10 most common resume mistakes
At GrandResume.com we receive hundreds of resumes from our clients every week. Sometimes we receive resumes from people who want to work for us – but that’s another story. We have gathered feedback from our writers to understand what are the most typical mistakes that people do on their resumes. Here they are.1. Lacks of focus
Most of the resumes we receive are too generic. It’s very hard to tell which position the candidate that wrote the resume is trying to apply for. Remember, hiring managers will spend 2.5 to 20 seconds on your resume. This is how much time you have to convince them that you are the right candidate for that position. Take effort to tailor your resume to a particular vacancy. Hiring managers like it when a resume customized for the open position.
The best way to focus your resume is through clearly stating the objective. It should be simple and straightforward and contain either the title of the position you’re applying or a 7-10 word sentence describing what value you will bring to the company.
2. Listing duties, not accomplishments
Don’t turn your resume into a boring list of places you worked at. HR managers are humans too! Your resume should consist of high-impact accomplishments statements. These accomplishments will you’re your qualifications.
Try to avoid phrases like “Duties included,” or “Responsibilities included,” or “Was in charge of”. That’s boring! Today most resumes are placed into keyword-searchable databases, you won’t find employers searching resumes for words like “responsibilities,” “duties,” or “responsible for.”
Focus on achievements that make you stand out from the rest of the candidates. In each job, what special things did you do to set yourself apart? How did you do the job better than anyone else? Your resume should indicate how your accomplishments helped your previous employers to: make/save money, improve workflow, solve a problem, be more competitive, expand the business, gain new clients, etc.
10 most common resume mistakes
3. Wrong order of resume items
The order of items on your resume may seem like an insignificant detail. However, it is important to hiring managers. You should list your jobs in this order: Title/position, name of employer, city/state of employer, dates of employment.
Education follows the same principle; thus, the preferred order for listing your education is: Name of degree in name of major, name of university, city/state of university, graduation year, followed by peripheral information, such as minor and GPA. If you haven’t graduated yet, list your information the same way.
4. Unnecessary information
Age discrimination is a reality. Many employers may think you’re too expensive if you list too much experience on your resume. If you graduate more than 15 years ago, try not to include it in your resume. Focus on more recent trainings you received.
5. Important skills not emphasized
Many job-seekers, even when applying to technology related position tend to put “Computer Skills” section at the bottom of their resumes. If computer skills are relevant to your field, list them in your Summary or Profile section. That way, they’ll catch the reader’s eye in the first third of your resume.
Similarly if language and international-business skills are important in the type of job you seek, list them in your Summary or Profile section, not at the end of your resume.
6. Weak format
Bulleted style makes your resume more reader-friendly. According to studies use of bulletsare the 2nd-highest ranked preference by employers, and density of type (paragraphs rather than bullet points) was ranked highly as a factor that would inspire employers to discard a resume.
7. Standard templates
Using Microsoft Word template for your resume is fine, but remember: you will be competing with thousands other candidates doing the same thing. Your resume simply won’t stand out. Instead you will portray yourself as someone devoid of imagination.
8. Absence of keywords
Keywords in job hunting are big these days. Thanks to the advancements in the technology employers more and more rely on keywords to find the job candidates. Today, more than 80 percent of resumes are searched for job-specific keywords.
9. References in the resume
Never listed specific references directly on your resume. List them on a separate sheet, and even then, submit them only when specifically requested by an employer.
According to Even the phrase, “References: Available upon request,” is highly optional because it is a given that you will provide references upon request. If you couldn’t, you would have no business looking for a job. The line can serve the purpose of signaling: “This is the end of my resume,” but if you are trying to conserve space, leave it off.
10. Insufficient technical testing
In the era of Macs, PCs, Linuxs and all kinds of office applications you resume may easily loose all its ‘coolness’ once it is opened in the application it wasn’t meant for. That is why, when formatting your resume, make sure the elements in the file will display correctly on other machines. Avoid using fancy backgrounds, rare fonts or complicated formatting.
If you can, see what your resume looks like on other commonly used systems. Print it out.
