We've all seen them at sometime or other haven't we? The CV or Resume that looks as if it was discovered along with the dead sea scrolls. Unfortunately, like the flu there is a lot of that type of thing about. What are the major mistakes to be avoided that would stop you getting an interview?

Avoid those ghastly plastic covers, especially if accompanied by fancy bindings. Not only do they put people off, they are extremely difficult to deal with in the busy office of a recruitment consultant or company.

Don't use low quality or coloured paper. Coloured paper smacks of desperation and low quality copy paper just gives the impression that you do not have a very high impression either of yourself or the reader.

Make sure it is typed in an easy to read typeface. Yes, believe it or not some documents are hand written!

Use bullet points and bold type for the things you would like to emphasise and spacing. Also use italics in the parts where you describe your achievements. This makes the best parts (your achievements) stand out and draw the reader's attention.

Don't include details of references. This is unnecessary as any potential employer would want to meet you first and consider you as a viable candidate before taking up references.

Leave lots of white space if you can. This not only looks better, it helps your reader who may well want to make notes.

Use a font size of 11 or above. No-one likes to squint at a document where someone has tried to cram as much information in as possible.

Don't use photographs, unless you have film star looks. You may be a very companionable and amenable person who would be a great asset to the organisation, but if (well we all know what we think of our passport photos).

To find out more about professional cv writing or to subscribe to my 5 day job hunting mini course, just go to http://www.careers-advisor.com.