10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid
Posted 12/15/2010 2:40 PM
Avoid these common resume mistakes:
1) Inconsistency: Employers notice any mistakes and inconsistencies. Common ones to avoid:
- Ending some bullets with periods and others without.
- Formatting some dates with hyphens and others with dashes, improper spacing around the hyphen/dash, and using numbers sometimes and words others for months.
- Inconsistent spacing between or within sections.
2) Too Informal: Professional résumé language is important. Avoid these informalities:
- 1st person pronouns (except when absolutely necessary).
§ Bad: I designed the lighting system for a 1,500 sq. ft. real estate office.
§ Good: Designed the lighting system for a 1,500 sq. ft. real estate office.
- Contractions (I'm, that's, etc.).
3) References included on the résumé: Never put your references directly on your résumé. They should be on a separate document that you bring to an interview or only send if requested.
4) Spelling errors (and grammar disagreements): Any mistake will cause employers to throw away your résumé.
5) Generic Traits: Employers prefer tangible information. Avoid these generic words:
- Hard working, fast learner, highly motivated, detail oriented, organized, etc.
6) Missing information: Remember to include these things on your résumé:
- Start and End work dates (Month Year - Month Year ...or... Month Year - Present).
- Company location (City, ST).
- Your contact information (at least phone and e-mail).
7) Too much information: Do not include the following:
- Every single job task you had to do. Focus instead on skills/accomplishments with some context.
- Specific company street address or zip code (only need City, ST).
- Marital status, age, high school graduation date, religious or political affiliation, etc.
8) Accomplishments and context not quantified: Numbers will really help catch the reader's attention. For example: "Worked directly with 6-person engineering team on $50,000,000 hospital renovation."
9) Paragraphs and complete sentences: Bulleted lists and concise phrases are much more efficient.
10) High School info
- Graduation date and school name are unnecessary.
- College juniors and seniors should not list many high school achievements. Alumni none.
Bonus #11) Availability too desperate or demanding:
- Avoid words like immediately, ASAP, now, etc. ("Currently" is preferable).
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| Erik Oswald | Mary Spencer | Cathlyn Ferraro |