Do You Have These Mistakes on Your Resume?

Nancy Anderson
Posted by in Career Advice


As a job applicant, you have just a few seconds to convince a hiring manager you have what it takes to succeed in an open position. Unfortunately, some applicants make serious resume mistakes that impact their credibility and make hiring managers think twice about scheduling an interview. If you are currently writing a resume, improve your chances of getting an interview by avoiding these common resume mistakes.

One of the most common resume mistakes is writing an objective. Putting an objective at the top of a resume used to be a way to capture the hiring manager's attention, but now it is nothing more than an outdated practice that can make you seem out of touch and unaware of what is happening in your industry. If your current resume has an objective, remove it and use the space for more important information.

If you have been using an outdated resume format, now is the time to switch to something more modern. Using an old-fashioned format is one of the most egregious resume mistakes because it might give recruiters the impression you don't keep yourself informed about what is happening in the professional world. The format you use should give hiring managers the impression you are organized and detail-oriented.

Before you send a resume to a potential employer, review it several times to make sure it does not have any grammatical errors, misplaced commas, typos or formatting errors. These resume mistakes can hurt your credibility and make potential employers think twice about hiring you, especially if you are applying for jobs requiring good judgment and attention to detail. It's difficult to proofread your own work, so have a trusted colleague review your resume if you're not sure you caught every error.

Many employers now use software to screen resumes and narrow down a large pool of applicants. You might be the perfect candidate for the job, but the hiring manager won't know that unless you include the right keywords in your resume. One of the most common resume mistakes is including generic keywords instead of keywords that relate specifically to the job opening. If you are applying for a position in the accounting field, for example, your resume should contain keywords such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and auditing.

When hiring managers read your resume, they want to know about what you've achieved, not all of the tasks you perform at your current job. Instead of focusing on your job duties, make sure your resume also has a list of achievements. If you slashed expenses by 42 percent or reduced waste by 20 percent, add the information to your resume. Including specific achievements shows hiring managers you are an effective employee.

You only have one chance to convince a hiring manager you deserve further consideration for a job. When writing a resume, don't hurt your chances of moving forward in the hiring process by making common resume mistakes. Instead, use a modern resume format, proofread the content carefully and make sure your resume conforms to the standards for your industry.

 

Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net


 

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  • ABUBAKAR ALHASSAN YAHAYA YAHAYA ALHASSAN ABUBAKAR

    yes with best of understanding jobs and concerning good work & correction .

  • Jonathan Gourd
    Jonathan Gourd

    Once I became a contractor, my rate of pay went way up and the job satisfaction went way up. It sucks living out of a suitcase but I can go months in between jobs without worrying.

  • Rod Hartwick
    Rod Hartwick

    yes you are right but I did try that and it did not work either

  • Medvinsky Michael
    Medvinsky Michael

    1) A one with an old style resume format is a one who didn't change job many years, which is most likely happened because the one was a good employee all this time. If you filter for this reason - you do a big mistake:)

    2) It is easy to filter resumes based on mighty software, specifically if the filtering is based on grammar or orthography. However, do you really believe this is the best thing to do? You know this is not - continue to do it and you will loose the one you really looking for...:)

    3) Similar things is about "advertised achievements" - a good hiring manager will read between the lines and not in what is floating on the top.

    4) Sadly, but the real situation of today is exactly like it described in the article above and in similar articles on the web. The reason for this is that at this specific period the hiring manager has an easy life, he has a huge pool of resumes so that he can allow himself to throw at least a half of such resumes and still to find a fit for a job he hiring for. Would it be the best fit he could find - not, but who care?
    The situation was not always so, not in every area, and hopefully will not remain the same for a long. Until then - you can explain us how the single comma in the resume of an excellent specialist affect his carrier.

    5) There is a partial remedy to this problem, which would work for some people. If you consider yourself a good specialist, but due to the situation on the market you have lack of attention by potential employers - consider to become a freelancer, or to open your own business, or even better start up if you have an idea that you believe could make the world better or at least different. At the very least you will gain excellent experience which you will be able to add proudly on your resume to gain more attention the next time you on the marked again.

  • Jonathan  S.
    Jonathan S.

    With copy and paste any thing is possible :-)

  • Erika T.
    Erika T.

    Great resume tips can you post a modern resume format as an example?

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