – like education years.”