How Not to Write a Resume

7 Common Mistakes That Get Your Resume Lost in the Crowd

Oct 21, 2008 Pamela DeLoatch

Writing a resume? A resume is a marketing tool. Its main purpose is to show an employer that the candidate's background is a good match for the employer's job opening.

The easier the resume does that, the more effective it is. While there are many instructions on how to create an effective resume, it’s useful to know what not to do in order to market yourself best.

Weak or Vague Objective Statements

Think of a tag line for a product. Nike says “Just Do It.” It doesn’t say, “Give it a try and see how it goes.” The tag line is clear and strong. An objective statement should be the same. Instead of "Seeking position within a company where I can advance," try: "Seeking project management position allowing me to use proven organizational, communication and team building skills."

According to Entrepreneur.com, employers may initially scan a resume in just ten seconds. They will look at the objective statement first and see if it matches their needs. Those that don’t appear a good fit are weeded out, while those that do are looked at more closely.

It’s necessary then for your objective statement to immediately convey how your skills match the job at hand. This may mean continually updating the resume, however, tailoring the resume to a particular market increases its chances of success.

Outdated Work History

If work history is more than ten years old, not related to the job, and its absence does not create a gap in employment, consider leaving it off in favor of more detailed, relevant information. In the ten seconds of initial review, the most powerful and persuasive information needs to be included. If a first job out of college as a shoe salesperson does not support the overall goal for an engineering project manager, it can be left off.

List of Job Responsibilities, Not Accomplishments

Many resumes list the numerous responsibilities applicants have had. Unfortunately, the resumes do not list the accomplishments. Responsibilities are what you’re supposed to have done. Accomplishments show what you actually did. Instead of “was responsible for hiring sales staff,” a more powerful statement would be “recruited, interviewed and hired ten sales people within three months.”

Nonspecific Achievements

When detailing accomplishments, it is equally important to quantify them. When the makers of Lysol Spray want to show that their product really works, they don't just say it fights germs, they say it "kills 46 types of bacteria" – a much stronger declaration.

Similarly, for a resume, stating that an applicant “reduced costs” does not paint the picture nearly as clearly as “streamlined production process and reduced costs 10%.” When a resume details the work done and the end result in a previous job, the employer has a much better idea of what you can do for him.

Unrelated Personal Information

Unless the information is directly related to the job (i.e. avid golf player applying for a position at Golfsmith store), leave it off of your resume. When you rely on just one piece of paper to get in the interviewer’s door, include only the most persuasive, directly related information.

Offer of References

Applicants often put “References Available Upon Request” on resumes. This practice however is unnecessary because most companies assume that they can ask for references if needed. The “references available” line can be deleted and the space can be better used to detail your qualifications and achievements.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammatical Mistakes

Employers want to find someone to fill their job openings. When they get inundated with resumes through an ad, they need to find an easy way to weed out applicants. The ones with misspellings and other mistakes are the first ones to go. Mistakes on a resume indicate a lack of language skills or lack of attention to detail.

Certainly use spell check for the resume, but know that the best computer programs do not always catch mistakes such as incorrect usage or homonyms. Be sure to have a good editor thoroughly review the resume before it is sent out.

Like the show “What Not to Wear,” these seven steps will help you know what to avoid in a resume, and how to instead turn your resume into an effective marketing tool.

The copyright of the article How Not to Write a Resume in Career Advice is owned by Pamela DeLoatch. Permission to republish How Not to Write a Resume in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Writing a Resume

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Comments

Oct 21, 2008 7:19 PM

Guest :

Many candidates don't understand that the more the format of the resume resembles what the reader expects, the more likely they are to read it. No fancy fonts, colors or boxes to distract. I'd add an 8th mistake is to stray from the accepted format. Let the content speak for itself, don't distract.
The Job Coach
www.jobsearchdebugged.com

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