15 Deadly But Often-Made Resume Blunders to Avoid

Posted on 03. Jan, 2009 by admin in Featured Articles, Job Hunting Strategies, Resume & Cover Letter Tips

http://www.resumebear.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/03/15-resume-blunders-to-avoid/

Most
articles on this topic list blunders that very few people are dumb
enough to actually make. Maybe we're making a bold assumption, but it's
not likely that very many people are "stating that they work well in
the nude", as one resume blunder article cautions against. Nor are very
many job seekers likely to "use pale blue paper with teddy bears
printed around the border", as another article warns of. Very helpful!
But nevertheless, there are quite a few real resume blunders that perfectly intelligent people commit, which you should be aware of, because they can diminish you in the eyes of employers.

1) Letting typos slip through

Possibly the easiest resume blunder to make, letting typos slip
through is almost one of the most dangerous. A recent survey indicated
that 84% of hiring personnel toss a resume in trash upon spotting just one or two
typos! Understand this for what it is: the HR people do not have some
type of vendetta against spelling errors in and of themselves. Rather,
what they see when they come across as a spelling error is a lack of
conscientiousness. They see someone who apparently did not even take
their application seriously enough to proofread it before clicking the
"Send" button or mailing it in. This isn't the impression you want to
give off, so be sure to eliminate all spelling errors before submitting
your resume.

2) Inappropriate e-mail address

It is common today for applicants to leave an e-mail address on
their resumes. Nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, many applicants
make the mistake of leaving personal or inappropriate e-mail addresses
rather than professional ones. Put yourself into the HR guy's shoes.
You are looking at two very impressive applications, but one them lists
their e-mail as "ismokeweedeveryday@gmail.com" while the other lists
theirs as "JohnSmith@gmail.com." Which person are you more likely to
hire? If you don't already have a professional-sounding e-mail address,
just visit one of the many free e-mail providers (like gmail, yahoo,
and hotmail) and sign up for one.

3) Listing irrelevant, non-job-related information

Too many applicants try to get "cute" and show how eclectic they are
by listing non-job related information in their resumes. This can be
anything from the vacations they've taken, the hobbies they enjoy, or
even (in rarer cases) the pets they own! It's understandable to want to
"liven up" your application, but remember this: the HR person who will
eventually read it reads thousands of applications each year. They have
trained themselves to relentlessly skim through applications searching
for only the very relevant details.

4) Poor formatting

Remember: employers and their HR staffs scan
resumes. They do not painstakingly read each and every word. Being that
this is the case, the best thing you can do is make your resume
scannable. This means using one of the many free resume templates that
come with Word or that can be downloaded on the Internet. These are the
formats employers are used to reading, and it's one easy way you can
take friction and hassle out of their reviewing of your resume. Don't
get "cute" with formatting!

5) Use of personal pronouns

Remember back in college when your professor didn't let you use
words like "I" or "me" in essays? Keep this rule in mind when creating
your resume as well. Like a college essay, a resume is a formal document (albeit a business document rather than an academic one.) For example, rather than saying

I oversaw the creation of a new department that generated  $5 million in sales and increased pre-tax profits by 15%.

Say this instead:

Oversaw creation of new department that generated $5 million in sales and increased pre-tax profits by 15%.

If this seems like a lot to remember, just pretend that you are
someone else, describing yourself to another person. This rule will
help keep you on track.

6) Trying to sound "well-rounded"

Some applicants believe they will look better to employers if they
seem well-rounded. Such people typically play up how many committees
they've served on, how many different and varying job titles they've
held, different industries they've worked in, and the like.
Unfortunately, this does not work as intended. Most employers see such
people as not being great at any one thing, and they are thus unsure of
how to evaluate them. Most often, such applicants are simply passed
over in favor of those with more specific skillsets.

