Have you looked at your resume lately?
We’ve all done it–overlooked an error, omitted something crucial, or hit send without proofreading. YIKES!
Go ahead, pull up your resume, blow the dust off your keyboard and see if there is room for improvement. If you like, submit it for a Free Critique–it can’t hurt and might just help you land your dream job.
Avoid these common resume mistakes:
Bad Grammar
Time to pull out your high school grammar textbook and brush up on tenses and punctuation. Most people who read resumes for potential hires will toss them immediately for these types of mistakes. It indicates an inattention to detail and lack of motivation. Another important thing to consider here is avoiding the use of slang, abbreviated terms or jargon. This is especially true in regards to terms often used in texting–not appropriate for resumes or interacting with potential employers via email or text.
Typographical Errors
Proofread and then proofread a few more times. Have some other people you know, like friends and family, proofread it for you as well. It is really hard to catch every mistake in your own writing because you are too close to it. So reach out and get some extra pairs of eyes on it.
Fabricated Information
You know the old saying, “If you don’t lie, you don’t have to remember anything”? While you should be extremely capable of being able to talk about everything on your resume because it is all about you, you don’t want to lie on it and then get caught. If you really don’t know sign-language, don’t put it on there. You may be asked to demonstrate it and that would be extremely embarrassing. Don’t embellish either. If you worked at an internship for 6 months, don’t say it was a year. If you are the right fit for the job your real and true talents and experience will be enough.
Responsibilities versus Accomplishments
Most positions and roles are very similar to each other at different companies and believe it not, don’t make you appear special. Instead of listing your job responsibilities, highlight your actual achievements and outcomes that resulted directly from your involvement. Make sure explain what the significance of the results where to the company.
Irrelevant Experience
Update your resume on a regular basis and look it over before you attached it to each and every job application. If you have a job from ten years ago that doesn’t have anything to do with the position you are applying for than don’t include it.
Formatting Issues
No matter what program you use to create your resume, the formatting should be consistent. Check the following:
- Font type and size
- Indenting
- Bold or italicized words
Note: If you are sending your resume electronically save it as a PDF (once it is perfect) so that the formatting doesn’t accidentally change.
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