10 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Resume

Writing a resume can feel intimidating, but it can be made much easier with the right approach. Unfortunately, many job seekers make some common mistakes that can prevent them from getting their resumes noticed by employers. To ensure your resume stands out, here are the ten most common resume writing mistakes to avoid.

The first mistake many job seekers make is failing to tailor their resume to the job they’re applying for. It’s essential to include content on your resume that directly relates to the position you’re seeking to capture the employer’s attention. This means focusing on key achievements and notable facts about your professional experience rather than including irrelevant details. 

If you have any awards or accolades related to your past experiences, they should be included in your resume and other successes. Include numbers whenever possible when discussing accomplishments or results achieved in past job roles, such as the revenue generated or projects completed on time and under budget. Doing this will help demonstrate what value you could provide to a potential employer and make you stand out from other applicants.

Many people also overlook typos and poor grammar when crafting their resumes, which can quickly reduce effectiveness if enough errors exist. Your resume must-read perfectly without any spelling or grammatical errors, as this reflects poorly on you and could disqualify you from receiving further consideration for the role. Consider having someone else review it for mistakes before submitting it for review by hiring managers and recruiters.

You should avoid using overly generic language when describing yourself or prior job roles when crafting your resume.

For example:

Instead of saying, “I was responsible for sales,” use more descriptive language to explain what duties and accomplishments were achieved in the role. Talk about specific projects you took on, such as launching a new product line or streamlining processes to increase efficiency. Quantify successes whenever possible by including figures or numbers demonstrating the results of your efforts – such as the revenue generated, customer satisfaction scores achieved or projects completed on time and under budget.

action-oriented words

In addition to providing specifics about your professional experience, focus on action-oriented words when describing yourself and any tasks completed. Using powerful verbs like spearheaded, facilitated, initiated, and optimized will help you stand out from other applicants by showing exactly how you contributed to passing job roles.

Given that resume space is limited, it’s important to be concise and include only essential details in your resume content. Be sure to target information relevant to the job opportunity rather than having extra facts that could detract from crucial points or take away valuable resume real estate. Utilizing keywords related to the role is another way to ensure your resume content is appropriately tailored for each application.

It’s also important not to include too much information on your resume; employers don’t want pages upon pages of unnecessary details about your past experiences or qualifications – they want pertinent information related to the role they’re looking to fill in a concise form, so they can quickly decide if your profile is suitable for the position or not. Plus, including too much content may make it harder for them to see all of your best accomplishments at a glance due to overcrowding on a single-page resume format, so keep it simple with just enough details about yourself without going overboard with long paragraphs of text!

Another big resume mistake is failing to format correctly – this includes using inconsistent fonts or font sizes throughout your document, improper alignment of text/tables/images/etc., and illogical organization of sections within the resume (such as putting contact info at the bottom instead of at the top), etc… Aesthetics play an important role in how attractive a resume looks and how well it reads, so having an eye-catching layout with consistent formatting makes a vast difference in perspective employers’ attention!

Be accurate:

Dates on resumes should always be accurate; don’t list dates that were incorrectly written down elsewhere (such as years worked) or omit dates altogether because this could lead recruiters into believing something else happened during that timeframe which would be dishonest and ultimately lead them away from considering candidates further down the line who would otherwise have been perfect matches for those positions!

This helps give employers a better sense of what kind of work ethic and skill set you have while also allowing them to get a clearer picture of how well you would fit into their organization, given your prior experience and performance track record.

Using long-winded sentences

Using long-winded sentences stuffed with industry jargon is another big no-no when crafting resumes as it makes them hard to read through quickly; instead, aim for concise yet descriptive phrases that still convey meaningful details about past experiences while also being easy on the eyes of readers who may scan through several resumes at once during their recruitment process.

Resumes should be kept up-to-date and reflect current skills, which must be highlighted accordingly throughout various sections of the document. Not doing so may lead employers to believe one hasn’t progressed significantly since the last application for a role which may result in automatic disqualification from consideration.

For certain positions if there isn’t evidence of continuous development over time shown elsewhere within documents such as cover letters or work portfolios submitted alongside resumes during applications processes.

Too often, people rely heavily on templates found online when constructing resumes instead of customizing them according to particular jobs they’re interested in; However, following best practices is essential when creating resumes; it’s even more important that individuals tailor each document according to desired roles, as doing so conveys a higher level of preparedness than simply using pre-made layouts from websites without any additional modifications beyond filling out contact information fields correctly within said forms provided by template creators online otherwise known as “resume blasters.”

Many employers utilize an automated Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to manage resume processing. An ATS is a software application that helps streamline the resume-filtering process, enabling recruiters to quickly identify resumes that match their criteria and discard those which don’t. The resume must be formatted correctly to pass through the ATS system easily. This includes avoiding any font types too large or small or graphics that might interfere with the resume content scanning capabilities of the ATS.

keywords

Additionally, using keywords relevant to the job posting throughout your resume is essential. This will help ensure your resume matches specific predetermined criteria set by employers and enhances its visibility within a resume database where countless other applicants may also be vying for the same role.

Resume writing best practices are essential to getting your resume past an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and into the hands of a recruiter. By tailoring each resume according to the job you’re applying for, using keywords relevant to the position and following basic formatting guidelines, you will significantly increase your chances of being selected for an interview. Let us help you take your resume writing skills to the next level with our comprehensive online course that covers everything from content creation to design tips!