Avoid the Top 10 Resume Mistakes

Avoid the Top 10 Resume Mistakes

It's deceptively easy to make mistakes on your resume and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer gets it. So prevention is critical, especially if you've never written one before. Here are the most common pitfalls and how you can avoid them.

1. Typos and Grammatical Errors

Your resume needs to be grammatically perfect. If it isn't, employers will read between the lines and draw not-so-flattering conclusions about you, like: "This person can't write," or "This person obviously doesn't care."

2. Lack of Specifics

Employers need to understand what you've done and accomplished. For example:

• Worked with employees in a restaurant setting.
• Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant with $2 million in annual sales.

Both of these phrases could describe the same person, but clearly the second one's details and specifics will more likely grab an employer's attention.

3. Attempting One Size Fits All

Whenever you try to develop a one-size-fits-all resume to send to all employers, you almost always end up with something employers will toss in the recycle bin. Employers want you to write a resume specifically for them. They expect you to clearly show how and why you fit the position in a specific organization.

4. Highlighting Duties Instead of Accomplishments

It's easy to slip into a mode where you simply start listing job duties on your resume. For example:

• Attended group meetings and recorded minutes.
• Worked with children in a day-care setting.
• Updated departmental files.

Employers, however, don't care so much about what you've done as what you've accomplished in your various activities. They're looking for statements more like these:

• Used laptop computer to record weekly meeting minutes and compiled them in a Microsoft Word-based file for future organizational reference.
• Developed three daily activities for preschool-age children and prepared them for a 10-minute holiday program performance.
• Reorganized 10 years' worth of unwieldy files, making them easily accessible to department members.

5. Going on Too Long or Cutting Things Too Short

Despite what you may read or hear, there are no real rules governing the length of your resume. Why? Because human beings, who have different preferences and expectations where resumes are concerned, will be reading it.

That doesn't mean you should start sending out five-page resumes, of course. Generally speaking, you usually need to limit yourself to a maximum of two pages. But don't feel you have to use two pages if one will do. Conversely, don't cut the meat out of your resume simply to make it conform to an arbitrary one-page standard.

6. A Bad Objective

Employers do read your resume's objective statement, but too often they plow through vague pufferies like, "Seeking a challenging position that offers professional growth." Give employers something specific and, more importantly, something that focuses on their needs as well as your own. Example: "A challenging entry-level marketing position that allows me to contribute my skills and experience in fund-raising for nonprofits."

7. No Action Verbs

Avoid using phrases like "responsible for." Instead, use action verbs: "Resolved user questions as part of an IT help desk serving 4,000 students and staff."

8. Leaving Off Important Information

You may be tempted, for example, to eliminate mention of the jobs you've taken to earn extra money for school. Typically, however, the soft skills you've gained from these experiences (e.g., work ethic, time management) are more important to employers than you might think.

9. Visually Too Busy

If your resume is wall-to-wall text featuring five different fonts, it will most likely give the employer a headache. So show your resume to several other people before sending it out. Do they find it visually attractive? If what you have is hard on the eyes, revise.

10. Incorrect Contact Information

I once worked with a student whose resume seemed incredibly strong, but he wasn't getting any bites from employers. So one day, I jokingly asked him if the phone number he'd listed on his resume was correct. It wasn't. Once he changed it, he started getting the calls he'd been expecting. Moral of the story: Double-check even the most minute, taken-for-granted details -- sooner rather than later.

by Peter Vogt

MonsterTRAK Career Coach

Stand out Online to Land the Job

Do's and Don'ts for Online Resumes

As a job seeker in the electronic age, it's important to be savvy when it comes to online tools that will help you land your next job.

Online and "traditional" off-line resumes share some similarities. Both serve to show potential employers why you are the best candidate for the job.

"The content of online and off-line resumes is basically the same," says Hannah Seligson, author of "New Girl on the Job: Advice from the Trenches." "But it's even more important that your online resume stand out. With an online resume, you are dealing with a critical mass, as opposed to an off-line resume that is usually handed to a personal contact."

So what can you do to ensure that your online resume will impress employers? Here are some do's and don'ts for creating a winning online resume.

Do: Make Your Online Resume Keyword-Rich

Meg Montford, of the career coaching firm Abilities Enhanced, says that keywords are vital for online resumes. Montford suggests searching through job postings for your industry to find common terms, and make sure those words are in your resume. Montford also advises job seekers to spell out acronyms to increase hits to your resume.

Lindsey Pollak, author of "Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World," agrees. "Since a computer will be scanning your resume before a human being ever sees it, you need to 'speak' in a language a computer can understand."

Don't: Embellish

Just because you're posting a resume online doesn't mean its OK to embellish your qualifications.

"Don't over-inflate what you've done," cautions Seligson. "There's a funny scenario where a vice president of the company, who is doing the hiring for an entry-level position, reads the job applicant's resume and says (sarcastically),'Wow, sounds like you've already had my job. It doesn't seem like you need to start at entry-level.' It's better to say less and have it accurately reflect what you did in previous jobs than to over-inflate -- something most hiring managers can see right through."

Do: Be Positive

Many disgruntled employees have been fired for airing their frustrations about their jobs online for the entire world to read. Montford warns that it's important not to accumulate digital dirt that could cost you your current and future jobs. "Keep your online identity positive. Recruiters and companies go to the web first to screen candidates, so it's vital to have a positive presence," says Montford.

Don't: Overlook the Power of the Web to Sell Yourself

There are numerous options available on the Internet for promoting yourself to employers. Don't overlook blogs and your own resume web site as unique ways to reach out to potential employers.

"Every job seeker should have a blog and a keyword-rich resume on their own web site," says Montford. "You can blog about your industry and comment on articles and issues related to your field. Just remember to keep your comments positive."

Do: Be Cautious

Finally, realize that your current employee could be privy to your job search when using online resumes. Keeping a low online profile while employed may be your safest bet.