Some Resume Mistakes that you Must Avoid

And yet you find that though it’s been weeks since you sent out copies, your resume has been unable to get you an interview for that job you badly wanted. Why?

Too Many Mistakes: You must ensure your resume has no typographical errors. In a document that is not supposed to have even typographical errors, imagine the reactions that can be caused by mistakes of a nature that reflect carelessness or a lack of detail in the applicant.

Ineffective Objective or Profile: The aim of a profile is to outline your professional profile. It is not an opportunity to sell your soft skills. Do not make vague statements such as ‘generally liked by everyone.’ Being likeable is an advantage to your profile, but you must be professionally qualified for the job as well!

Be Detailed: Make sure you provide relevant details. Don’t use abbreviations or jargon with the assumption that the person reading your resume will be aware of those particular concepts. Similarly, write full names and locations for the companies where you have worked, even if it is a highly well-known organization.

Generic Resume: If you are sending the same type of resume for all positions then that by itself is a mistake. Even if you are not looking at switching careers, it makes sense to tailor your resume for each position. This conveys your interest in the position as well as the company and could help swing the vote in your favor.

Personal Information: Technically, it does not matter much to a recruiter whether you’ve just gotten into a relationship or gotten out of one. Your age, gender and relationship status does not tell a potential employer much about whether or not you are a good worker. Try to keep these off the resume and focus on transferable skills instead.

Hobbies and Interests: This is highly debatable. You may be very fond of organizing barbecues on holidays, but it doesn’t help your resume, unless you are looking at related positions. Keep general areas like cooking, entertaining or playing the guitar off your resume.

Long Winded Descriptions: Your job responsibilities should be edited to retain all facts without sounding like a story-telling session. Trim lengthy descriptions, particularly from very old jobs. Trim entire jobs where you feel they are no longer valid; such as your high school front desk position, ten years after you quit it.

Your Resume is Cluttered: Like it or not, a cluttered resume could paint you as someone who is not too organized even when it comes to as vital a document as your resume. Revise your resume so that it looks neat and not too ‘busy’ or full of text.

Over the Top Language: Stay as true to your real-life achievements as possible. If you have resolved a major problem, steer clear of painting a picture that makes you out to be a superhero or some such.

Apparent Lack of Interest: Your resume should introduce you as a person who is enthusiastic at least about the position you have currently applied to. Do not use passive language in your resume. Similarly, steer clear of making generalized statements such as ‘Managed overall responsibility for the operation.’ Instead, make definitive statements about what your role is or has been.

You can read up more about common resume mistakes, how to avoid them and create winning resumes at Preferred Resumes.