Avoid These Resume Mistakes!
Each year, we're inundated with stories about the latest trends in resumes.
What should you include? Who is hiring? How can you best sell yourself to an employer? What if your resume isn't on everyone's top 10 list for this year. . . Should you switch things up and adopt new tactics to get noticed?
Absolutely not! Don't be one of these people who think they have to constantly outsmart other job seekers just because the game has changed. There are some mistakes that are simply unforgivable, and no amount of changes will make up for them.
Let's get started with our list of resume no-nos:
1. Typos: Unfortunately, you can't get away with this one. Make sure everything is spelled correctly. If you have never had a good grasp on the English language, or have struggled in high school and college with English courses, enlist the help of a friend to edit your document.
2. Grammar: You're not writing an essay to impress your professor; you are trying to convey that you are capable of doing a job well and communicating clearly and concisely in writing for others to read. There is nothing worse than being graded down for your lack of proper grammar.
3. Length: We are currently living in a time of shrinking attention spans. So, why not keep things short and sweet? Let's say you have covered all the essentials in your resume; what's the point of having so much information that is redundant? Besides, this may make you appear as if you don't know how to write succinctly or understand what is necessary to include in a resume.
4. Too Much On One Page: Instead of imbedding too much information on one page, carefully choose which areas should be covered by boldface type and which ones should have fewer words included (in smaller font). Some of the things you should go through and cross out include your education, work experience and skills, references and awards.
What should you keep? This is a tough decision to make. If you have more than one page of bullet points and skills, then you may be going overboard (whether it's in content or length). However, if you are going to have an extremely bang-up resume come through your email inbox (and employers will), then perhaps having a little extra information might be worth it.
5. Lack of Proof: Save yourself some time and trouble by checking your references online before sending out your resume to potential employers. These references will save you from having to go through the painstaking process of contacting everyone and double-checking that they are in fact valid before sending your resume off to potential employers.
6. LinkedIn Profile: Don't expect discovering your profile or sending a mass email around your professional network to get employers' attention. It's 2012, and people are looking for real-time information regarding the newest job market. This means social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others are becoming more popular for not only researching information about potential candidates, but also networking with them as well.
7. No Personal Contact Info: If you're sending a resume without a phone number or email address to contact you, don't expect a call back. Not only will you not get the job, but your information will also be ignored by other employers who have looked over your resume as well. It's not that they are closed-minded people; it's simply that they don't know how to reach you!
8. The Cover Letter: No one reads these things, so why take the time? Save it for when they call you in to interview you and nobody else will have a chance to read it before then (if at all). What is more important is to get yourself prepared for the actual job interview.
9. Poor Visuals: If you're not sure if your photo, background, or any other visual information is professional enough to get you noticed, then refrain from sending it to the employer unless you absolutely must.
10. Downloadable: We live in a digital world; be sure all documents are saved in .pdf format, and ideally, MS Word or PDF. By not sending a .doc file of your resume has no value, as they are easy to copy and paste into the document that the hiring person will be reading on the computer screen.
11. No Questions: When it comes to questions, keep it short and sweet. If you don't have one specific question for the employer, then it is best to ask what the job entails and why you are a good fit for the position. The more specific questions you can think of, the better.
12. NO Cover Letter: No one will read this anyway.
13. "Amen" to Everything: Don't be overly enthusiastic about your resume and put everything in! If there is no reason for an employer to choose you over another candidate, then you risk hurting your chances at getting hired (and wasting their time).
14. Cold Email: If you are following this list, then you are probably asking yourself "why would anyone even contact me via email?" It's 2011, people! You have 3-D graphics on your computer, video streaming on your TV, and we're endlessly filling our newsfeeds with tweets saying #DeathToTheAmen. If you're going to use email for anything at all, then make sure it's a personal contact and not a cold one.
15. There are just too many that can be mentioned here. This is why it is so important to have friends and family to look over your documents before you send them out into the wide world of job searching. These are just a couple of examples. There are others as well (such as having no message or information about yourself at all), but hopefully this list will get you started in the right direction! Good luck with your job hunt, and if things don't work out just take some time to reflect on your resume and cover letter before hitting "send. "
" The most dreaded words in the English language are "never" and "always." – Unknown
[/tab][tab title="Where to Find Resumes Instead of Sending Thank You Letters for FREE"][separator class="small-clear-fix"]You'll be glad you did. (I know I am!)[/separator][/tab]
If you're looking for a job, chances are you've already searched online at the top sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, and USA Jobs. This is where most people go because they're well known, but there's a much easier way!
To find free resumes on the Internet (and many other places as well), just search Google.com instead of these other sites.
Conclusion: We all know that these sites are great for finding jobs, but what if you want to contact employers about other projects or services?
It's common sense that there are countless free resume sites on the Internet. But, unfortunately, there are some obvious and not so obvious ways of getting scammed. You would be surprised to see how many times someone has taken major credit for your hard-earned resume and experience.
The purpose of this article is to prevent you from wasting your time while looking for resumes on sites that have little or no value.