Your resume is the first impression you give a prospective employer. It should be designed with the sole purpose of selling you, a great employee, to them. A well-written resume that stays focused on this concept will end up in front of the right people, who will call you in for an interview. A resume that is unfocused, generic or filled with mistakes will end up in the dustbin. Here are some common mistakes to ensure your resume avoids such a fate.
Mistake #1: Generic Content
It’s tempting to take the easy route and send one general resume to every job opening. This tactic is guaranteed to get fewer interviews, if you get any at all. Many companies use resume-scanning software to search for keywords. If your experience doesn’t match the keywords from the posting then your resume doesn’t match their needs. Even if your resume gets to a live person, don’t hope they will take the time to carefully read your generic listing of work duties and figure out if your past work compares to what they need. Instead, come right out and tell them.
Tailor every resume to the job at hand. It takes more time but it’s worth it. Scrutinize the job listing and note the key parts where their needs mesh with things you have done. List these things first. Tell them why you’re a good fit and you’ll have a better chance at getting an interview.
Mistake #2: Listing Duties Instead of Accomplishments
A resume must be results-oriented. You need to show what you’ve done in the past if you want to have any hope of doing it for someone else in the future. Instead of listing duties when outlining your history, list actual accomplishments, including specific numbers. Rather than saying “this was my job,” you say “here’s what I achieved.” For example:
“I led an initiative to replace fax machines with an online service, saving the company $1000 monthly.”
This shows exactly what you can do, and with quantifiable numbers. This comes across much better than the alternative, “Oversaw e-fax rollout project.”
Mistake #3: Huge Blocks of Text
A resume isn’t just about content; it’s about look and readability. Consider this article. It features short, easy-to-digest paragraphs and a good amount of white space.
It’s not too tough to read, is it?
If your resume consists of daunting wall-to-wall text with no white space for “breathing room” for the reader, it’s likely to be tossed no matter your qualifications. Use bullet lists to describe your history to achieve the goals of conciseness, readability and plenty of inviting white space.
Mistake #4: Grammar and Spelling Mistakes
When you’ve written and rewritten a resume so many times, it’s easy to miss mistakes. When you know what a sentence says and you’re ready for it, you’re likely to read what it’s supposed to say instead of what it actually does. Avoiding this is simple: get a proofreader. Find a friend and have them read the resume from an employer’s point of view. This will help fix mistakes and can also determine whether your resume is truly effective.