The Most Common Resume Mistakes

In normal economic times the average number of resumes an employer or recruiter receives could be anywhere from 50 to 250, depending on the position. In tough economic times that number could easily be multiplied by four. Your resume must stand out from the crowd if you want it to be noticed. It must highlight your background, skills and qualifications and reflect your professionalism if it is going to stand out from the others. Here are some things to keep in mind before you hit the “send” button.

Being Too Verbose – There are rules of thumb when it comes to what is the proper length of a resume. If you are an executive then three pages should be enough, managers should keep it to two pages and one page is plenty for entry level positions. DO NOT try and use small fonts just to fit it all in the required number of pages. Be concise, use short sentences and bullets points and maintain lots of white space on your pages.

Professional Format – We’ve all heard you can’t judge a book by it’s cover…well when it comes to reviewing resumes en masse that rule no longer applies. If your resume has typos, mistakes in grammar, or the layout is sloppy you can be assured that it will be deleted, or filed under “G” for garbage. The layout must be attractive, easy to read, highlight your soft and hard skills in the first 1/3 of the page and compel the reader to add you to the short list.

Achievements vs. Responsibilities – All too often resumes become a cut-and-paste of the employee’s job description. Lets think about this; do employers what to know what you did…or how well you did it? Having lots of responsibilities means nothing if you didn’t do a good job. So briefly summarize your responsibilities and then list your accomplishments. When listing your accomplishment it is important to quantify them whenever possible. Employers like to see measureable improvement.

Blow Your Own Horn – It can be difficult to say nice things about yourself but when crafting your resume don’t be modest. Many people tend to understate their qualifications and hope that potential employers will assume that they have the required skills to do the job or will ask the necessary questions once in the interview. Wrong! If you haven’t highlighted your accomplishments and value to the company from the get-go, you won’t make the interview and of course won’t get a chance to be asked the questions.

Quantify Tenure Carefully – Blow your own horn when it comes to highlighting skills but be careful when using number of years to sell your experience. It may not seem fair but in the real world some employers and recruiters will pass you over for a younger candidate. A good recruiter or HR professional can easily deduce how much experience you have but you only want them to do this after you’ve dazzled them with your qualifications and experience. It’s OK to be proud of your vast knowledge just don’t lead with it and make it a key point.

Don’t Shout In Your Resume – Excessive use of capitals means you’re shouting and nobody likes to be shouted at. Think of that person who capitalizes their emails; it’s annoying and hard to read. If it’s harder to read then it’s easier NOT to read

Irrelevant Information – Never include personal information such as age, gender, race or family matters. At one time it was a common practice to include interests and hobbies; that custom no longer applies today. Additionally, references should only be provided once they are asked for. Stick to applicable business information only.

What does all this tell you? When it comes to resumes you only get one chance to make a first impression! So pay attention to the above and make YOUR resume count!



By TwitterButtons.com