Classic Resume Writing Mistakes that even the ‘Best in theBusiness’ Do

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Resume writing mistakes

Resume writing is more of an art at heart. Classic resume writing mistakes are easy to make but easy to avoid aswell. According to Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter of Glassdoor, resumes are the heart and soul of a career makeup. Ifenough time spent to avoid resume writing mistakes and prepared well, they will sell you. if not, they will burn yourcareer.

The good old use of paper is vanishing rapidly as the digital age has established its supremacy. However, the caseis different with resumes. Professional social networking sites like LinkedIn have never been able to replace the old-fashioned paper resumes.Professional social networking sites like LinkedIn have never been able to replace the…Click To Tweet

In the competitive labor market of today, anything inferior to a stellar resume may go against you. True, there areseveral resume writing websites teaching you several things about what makes a great resume. Learning the goodthings is one part of the story and knowing the common and classy mistakes people make is another.

On that note, here are the most egregious resume preparation mistakes job seekers make over and over again.

Extravagant design is often a mistake

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While preparing a resume you must avoid using extravagant designs. For instance, it would be smart to stick to onefont type that is easy on the eye. The idea of using multiple fonts may sound creative – but it will create visualproblems and may distract your hiring manager. The last thing you want after spending hours’ designing yourresume is – your profile being passed over and you losing the chances of making it to the interview.

Contrary to what you think, using design tools like color fonts, highlighting and shading are consideredunprofessional and must be avoided.

This rule may not be applicable to someone in a creative industry like graphic designing, where creative designsand fonts are encouraged.

Not using the right order format

This is one of the basic resume writing mistakes that many online resume help sites teach you to avoid. Whenjotting down the details of employment history, there are two formats used in general: functional and chronological.

With the second option – “chronological order”, you will mention your most recent employment history followed bythe previous job experiences. In the case of “functional order”, your best professional abilities or skillsets arehighlighted first, even though they may not be in the chronological employment history.

It is important to determine which format is more effective depending on many factors. One such factor you musttake into consideration is – whether you are looking for a career shift or getting back to work after a break. Ingeneral, when you are seeking a job in the same field and have many years of experience behind you, you may wantto choose the “chronological order”.

On the other hand, individuals trying to make a career transition or trying to jump into a more professionalenvironment should use the “functional order” to their advantage.

Honestly, there is no hard and fast rule on this. It all depends on the ‘need of the hour’.

Overexpressing your personal interests

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It is no-secret that a resume is prepared keeping the job role and the hiring manager in mind. While doing this, it isimportant not to get carried away and start overexpressing your personal interest.

Agreed, sometimes your personal interests matter, but at most times over-listing your personal interests (unlessthere is a viable purpose for including them) may be unprofessional. Here are two examples to illustrate the point.

When you are preparing a resume for a job in the sports and fitness industry, it would make sense to add yourpersonal interests like surfing, cycling and rock climbing. Similarly, if you are an expert book publisher who isapplying for a job in the publishing industry, it would be smart to include your writing achievements or name themany books you have written and published.

Remember, the primary objective here is to gift yourself the interview call. There is no need to list down too manyunwanted personal interests or hobbies that have nothing to do with the job opportunity. So make a strategy foryourself before sharing your personal interests.

A lengthy Resume

Hiring managers, in general, have a pile of resumes to review and the initial review/evaluation process is usuallyquick. That also means hiring managers may pursue with documents that best catch their eye. So what’s the catch?

You simply do not have enough time to attract the hiring manager by furnishing detailed contents about yourprofessional feat. It is a known fact that hiring managers when reviewing resumes for the first time, do not spendmore than ten to twenty seconds.

Even though you may be the most qualified candidates among the ones who have applied for the interview, sendinga lengthy resume (that is more than one-page long) may not get you noticed by the recruiter. So, if you have beenpreparing detailed resumes that are more than one-page in length, it is time you start editing and trimming them to fitto the desired length.

Using the phrase “References available upon request”

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Not sure why so many job seekers use this phrase on their resumes – “ References available upon request”, but it istotally unnecessary. It is something the employers will definitely ask you for if and when required.

“No harm in mentioning it” you may think! But that little phrase might demonstrate your ignorance. It has almostbecome a rule – don’t mention that phrase again. A quick research on the different online resume help blogs willteach you that no professional resume will feature that phrase. Moreover, it does nothing to maximize your chancesof being invited for the interview.

Not effectively detailing your career experience

You have worked hard to make it to the position you are in right now. Hence, it is important to make your resume talkby detailing your job experiences effectively.

Analyze “your job profile versus your accomplishment”; determine which of those are crucial and can catch the eyeof your recruiter. Often, career achievements can trump your job profile. Consider listing your job profile carefullysuch that it coincides with your workplace achievements.

However, do not simply mention things like your experience in form filling or data entry, ignoring your careerachievements. It would be a good idea to mention how your professional skills and experiences have helped youwitness workplace achievements in the past. You can also mention how these skills and experiences can play a vitalrole for the organization you have applied.

These two combined can do the trick for you – arise interest in your hiring manager’s mind.

A sloppy presentation

One of the most neglected aspects of preparing a resume is – proofreading it. It is important to proofread yourresume to ensure it presents a professional appearance to the recruiter. A resume full of spelling mistakes, errors oreven lying about your past employment dates will make a bad impression.

You might think these things are obvious and are the basic rules of building a resume. Believe it or not, thesemistakes are repeated more often than you can imagine. If you have the habit of relying too much on your spellcheck alone, it is time you wake up. This is because spell checks simply cannot catch all the errors inadvertently

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made on the resume.

Think of all that you would expect if you were the hiring manager of a company, filtering from a pile of resumes. Whatwould you like to see and more importantly, what are those things that you hate to see?

Avoid using language that makes you look as if you are too desperate for the job. You do not have to include ‘bigwords’ or ‘high-sounding-jargon’ or ‘acronyms’ with every sentence you make. They are not going to impress yourhiring manager more than you can do with simple words. Finding the right balance is the key here.

Keep in mind that your resume could be read by anyone including individuals in the HR department or even theCEO of the organization. So, if you are applying for a position in the research and development department (forinstance) and preparing a resume with that department in mind, you could go wrong.

In short, prepare a resume that anyone would love to read without missing on the key points, achievements,experiences and other details.

Well begun is half done, they say. Today’s job market has become so competitive that there is just no room forcomplacency. Often, there is no time to correct things and there is no second chance, unless you are extremelylucky.

With more and more robots taking over human jobs and the trend growing thick and fast, job seeking is not gettingany easy. If you are a young or inexperienced job seeker, you must look to do the smart thing – capitalizing on thelimited opportunities. Are you ready? All the best!!

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