5 common resume mistakes to avoid!
Updated: Jan 26, 2020
Your resume holds the key to a great first impression and committing these mistakes could mean the difference between landing a job interview and missing an opportunity.
Your resume is the most important document of your job search. Hiring managers use it to assess you as a potential candidate. Now, it is easy to make mistakes on your resume and quite difficult to repair the damage caused by a resume with plenty of mistakes.
You may have the qualifications and the experience but you may not get past the HR when you have a poorly written resume. Unfortunately, recruiters still receive plenty of resumes having the same common mistakes.
Even with an average of six seconds spent on a resume, a recruiter can easily spot these mistakes and discard your resume. Here are the 5 common mistakes that you need to avoid -
1. Poor grammar.
The most common mistake found in resumes is a combination of poor grammar, incorrect syntax structure, wrong spellings, and punctuations. Your resume needs to be grammatically perfect or else you risk employers drawing not-so-flattering conclusions about you. Besides, a resume with no misspellings is instantly more attractive than an identical resume with lots of spelling errors. Always proofread your resume and have someone else go through it to spot mistakes that you may not see.
2. Poor formatting.
Having an attractive layout with organized and clearly defined sections is a key component of a winning resume. The importance of white space and the right font will help the reader quickly skim through the information on your resume. You will also be better able to sell your strongest skills and accomplishments. Having bullet points and bold headings will also help show the recruiter how you are a match for the position.
3. Lack of keywords.
Usage of keywords is important as it will help your resume make it past the Applicant Tracking System used by recruiters. The ATS helps recruiters in scanning and shortlisting resumes from a pool of applicants. Without the keywords, your resume most likely won't get noticed. At the same time, it is also important to not deliberately stuff keywords within your resume.
4. Incorrect information.
Irrelevant and outdated information on your resume will most likely harm your job prospects. It gives the impression that you are not up to speed with the resume writing standards of today. Unless it is relevant to the job, it is best to leave it out. Also, information like age, gender, and marital status may set you up to be eliminated for discriminatory reasons.
5. Lack of results.
Simply listing down your duties and responsibilities do not show the accomplishments and the results that you have achieved on the job. Recruiters are more interested in your achievements and it is best to quantify them. Including numbers like people managed, increased sales, proven return on investment, retention stats, business growth numbers, etc. will show the potential you have to do well in the role for which you're trying to fill.
At The Side Hustler, we realize the importance of a resume, which is why we are offering you an opportunity to avail of our Professional Resume Writing Service.
We can help you create an eye-catchy Resume, Cover Letter and an optimized LinkedIn Profile with an appropriate layout that is relevant to your target industry using professional language that is proofread without any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes.
Write to info@thesidehustler.org for more details.
Related - Why LinkedIn is a great tool in your job hunt, and how to use it!
5 reasons why you need a Cover Letter!
7 things you should do before you begin your job search!
The complete checklist you need when preparing for your next interview!
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