A New Year, A New Resume: 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
With the downward spiral of the economy, an increasing number of people are looking to make a career change into a more stable field. If you’ve been employed at your current place of business for quite some time, you’ll probably have to freshen up your resume. As employers sift through the piles of resumes riddled with qualifications, skills, and educational prowess – will yours stand out for all the right reasons?
Sometimes, the difference between landing a job interview and not receiving the call you’ve been waiting for comes right down to the presentation of your resume. Don’t fall victim to the following mistakes:
A Generic Free-for-All
Are you applying to several different positions and decided to send the same generic resume out to every single company on your list? Since no two businesses are alike – you’re missing out on the power of tailoring your resume to fit the organization. Take the time to customize the skills, professional experience, and characteristics that you possess to accommodate the needs of a potential employer. Use their job description as a guide. Increase your chances of being noticed by incorporating relevant keywords found within the ad. Employers know when a resume lacks focus. If you send out generic results, you’ll receive a generic response: “Thank you for your application, but….”
It’s Not a Thesis Paper…
Plunging into the dictionary to locate the most “smart”-sounding words to describe your skills and experience isn’t the best approach to impressing a potential employer. Sometimes, hundreds of applications are beckoning the attention of interviewers. If he or she has to take a breather when scanning your qualifications– you’re probably not going to get a phone call. It’s best to replace long-winded sentences with concise bullet points. Leave “impressive” terminology to the English professors. Stick with getting straight to the point in as few words as possible.
Avoid Discrimination
Age discrimination is a sad but true reality. An employer either fears you’re too expensive to hire or doubts your ability to keep up with the latest trends and technology. Some job seekers at the senior level make it a habit to only list about 15 years worth of jobs. They may also delete the date of their college graduation to avoid age discrimination.
Watch your typos!
Careless Mistakes
It’s a shame when you’re credibility as a professional is damaged…and a potential employer hasn’t even met you yet. View a resume as your ‘voice’ until you are able to dazzle an interviewer with your charisma and sharp wit. Years of valuable experience and impressive skills are often overlooked when a resume is plagued with spelling mistakes, grammatical blunders, and poor punctuation. Keep in mind that a boss looking for someone with an attention to detail who also takes pride in his or her work will send your application to the ‘NO’ pile without a second thought if it is poorly presented.
Professional vs. Personal
Resume clutter is an instant turn-off for hiring managers, who are viewing application after application. Some people make the mistake of disclosing a little too much information regarding their personal and private life. A potential employer does not want to know your marital status, birth date, or what you like to do on the weekends. A well-organized resume should not include the link to your Facebook or MySpace page. Know when not to cross the lines of professionalism. Eliminate any personal details that have nothing to do with your ability to perform job duties.
‘Typos’ photo credit
