Recruiters review thousands of resumes every month. It’s not
an exaggeration to say they’re tired of reading the same information, told in
different iterations, over and over again.
It’s also because of this sheer volume that they've mastered what
makes a good resume tick, and know all too well what gets a bad resume sent to the trash.
In this article, I’ll focus on resume mistakes and what you
can do to fix them.
Job Hunters Beware: Are You Making Any of These Mistakes in Your Resume?
1. Title Inflation
Have you ever seen a 20-something with a
“CEO”, “CFO”, “CMO” or any manner of executive job title in their resume? It’s
pretty common these days with the proliferation of startups. Such titles aren't always impressive though.
“In our
industry, we call this title inflation. Being a “CEO” of an unincorporated
company with zero revenue and zero employees is a clear sign that we should
either throw your resume away, or take a far more critical look at it”, says
Matthew Mercuri, Director of Human
Resources at Dupray.
Yes, having your own startup or business
shows an entrepreneurial spirit but for many fresh graduates and young
professionals, an executive title is just a poor attempt to hide lack of
professional employment.
“Working as a
busboy at a local restaurant usually impresses HR professionals much more”,
continues Mercuri.
2. Lack of Career Progression for Long-Term
Employment
Some employees are just loyal to the company. Others are lucky enough to get promoted many times with one employer.
If this were the case for you, how would you put it in your resume?
As one entry–company name and employment
duration—with multiple secondary points detailing your career? This is the
common strategy applicants follow, and it’s not working in their favor.
MarissaL Klein, EVP and Founder of Choice Fashion & Media, says, “People who have been with a company for a long time
tend to make this mistake – they list the employer and the duration but there’s
no emphasis on their promotions or career progression.”
For example, if you worked at a design
agency from 2000 to 2016, put it at the top of your work history in bold font.
Break down promotions underneath in a smaller bold font, followed by a
choice list of your achievements and responsibilities in each role.
3. Poor Layout and Design
A good resume should have a logical progression and clear layout so whoever reads it quickly gets an overview your
career.
Julie Fantom, HR & Operations Director at Wilson Fields, warns applicants “against using colored paper and clip art”.
Discover more resume tips, to avoid poor resume design, or use a resume template, like the one above, so you start with a great design:
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9 Creative Resume Design Tips (With Template Examples)
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4. Referencing Employers You Had Issues with
Some candidates think they can get away
with referencing employers they had bad blood with.
Jesse Harrison of Zeus
Lawsuit Funding says, “The applicant was fired from a job because of
misconduct, yet he included it as a reference.”
It’s a different issue if several employees
got laid off. But if you got singled out because of absenteeism, poor
performance, or misconduct, don’t include it on your resume. It’s not worth the
risk.
5. Responsibilities, Not Achievements
One of the most common resume errors is a
candidate’s failure to demonstrate on-the-job achievements. They just describe their responsibilities. But not
why those were important, or how it affected the company.
“I once
critiqued a resume of a successful salesperson. But you wouldn’t know he was that
great if you read his original resume”, says Joe Flanagan, Senior Resume
Consultant at Velvet Jobs.
Listed below one of his job titles was ‘Handled an
account base of clients’. Not too impressive, right?
Flanagan continues, “With a little coaxing, I discovered that ‘handling an
account base of clients’ can be fleshed out as, ‘Handled an account base of 45
clients and increased it to 115 clients within 6 months, and generating average
$125,000 revenue per month.’”
See which sounds more impressive?
6. Sloppiness
Food stains and those coffee rings on your
resume make for a bad resume. This document serves as the first example of
your work and sets the bar for what potential employers can expect of you.
“I received a hand-delivered resume from a presentable
job seeker. After opening it, I found the paper wrinkled and stained even
though the envelope was clean. I didn’t even bother reading it because it
showed an extreme lack of attention to detail”, says Garrett
Collins of Nu’u SEO.
7. Too Academic
“I’ve come
across resumes that looked purely academic. Candidates listed the courses
they’ve taken, their GPA, and the honors they received—all impressive. But
there's no mention of any practical skills. Not even how their academic
experience translates to their chosen field”, says Monica Eaton-Cardone, Co-founder and COO
of Chargebacks911.
It’s okay to have no experience, everyone
has to start somewhere. An all-academic resume only shows that you’re a good
student. It doesn’t show your potential, such as your skills, work ethic, and
type of employee you’re going to be.
Fresh graduate? Follow this guide on creating your first-ever resume the right way:
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How to Make Your First Job Resume Stand Out
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8. Irrelevant Skills or Basic Skills Everyone
Expects You to Have
Touch typing, using MS Word, and searching
the web are all basic skills people expect you to know. Don’t waste space
mentioning them.
