What's Achievement Amnesia?

I was sent some research by iProfile.org that show the effect of poor CVs on the recruitment process. 

The report shows that "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

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 £3,300 on the average British salary of £22,000.

According to the research, 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. Perhaps just as worryingly, the majority of candidates appear to spend a disproportionate amount of time making their CV stand out with creative designs (36%) – despite the fact most employers and recruitment agencies don’t think such embellishments are important.

A full version of the report is available to download from iProfile’s Career Advice section.