Common Resume Mistakes To Avoid
The first step to obtaining a job is often submitting your r茅sum茅 and a cover letter. For many people, this is also the final step. Hiring managers use the r茅sum茅 process to weed out applicants, to decide whom to invite to the time-consuming interview. Of course, no r茅sum茅 will be flawless, but you should always try to avoid the common r茅sum茅 mistakes that will land your r茅sum茅 in the 鈥渄on鈥檛 call鈥� stack.
Limited Time: Keep in mind how little time the hiring manager will give your r茅sum茅. Most r茅sum茅s are read in 15 to 20 seconds. While this may not seem fair (you certainly have invested much more time in writing your r茅sum茅), think about it from the hiring manager鈥檚 perspective. They are likely to get fifty to a hundred (or more!) r茅sum茅s for any position. They simply don鈥檛 have time to closely read every line of every one. So they skim and sort. Your job is to craft a r茅sum茅 that will survive the skim and sort practice.
You do this by avoiding these ten common mistakes in r茅sum茅 writing:
10. Too Much Information
The most common r茅sum茅 mistake is to include too much information about yourself. Your r茅sum茅 should be one page, front side only. Yes, you are a complex person with many fascinating interests and a wide range of skills. But the hiring manager isn鈥檛 interested in getting to know you as a person; they want to know if you could benefit their company in a specific position.
In other words, unless your hobbies related directly to the position, don鈥檛 include them. This goes for previous jobs 鈥� it is OK to skip non-essential jobs but try to avoid gaps of time.
Use formatting techniques like bullets to keep your information to one page.
After you have included all of the essential information, if you have spare room on your r茅sum茅 page you can then include your interesting clubs and hobbies.
9. R茅sum茅 Template without Any Imagination
R茅sum茅 templates in modern word processing programs are wonderful. However, if you simply use their template without any changes, you are making a r茅sum茅 mistake.
After looking at thousands of r茅sum茅s each year, hiring managers know the templates and find them boring. So you should adjust the template 鈥� change the font, reorder the sections 鈥� and keep your r茅sum茅 in the 鈥渃all back鈥� pile.
From a business perspective, a standard r茅sum茅 template says that you either lack creativity or settle for average work. Neither of these is a message that you want to send to a prospective employer.
Your r茅sum茅 should look professional, and be tailored to the company to which you are applying. A manufacturing firm is unlikely to respond to a wild r茅sum茅 with graphics and multi-colored inks. A graphic design firm, on the other hand, might love it. On the whole, follow the English proverb 鈥渓ess is more鈥� 鈥� making moderate adjustments to the r茅sum茅 template without being too extreme.
8. Wrong Level of English
This is an especially dangerous r茅sum茅 mistake for non-native English speakers. Every good writer knows that you must connect to your audience by using the best language. For r茅sum茅s, this means language that is clear, precise and professional. A common r茅sum茅 mistake is to write in language that is either:
- Too casual
- Too technical
Too casual language means that you have included slang in your r茅sum茅. Avoid figurative language. Phrases like 鈥淚鈥檓 down with leadership skills鈥� or 鈥渕y results were off the chain鈥� have no place in a professional setting.
Too technical language means you have filled your r茅sum茅 with acronyms or other jargon that people use inside the industry. This is less dangerous than too casual language, as use of technical language demonstrates knowledge of the career field. However, you must remember that hiring managers, although they have a basic understanding of their company, may not know all the technical terms of their field. Remember that you are trying to start a conversation with the hiring manager, not the head of research and design. We recommend that you sprinkle only a few technical terms into your r茅sum茅. Acronyms are deadly; however, including any at all would be a r茅sum茅 mistake.
7. Wrong Contact Information
Sure, you鈥檙e probably thinking you would never make this r茅sum茅 mistake. After all, the point of a r茅sum茅 is to get the hiring manager to use the contact information. Don鈥檛 skip over this one! It happens surprisingly often.
Missing Contact information 鈥� Remember to include all of the following information on your r茅sum茅:
- Full legal name
- Full Mailing address
- Home phone number (with area and international codes)
- Cell phone number (with area and international codes)
- E-mail address
- Facebook profile name
- Personal website
Old Contact information 鈥� Often, the r茅sum茅 you鈥檙e writing is a revision of an old r茅sum茅. While people change their basic contact information rarely, you might have switched cell phone plans since you wrote that first r茅sum茅. It鈥檚 best to double check.
Inappropriate Contact Information 鈥� Maybe you had some silly fun creating your e-mail account when you were an adolescent. While 鈥渢echwarriorxxx鈥� is fun, it is not likely to get you a professional job; using 鈥渘eversober鈥� or 鈥渄ancesnaked鈥� is guaranteed to get your r茅sum茅 rejected. A simple way to avoid this r茅sum茅 mistake is to create a professional email account (jane.smith.83).
6. Ignoring technological skills
Almost every business is looking for people to help their company manage and thrive in the new age of online communication, instant access, and overwhelming information. Simply put, you, as a younger student/professional, are likely to know much more about online technology and culture than upper management. If your r茅sum茅 does not reflect your computer skills (office programs, design work, online research), you鈥檙e making a r茅sum茅 mistake.
There are many articles about creating a web portfolio to supplement your r茅sum茅. This is a great idea, but be moderate. You can overwhelm the hiring manager if your web portfolio is too cyber-crazy. As with everything, creating a clean, non-intimidating, professional image is vital.