Are you scared that recruiters might miss your resume on
their database, unless you list it all? Don’t be. I can’t imagine a job where a
recruiter will search ‘touch typing’
or ‘proficient in MS Office.’
Recruiters search for technical and job specific keywords like “Graphic
Design using Adobe Photoshop,” or “Making
Pivot Tables in MS Excel.” Leave off the generic
stuff but don’t leave out the special programs and equipment used in your
profession.
9. Unnecessary Information About Previous Employers
“Even if you
feel like you’re being helpful, there’s no need to list the exact date you
started (e.g. July 1 2014), supervisor’s name, their contact number, previous
salary, and reason for leaving”, says Lavie Margolin, Former Career
Counselor and Founder of Lion Club
Job Search.
Including your reason for leaving an
employer might cost you an interview. If you’re not careful, the recruiter
might jump to the wrong conclusions—that you’re a job hopper, have work
performance issues, or don’t play along with others. Who’s going to defend you
or address their questions when this happens? Leave all this for the interview,
and only provide this information when they ask.
Stating your previous salary is always a
gamble. You may not get interviewed if your previous salary is higher than
expected. But if it’s lower than their job offer, then you could be leaving
money on the table.
10. Spelling and Grammar Errors
“Attention
to detail,” and “Keen eye for
observation” are soft-skills listed in many resumes. But how do you prove
this?
TaraRist, HR Manager at Policy Expert, shares one way to prove you don’t have
this skill:
“There’s nothing worse than a candidate claiming
‘attention to detail’ as a skill, only to find their resume covered with
errors.”
She’s right. Relying on a word
processor’s grammar and spell check doesn’t show attention to detail. The same
goes for online tools, such as Hemmingway
or Grammarly. While both are helpful,
they’re not fool-proof. Have someone else go over your resume, or read it out
loud to detect potential errors.
11. Too Much Information Burying Important
Details
“It’s rare for
recruiters to read a resume cover to cover if they can’t find at least one
glowing accomplishment related to the job vacancy”, says Jason Carney, HR Director for WorkSmart
Systems.
A good resume isn’t padded with too many
details that make it hard for recruiters to qualify you as a candidate. Remove
irrelevant or outdated details about your career. “Think of a good resume as a short ad, not a biography,” continues
Carney.
12. Using a String of Keywords
Relevant keywords related to your job title
and industry play a huge role in your resume. Just don’t overdo it and make
sure it makes sense.
“Don’t
pile a long list of keywords on a resume without a clear strategy or reason”,
says Resume Writer DebraAnn Mathews.
Below is a problematic excerpt Matthews provided. It's supposed to be a list of skills, but reads more
like a list of equipment, and is a good example of what not to do:
“Areas of expertise / equipment include:
aseptic tanks, Oakes mixer, versators, autoclave cleaning & sanitation, CIP / SIP sterilization, powder blending, blend tanks, bagging machine, separators, liquid compounding, Urscdhell cutters, Fitz mill/press and Hollman presses, distillation and extractions, 5000- and 6000-lb. blenders, colloid mills, centrifuge machines, 1000-gallon percolators, chemical reactors, open and vacuum kettles, 300-gallon liquid verterseductors.
Computers: Plc computers, HMI computer system, electronic batching,
MAPS for AS400
Learn more effective resume writing techniques:
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How to Write a Functional or Skills-Based Resume (With Examples + Templates)
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13. Personal Information
“Don’t include
personal information, such as age, gender, or nationality. Don't include
pictures,” says Lauren Fach, Digital Media Maven at University of Advancing Technology. Even if the
recruiter doesn’t want to judge or discriminate, you’re making it easy for them
to do so.
I went through a soft-skills training with
a previous employer a few years ago. One of the participants was a recruiter
from our HR department. During our break, another trainee asked what she
thought of the resumes they receive.
To which she answered, “They read pretty much the same, so it’s boring. But
we often get a laugh passing around resumes with ugly pictures.”
Bias or discrimination pertaining to
personal information is a bit more subtle. Professional recruiters and HR managers
don’t let negative bias cloud their judgement. But bringing up unnecessary
details upfront causes them to stop and think about what you wrote.
Hesitations Like These Might Come Up:
“Wait,
what does that mean?”
“How
will this affect team dynamics?”
“Do I
need to worry about poor communication skills because English is just a second
language for this candidate?”
“Will
there be schedule conflicts or should I expect a lot of leave requests because
of this candidate’s religion?”
All these subtle biases can surface and
make a recruiter question your qualifications. Freelancers competing in a
global market experience this, too.
Learn more about how to make a professional resume:
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How to Make a Resume
Laura Spencer
Basic, Yet Still Important
Some
of these resume mistakes may seem elementary to you. But since recruiters still
complain about them, you can bet these mistakes are still rampant. You might be
guilty of these resume faux pas, too.
Use
this article as a checklist and go over your resume right now.