The truth is, that if you are skilled in your chosen field of work, there’s very little that can stop you from becoming successful, but you do need that chance to come in front of the pack and display those skills to the people who matter. Your resume is your opportunity to create that very first impression which will get you the attention you need to take things further. Therefore, if you are making any of the seven mistakes below, you are sabotaging your own chances of getting the job and the break you need.
Silly Mistakes
Typos, spelling mistakes, wrong information, and grammatical errors are simply unacceptable in a professional resume and people are still making them in abundance! Not only do they reflect carelessness and ignorance, but it also shows your potential employers that you are not someone who pays attention to detail. Make just a few of those and it is very likely that your resume will end up in the trash, without even being read completely, or worse still, it might end up on the internet as the laughing stock of the online world!
Unnecessary Details
A lot of people are probably applying for the same job that you have applied for, so no one really has the time to go through a particularly long resume filled with unnecessary details. You can almost bet on the fact that such resumes are never completely read and they significantly diminish your chances of ever landing the job. Things like your personal life details, hobbies, achievements unrelated to your profession, etc. are neither required, nor desired.
The Wrong Format
Depending on the post you are applying for, the field of work you are in, your experience, the company you are applying to, and other relevant details, the format of your resume will change. This is why you should always download appropriate resume templates and customize the details to avoid ending up with a poorly formatted resume that will likely be frowned upon by the HR. Sending in a resume with inappropriate formatting is seen as a careless mistake or ignorance, much like typos and grammatical errors.
Using Big Words
If you have interned at Google, that’s a big achievement and will possibly put you ahead of a lot of people, and that’s the kind of “big” companies are looking for. What they are not looking for are big words in your resume that make them search for the word’s exact meaning on Google and then try to figure out what your entire sentence might mean. You are supposed to treat your resume like an answer, so the last thing you would want is for the employers to feel that the document is asking questions that they don’t need the answers to!
Mentioning Salary Details
Whether you are trying to create an impression or just trying to make sure that your expectations are met, it’s a bad idea to mention money on your resume. Of course, the HR or someone higher up might ask you about your expected salary during the interview, but you need to wait until you get to that point or you will end up looking presumptuous and overconfident. While applying for a job, everyone needs to understand that the resume is supposed to look like an answer or a solution to the particular company’s needs and not convey those of the applicant.
Incorrect Information
Everyone wants an impressive resume but it’s so very hard to stand out at the same time. As a result, a lot of people resort to providing “incorrect information” on their resume, also known as lying! Lofty achievements that are just not true can easily be exposed by a simple background check, and most companies do run a background check before hiring people. Stay away from lofty claims and if you do make them, they need to be true and backed up by relevant proof.
Generic Statements
You can be an exceptional worker and among every one of the applying managers who have claimed that they can manage human assets proficiently, you could very well be the only one who can actually do that. However, all that will amount to very little if what you have written on your resume sounds just like what everyone else has written, albeit in different words. Instead, if you focus on a few key elements of your managerial skills that you had put to work at your previous job and got results, that would get you the attention you need. Stay away from generic statements and make your resume stand out by owning it.
In today’s competitive world, there’s no shortage of skilled labor in almost any field and therefore, the little details do matter. Create a resume that reflects your professionalism and skills in the right light to gain the initial attention of your employers, because everything else begins from there.
