Ten Resume Mistakes to Avoid
Whether youve been downsized, are looking for a career change or are just starting out, your resume speaks volumes about you. If your resume doesnt make it past the first cut, youre doomed; no matter how qualified you are. Below are ten common mistakes to avoid when putting your resume together. Remember, you only get one chance to make a good first impression.
1. Multiple pages You need to be concise. Keep it to one page and one page only. If you cant highlight your talents on one page, youre giving the message that you are unorganized and tend to go on and on.
2. Fancy paper If your skills dont speak for themselves, then your fancy paper isnt going to make a bit of difference.
3. Fancy font Same as above. Dont try to set yourself apart with a different font on your resume. Set yourself apart by being uniquely qualified.
4. Irrelevant info No one really cares that you were a singing waiter if youre applying for an accountant job.
5. Outdated information Does it matter than you had a newspaper route and were on the high school cheerleading squad 24 years ago? No, not in the least. Leave it off.
6. Typos and misspellings You would think this is an obvious one, but youd be amazed at the number of resumes received with big blaring mistakes.
7. Falsified information Greatly elaborated credentials are the same as lies. Do not list diplomas, certifications, affiliations or awards that you did not earn. Just dont do it. Itll come back to bite you in the butt.
8. Attachments At the resume stage do not send any attachments, whatsoever. If you are granted an interview, at that time you could bring in whatever it is youre so hot to get into the selecting officials hands. The person accepting the resumes will likely just throw it in the round file.
9. Elaborating too much Place of employment, job title and brief, very brief description of job responsibilities are all you need. Dont complete a whole paragraph for each job youve held.
10. No cover letter Writing a good cover letter is a bit of an art. However, any cover letter is better than none. Just keep the same principles in mind with your letter: Brevity, relevant and free from typos.
If you can avoid these simple ten resume mistakes, youre more than half way there to getting an interview. Once you have your foot in the door you can really shine for the boss. If you dont make it past the first cut, due to any of the above fatal mistakes, your beautiful resume will be used to wipe up coffee spills or will be added to the recycle pile! Dont let that happen to you.