5. Focus on responsibilities rather than results
Another common r茅sum茅 writing mistake is to focus on job descriptions rather than your actual accomplishments. Rather than simply listing your duties or responsibilities (鈥渄ata entry of claim information鈥�), you should write your successes (鈥渓owest error rate among data entry staff鈥�). You want to show that you鈥檝e succeeded in your jobs, not just that you had them.
Be as specific as you can. It is far more effective to give one excellent specific example (鈥渞eceived three letters commending my customer service鈥�) than a list of vague duties.
Another way to think about this is to focus on the verbs 鈥� what you did well in that position. Avoid the vague verbs that everyone uses, such as 鈥渕anaged鈥� or 鈥渟upervised鈥� 鈥� although sometimes you have to use them. The use of active, powerful verbs demonstrates that you are a hard worker, someone who achieves results.
4. No stats/data/quantified data
Numbers are the real language of business. A company or organization that wants to succeed will be data-driven, using real numbers to make evidence based decisions. A common r茅sum茅 writing mistake is to not provide any actual data in the r茅sum茅.
This works well with the points made in r茅sum茅 mistake #5. An excellent r茅sum茅 gives specific, useful information. Avoid vague positive language by using numbers and statistics. Replace 鈥渆xcellent team leader鈥� with 鈥�97% team satisfaction rate鈥� (as long as those numbers are accurate). Rather than 鈥渟old shoes,鈥� write 鈥渟old 12-20 pairs of shoes daily.鈥� Remember that there are multiple ways to present data; sometimes it鈥檚 stronger to provide 鈥減ercent growth鈥� rather than 鈥渘umber sold.鈥� Remember, hiring managers skim r茅sum茅s; numbers attract the eyes of the business professionals.
If your previous employers were not data-driven, you may not be able to include data. Don鈥檛 despair. No r茅sum茅 is perfect; your goal is to make fewer r茅sum茅 mistakes than your competition.
3. Burying most vital information below the top fold
The top fold is a term for the top one-third of a document. Your r茅sum茅 should be organized so that the most important information is in the 鈥渢op fold.鈥� Don鈥檛 make the r茅sum茅 writing mistake of burying your best information.
Because they spend so little time looking at your r茅sum茅, most hiring managers will only look at the top third of the page. That鈥檚 your window to convince them to keep reading. If they like the top third, then they鈥檒l read the rest of your r茅sum茅. If they like the full r茅sum茅, they鈥檒l move you into the 鈥渃all back鈥� stack.
This means your contact information (phone numbers, email) should be at the bottom of the r茅sum茅, because the hiring manager only needs information once they鈥檝e decided to contact you. (Of course, you should have your name at the very top.)
What should you place in the top fold?
- Key accomplishments that relate to the position
- Key skills that relate to the position
Most r茅sum茅s list work experience in reverse chronological order. This is the best way to highlight your skills and accomplishments quickly. You should then list the less essential/pertinent information as you move down the page. Of course, deciding what information is more or less important depends on the precise position you for which are aiming. People who always organize their r茅sum茅 the same way regardless of the desired job are making a r茅sum茅 writing mistake.
2. Typos and Grammar Mistakes
This is another obvious r茅sum茅 writing mistake. Of course you know that your r茅sum茅 should be grammatically correct. However, many people are weak on grammar and spelling; this may be especially true for people who are still learning English.
Do not rely exclusively on word processors to find and fix your typos and grammar mistakes. Many typos are valid words (you meant to say 鈥済ood鈥� and wrote 鈥渇ood鈥�). But including those typos in your r茅sum茅 shows a lack of attention to detail 鈥� a message you never want to send a prospective employer.
The best way to catch these mistakes is have a friend or family member review your r茅sum茅; bring in a fresh pair of eyes who will see what is actually on paper, rather than what you meant to put on the paper.
Whatever system you use, make certain you submit a grammatically perfect r茅sum茅 to your future employer; otherwise you鈥檙e making a huge r茅sum茅 writing mistake.
1. Generic Information
This is the most important and most common r茅sum茅 writing mistake. A weak r茅sum茅 is a generic r茅sum茅 designed for any and every position.
鈥淜now your audience鈥� is one of the basic mantras of communication. This is true of r茅sum茅 writing as well. You need to know the company to which you are applying; know their culture, know their products and services, and (most importantly) know their needs. If you understand those needs, you know how to present yourself as a solution. Your r茅sum茅 should answer the basic question every hiring manager is thinking: how can you benefit my company?
This means RESEARCH! You need to spend some time on the company website. Often you can find advertisements on the internet as well. You should certainly review the company鈥檚 mission and/or vision statement.
In your research, look for key words and phrases that you can include in your r茅sum茅. For instance, if the company鈥檚 mission statement talks about customer service, you should emphasize that in your r茅sum茅. Similarly, use key words from the job posting to show that you are the very best fit for their needs.
Most of all, be honest and moderate. If your r茅sum茅 is nothing but key words from the company鈥檚 website, the hiring manager will view you as manipulative and untrustworthy. Once again, 鈥渓ess is more.鈥�
If you could submit the same r茅sum茅 to a different position in the same company or to the same position in a different company, it is too generic and you are making a r茅sum茅 mistake.