Killer Resume Mistakes You Must Avoid

Most of the resumes and cover letters available to you in books or on the Internet are the same old documents, barely reworded and resold to people everywhere as the best resume or cover letter.

These boring resumes and cover letters will NOT bring you the results you want.

You will even see some books and websites that promote KILLER resume mistakes.

These are "so called" experts charging you for poor or even bad resumes. You do not want this type of resume as you prepare for your job search.

Below I Reveal 5 Killer Resume Mistakes You Must Avoid At All Costs.

Resume Mistake # 1

Failure to state your objective clearly and succinctly.

All too often resumes are submitted in many cases without the use of an objective and a clear statement of the role for which the candidate is applying. And on the occasions that objectives are used they can be nonspecific or worse, too wordy while failing to clearly state the candidates desired role.

Take for example a large organization, which may be recruiting for up to, and including 30 positions at a time. A recruiter will not sift through hundreds of resumes and spend valuable time attempting to discern which role a candidate is applying for when they have failed to state it clearly at the outset of their resume.

An example of an effective objective statement is as follows:

A highly experienced sales and marketing professional with comprehensive skills in strategic planning and implementation seeking a position as a Sales Manager where these skills will add value.
A statement such as this gives a brief overview of the candidates experience and immediately generates interest on behalf of the recruiter/employer.

Failure to create a strong but concise objective will ensure that your application is relegated to the bottom of the pile.

Resume Mistake # 2

Focusing on duties and responsibilities rather than achievements and successes

Let’s face it employers want to see what you can do for them quickly and effectively. They hate hiring and they like it to be as quick and painless as possible. No Manger/Recruiter wants to sit down and read a resume that is simply a comprehensive listing of every work task a candidate has performed throughout their career.

Imagine reading a resume that contains the following:

Completed filing and archiving.
Performed word processing duties.
Answered the telephone to clients.
Completed the accounts payable transactions.
Managed the invoicing system.
Looked after the office equipment.
This is a complete and frankly uninteresting way to detail daily responsibilities. An effective resume should focus on successes and achievements. An employer/recruiter will assume that an Administrative Assistant can type, use Word, archive etc. in the same way as they will expect that a Sales Manager can manage employees, prepare forecasts, market products etc.

Resume Mistake # 3

Resume length and use of big words!

Even now candidates fail to understand that a three and four page resume holds no attraction for a recruiter/hiring manager. With the volume of applications received for each job advertisement it is little wonder that mangers become frustrated by the length of resumes and the abundance of large words used within the resume itself.

Resumes should ideally be a one to two page document depending entirely on each candidates level of experience, expertise and their profession.

A professional resume should be long on facts but short on words!

Resume Mistake # 4

Poor Resume formatting and visual layout
The two most widely used resume formats are:

The Chronological Resume
The Functional Resume
Visual Impact

Poor layout will have a detrimental effect on the success of your resume. All too often candidates create resumes that are a mishmash of fonts, bullet points, underlines and italics.

A resume should be where possible uniform with bullet points used to highlight specific accomplishments or achievements and not every sentence or they lose their effectiveness. Think of your resume as packaging for you as the candidate of choice. Create a professional resume by choosing the format that suits you, keeping the layout clear and easy to read and using white space effectively.

Resume Mistake # 5

Spelling and Punctuation
It really goes without saying that this is the faux pas of all faux pas! It will not matter that you have created the perfect layout, written the most effective text and the used the format that suits your career perfectly if you submit a resume that contains poor punctuation or spelling mistakes.

The first thing an employer/recruiter will think when they see a spelling mistake included in a resume is that you are careless and lack attention to detail, neither of which are attributes that will endear you as a candidate.

Spell-checking your resume simply won’t do. Computers are not infallible. Get your resume proofread by several people both friends and colleagues who are au fait with the terminology used within the resume.

Make sure that sentences are written in the correct context. Ensure that punctuation is accurate and that all spelling is correct. Sentence structure should be easy to read and professional in manner.

Don’t create an otherwise well-written resume only to have it discarded because you failed to cross your T’s and dot your I’ s!