4 Frequent Resume Mistakes

Are you battling an uphill struggle just to get called in for an interview? Yes, we are living in a difficult age and with so many people competing for the same jobs it is becoming increasing more difficult to get your foot in the door. Your resume is your first chance to show your potential employer that you are the right candidate for the position and if you screw this up you can kiss that job goodbye. Review your resume to ensure that you are not including these five common mistakes and sabotaging yourself without even knowing it.

It's Not All About You

Traditionally objective statements sat right at the top of a resume proclaiming the recruiter exactly what your wanted. Nowadays it is a well advised recommendation to strive to meet the needs of your audience within your resume. As a consequence you should throw out your old objective and replace it with a profile summary which highlights your primary selling point and the value that you will bring to the organization.

This will immediately tell the recruiter what you are prepared to bring to the table so that they do not have to go searching through the rest of your resume for it.

In a perfect world your resume would be limited to one or two pages since this will increase the chances of it getting read. Having said this there are a few people whose experience will call for more than two pages. Bear in mind that the information presented must be straight to the point and not include long winding sentences. If your experience is such that the relevant information exceeds two pages then by all means go ahead and extend to the third page. This is especially important if it helps to make case for you getting the job.

Please note however that any experience that you include in this extended resume should be relevant to the position for which you are applying. If the experience is in no way related then you will do well to leave it out for the sake of having a shorter resume.

Most job seekers list their job responsibilities on their resume. Stand out from the crowd by selling how you got the job done rather than sharing what your responsibilities were. Always keep in mind that the purpose of your resume is to show the recruiter the value that you will bring to the organization. Highlight any special abilities that you have that they could use to propel their organization forward. Share stories of how you used these abilities in your previous employment and the results that they brought.

Showing what you can do is a lot more effective than discussing what was required of you. It is a surefire way to get your resume read and stand out from pile of predictable resumes sent in by other job seekers. 

You might give the recruiter a reason to screen your resume out by including too much personal information of your resume. Your date of birth, religious preferences, marital status, health, hobbies, race and other equally personal information is nobody’s business and should be excluded from your resume.

With competition as high as it is you have to put your best foot forward with this first point of contact with your prospective employer. Any extra time and effort that you invest into making your resume as fabulous as it could be will give you a much needed leg up on your competitors.

Happy hunting!