Common Mistakes in Writing a CV

The usual failures are a vague career objective, education listed oldest first, sentences where notes belong, an unprofessional email address, and no dates against qualifications. In an exam answer add a sixth: forgetting that a CV question usually wants a covering letter in front of it.

The format

A vague career objective

The first line read and the most often wasted. To build a bright career in a reputed organisation appears in a large share of CVs, which is exactly why it conveys nothing. Name the role and the kind of organisation instead.

Education listed oldest first

Qualifications and experience both run newest first. A CV that begins with SSC and works upwards makes a reader search for the current position, and in an exam it costs the structure mark directly.

Sentences where notes belong

A CV records facts in note form. Writing I completed my HSC from Dhaka College in 2025 instead of the tabulated line is the commonest register error, and it usually means the candidate has carried the covering letter's voice into the CV.

• ✗ I have passed my HSC examination with GPA 4.83.
• ✓ HSC, Science, Dhaka College, Dhaka Board, 2025, GPA 4.83

Missing dates, boards and results

Every qualification needs its institution, its board or university, its year and its result. A line missing any of the four is incomplete, and in Bangladesh the board matters as much as the school.

Four more that cost marks

• An unprofessional email address. Invent something plain in an exam — [email protected].
• No covering letter when the question asked for an application with a CV.
• “References available on request” where the question wants a CV — supply two named referees.
• Inconsistency between letter and CV — different years, institutions or durations in the two documents.

Model answer

One section, before and after

Before

Educational Background: I passed my SSC examination in 2019 from Nasirabad Government High School and obtained GPA 4.94. After that I completed HSC in 2021 from Chittagong College with GPA 4.75. Recently I have completed my BBA degree from the University of Chittagong.

What is wrong with it

It is written in sentences rather than notes, it runs oldest to newest, it uses the first person throughout, the BBA line has no year and no result, and no board is given for either school qualification. Five errors in one paragraph, and none of them concern the facts.

After

Academic Qualifications: — then, on separate lines: BBA in Accounting, University of Chittagong, 2026, CGPA 3.48 · HSC, Commerce, Chittagong College, Chattogram Board, 2021, GPA 4.75 · SSC, Commerce, Nasirabad Government High School, Chattogram Board, 2019, GPA 4.94

What changed

Notes replaced sentences, the order reversed, the first person disappeared, and every line now carries institution, board or university, year and result. The facts are identical; only the form changed, and the form is what was being marked.

What earns and loses marks

• 🚨 Newest first, in both qualifications and experience.
• Notes, not sentences — and no “I” anywhere in the CV.
• Every qualification needs institution, board, year and result.
• Supply two named referees when a CV is asked for; do not write “available on request”.
• Decide the invented facts once and keep the letter and the CV in agreement.

Mistakes to avoid

• ✗ I passed my SSC examination in 2019 and obtained GPA 4.94. ✓ SSC, Commerce, Nasirabad Government High School, Chattogram Board, 2019, GPA 4.94
• ✗ [email protected] ✓ [email protected] — invent a plain address in an exam answer