Could Achievement Amnesia Cost you Your Next job?

3 months ago 25th Jun 12:54

- 73% of Recruiters Reject Jobseekers who Forget Workplace

Achievements on CVs

LONDON, 24th June 2008: A failure to recall a history of workplace achievements on CVs is preventing people securing the jobs they want, and even leading some applicants to receive below market-rate salaries, according to research released today by iProfile.org.

The research, based on interviews with 1,000 jobseekers and 200 employers, showed that employers consider an up-to-date and relevant list of specific work-based achievements to be one of the most important factors in their recruitment decisions.

Three quarters (73%) said they have rejected candidates for interviews due to vague CVs with an absence of relevant achievements. And the majority of employers (51%) said that "were applicants to effectively sell their existing achievements on CVs, they could demand starting salaries of 5% or higher". Nearly a quarter (24%) said applicants could demand an increase of 15%. The latter represents an increase of over GBP3,300 on the average British salary of GBP22,000.

According to the research http://www.iprofile.org/Career-Advice , jobseekers tend to focus on listing general responsibilities rather than their own personal achievements on their resumes. It suggests that they are not necessarily lacking in achievements to include but, instead, are unable to recall them when it matters - a symptom it dubs 'Achievement Amnesia'.

It also shows that CVs are usually written in a rush, with 71% taking two hours or less to write it and 79% of applicants saying they only write CVs when actually looking for a position. As a result, a third (32%) said they weren't confident they could recall useful achievements more than six months old and nearly another third (28%) couldn't recall those more than 18 months old.

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