7) Self-deprecation

Too many resumes have self-deprecating remarks and phrases. While
it's understandable to not want to be seen as bragging on your
application, you still want to look good. It is for this reason that
statements like "graduated in the top 66% of my class" and
"self-employment: what a disaster that was!" will not make you look
good. Rather, they will make you seem like a potential threat to the
organization, someone who probably shouldn't be trusted with much power
or autonomy.

8) Bragging

Of course, the other side of the resume blunder coin are applicants
who excessively brag about themselves or their achievements. Again -
you do want your resume to make you look like a strong candidate. What
you do not want is obnoxious arrogance, as seen in statements like "you
will never find a better candidate than me", or "my job performance is
unsurpassed", or "if you don't hire me, you'll regret it!" Such
statements make you seem cocky and indicate a potential lack of team
spirit (or even narcissism!)

9) Focusing on responsibilities instead of achievements

The best resumes draw attention to what you as an employee have
achieved - sales growth, cost-cutting, higher customer retention, etc.
The worst resumes talk only or mostly about what responsibilities
you have held - manager, committee supervisor, etc. Take a good, hard
look at your resume and determine if it is primarily responsibilities
or achievements based. If it is not already achievements-based, make
sure it is before you send it in to employers!

10) Important skills buried at the bottom

Some otherwise good resumes handicap themselves by listing important
skills at the bottom - say, computer skills. It should go without
saying that the skills most relevant to the job you want should be
listed top, front, and center in your resume. Read over your resume a
few times and put yourself in the position of a busy, beleaguered HR
person. Would your job-specific skills jump out to them? If not,
re-arrange your resume so that they will.

11) Lack of bullet points

As alluded to earlier, scanability is essential to creating a good
resume. One of the most critical elements of scanability is the use of
bullet points. Do not make the mistake (which many applicants do) of
writing everything in as a "wall" of text, hoping that whomever reads
your resume will painstakingly peruse your every word to extract the
important parts. They will not. That being the case, be sure to use
bullets early and often!

12) Listing references directly on the resume

You should list your references on a separate sheet of paper or,
ideally, only provide them when asked. Including them within the resume
itself only adds bulk (which makes it more tempting to rush through)
and does you little good, since references will only matter if and when
the employer decides to interview you and advance the process beyond
the resume-reviewing stage. When in doubt, leave the references out!

13) The "more is better" mentality

An article listing the 100 funniest resume mistakes says that one woman divided her resume into acts
as though it were a play: ie, Act 1 of the resume, Act 2 of the resume,
etc. We realize this is rather extreme and ridiculous, but it's telling
because of how many people (albeit less dramatically) adopt a "more is
better" approach with their resumes. This is absolutely false. In fact,
research would probably show that resumes are read less often in
proportion to how large they are. Whenever possible, try to include
only the essential details necessary to convey your main point.

14) Resume sent as an attachment without you knowing how it'll look

We've all been there: you send something out as an e-mail
attachment, only to have it look different (sometimes drastically) on
your recipient's computer than it does on yours. This can be disastrous
if the random factor and chaos of the Internet messes up your resume's
formatting or bullets! Luckily, this need not become an obstacle.
Before sending your resume via e-mail, simply "test" send it to a few
of your friends and verify how it looks on their computers. If it looks
as it does on your computer, send it to the employer. If not, find out
why and fix it.

15) Passive-aggressiveness

Not every job applicant has the benefit of writing a resume with a
sparkling job history. Some have been fired numerous times or been
involved in conflicts with bosses at one or more jobs. There is a
strong tendency among such people to demonize their ex-bosses in the
resume, blaming them for their own failures. But while you might think
this makes you look better, it rarely has this effect. Rather, most
employers will read something like "I only got fired because my boss
was an unrealistic jerk" and imagine themselves being
in that boss' shoes someday. You will be seen as a "problem-person" and
probably ignored. The far more effective and mature approach is to
simply acknowledge any past difficulties you may have had and exude an
honest, sincere willingness to put those things behind you.