Submitting a resume or CV is a key move in securing any job - but there are also some key mistakes that can be made, particularly using cliches and other terminology that simply makes you appear like every other aspiring job applicant.

1. - First, avoid the cliches and zombie phrases that populate so many resumes.

Think about it - how often have you heard the terms . .

• Works well with all staff
• Team player
• Great Communicator
• Proven track record

So avoid the 'zombie phrases' - the robotic-sounding stuff that makes you appear just like every other job applicant.

2. - The second major resume mistake is to fail to explain the job change you're making.

Generally a CV or resume will not include this information, yet it is very much a top-of-mind issue for your potential employer.

What to do?

There are a couple of ways to do this. You can explain it in a 'framing statement' which explains the jobs you've held.

In doing so explain what the job was and how you came by it in the first place - putting it in context in terms of what you were doing.

Explain the business or firm and what it does, which puts a human context into the resume, giving it a story rather than just dates, facts and figures.

You're not leaving unanswered questions but explaining the nature of the legal work (or otherwise) that you did in a way that is free of jargon and clutter and cliche.

It is explaining who and what you are.

3 - Don't make the mistake of including too much detail that is simply irrelevant. Don't explain the obvious but do explain what you achieved and did and learnt.

4. - Proof read your resume and don't send it out with typos and mistakes. Simple to do but readily overlooked. You can do irreparable harm by simply failing to have a resume that is well presented and free of bad-looking and easily corrected typos and spelling errors.

You want your CV to sound human - to represent who and what you are, not to be another me-too type document that fails to identify the sort of person you are and the value you can bring to the firm.