Top Five Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Top Five Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Perhaps the single, most perilous mistake people make with regard to resumes is going amateur when they should go pro. But why go pro, you ask? Because resumes are the gateway to great employment prospects and ultimately professional success. And making a great first impression is vital.

Your resume is the first glimpse that your employers get of you. Send a well-written and neatly compiled one and they’ll be interested in taking it forward. Send a poorly-written or chaotic one and they’ll waste no time in moving on to the next applicant.

Since professional resume writers are well, professionals, they know how to nail that mega-important first impression and guarantee you an initial response. You can navigate the interview process after that and land your dream job! How easy was that?

The need for engaging in professional resume writing becomes more apparent when you consider the overall impact of an attractive resume. Not only does it get you shortlisted for interviews and reduces the total time to land an offer, but also enhances your starting offer and, in fact, the overall pay range.

However, this does not mean you just cannot prepare your own resume if that is something you really want to do. With a lot of focus and a little bit of creativity, you can create a compelling resume that employers can’t pass up.

Be sure to avoid the following mistakes:

•  Making typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical blunders

 Typos are the number one resume mistake candidates make, says Laszlo Bock, the senior VP of People Operations at Google, via his September 2014 LinkedIn post. Ensure you have the Spell Check function turned on while writing. In addition, proofread the document immediately after you’re done to make sure it’s free of other mistakes pertaining to spelling or language.

A good idea is to read it out loud or to place your finger on each word as you read. Then, revisit your resume after an hour or two and recheck contents. Mail them to a friend or a coach and ask them to proofread it as well.

•  Being irrelevant

Everything you include in the resume should be relevant to the key job requirements listed by the employer. The career objectives and career summary portions of your resume should be laser-focused on the job requirements. Use the same keywords as used by the employer. If your key qualifications and professional assets do not match the posted job, you can consider leaving them out altogether. Focus instead on what is relevant.

•  Being boring

How many words do you have on your resume? How many pages does it roll into? A good rule of thumb if to stick to a resume/ CV that is no more then 3-4 pages in length depending on your years of experience. This will drive home your ability to prioritise, synthesize and convey important information easily. Also, ensure you begin with a hard-hitting statement when leading into description paragraphs.

•  Listing duties and not accomplishments

 Don’t just copy the job description from your previous jobs. Don’t write about mundane duties and responsibilities you performed. Talk about your accomplishments instead. Give details about how you, in particular, add value to a certain job position – this essentially tells employers why they must hire you over other applicants.

A good idea is to quantify accomplishments wherever possible. However, ensure you don’t breach the confidentiality of your current or previous employer or client. Executives who read your resume may end up labeling you untrustworthy.

•  Under or overdoing the formatting

 Content matters, of course. But so does the presentation. A neatly-formatted resume will stand up and radiate pleasantness. However, you don’t want to overdo it. When in doubt, just stick to plain formatting with the use of Bold, Italics and bullet points wherever relevant. It is also a good idea to view the resume in different environments (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, email preview, PDF) and ensures it renders well in all.

 Resumes To You specializes in drafting up smart, well-written and neatly-formatted resumes that are crisp, focused and highly-targeted. Get in touch to unlock the door to better employment prospects today!