As you finish college and are ready to join the job market, you may start to wonder what a good resume looks like. A resume is, indeed, the most important document you can come up with for job applications, as it is the key that can open many doors - including the doors to the interview. But what exactly is a good resume, and how to avoid common resume mistakes?
Why Is a Good Resume So Important?
A good resume is an essential document, as it showcases, in a very shortened form, what you have achieved when it comes to your education and previous work experience. For this reason, you may look back to the college days: “Who can write my essay plagiarism free?” was a common question back then. Those same services can help you write your resume and avoid the most common resume mistakes:
What Are Common Resume Mistakes?
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As resumes are important documents, they should be free of any errors that may make the HR in a company turn you down. Although not every company focuses on the same mistakes, and some may even overlook a typo or two (unless spelling is an essential skill for the job you’re applying for), sending in a resume with no mistakes is a great way to start your job application journey. With some surprising entries on the list, here are the resume mistakes you should avoid:
Typos
Typos are a big no-no in a resume. With a plethora of free spell-checkers online, leaving typos in any document is simply not allowed. Use Grammarly or other spell checkers to correct your spelling, and make sure to re-read the resume yourself. “Form” and “from” are typos of each other, but most spell checkers cannot spot the mistake out of context and a sentence.
Grammatical Errors
Grammatical errors are also a big no in a resume. With the number of foreign applicants for each job position growing year after year, and with their resumes being typed out in perfect English, any grammar mistake should be avoided. Furthermore, having good grammar is associated with higher education, offering you a big plus in any group of applicants.
Not Being Specific Enough
Avoid long sentences in any resume. Sentences should be short and informative. They should also provide very specific details. Do not simply name the University you graduated from. Name the year and major as well. The minor should be a part of the education field, too. Ensure that the sentences are short, coherent, and easy to read. Avoid stop words, such as ‘and’, ‘the’, ‘but’, ‘so’, etc.
Not Insisting on Results
Not insisting on the results you have achieved is another big issue that you may face. You should not simply name the duties you may have had in a job position. Instead, you should name them in a skimmable form and then continue to speak about the results you have achieved in this particular job position.
“Increasing sales by 3.47%” will not sound too exciting to anyone, but if you have managed to do so in a three-month period, your resume is likely to stand out from the sea of other resumes. Likewise, reducing expenditure, streamlining the production process, automating certain tasks, or bringing in an X number of clients are all desired results. Ensure you include them in your resume.
No Summary
The summary is usually not seen as an integral part of a resume. However, as this is the perfect opportunity to repeat the main points and reaffirm what the company representative has read so far, it should not be left out either. Spend time and effort in coming up with a good summary of your resume.
Passive Voice
Nominative Determinism says that the words you use will paint the world around you. For this reason, you should avoid passive voice - it can make you sound too passive. Instead, focus on active voice and action words and verbs. Revise each sentence and make sure it resonates with action and engagement.
Not Visually Engaging
A good resume should have a good visual outline as well. It should enable the company representative to quickly skim through the resume and pick up the most important information. In job openings with hundreds or even thousands of applicants, each second matters, as the interviewers take around 6 seconds to evaluate each applicant.
No Contact Information / Incomplete Contact Information
Even if you pass the initial screening and have incomplete contact information, you may be declined for further interview. The thing is that several dozens of people may pass to the next stage in job applicant screening. Among those dozens, no big company will attempt to contact you more than once, maybe twice. You should be able to understand that and do everything in your power to be as easy to reach as possible.
Expanding on Wrong Sections
Expanding on wrong sections is simply a big turn-off for any representative. However, knowing which sections are wrong to expand on is a skill on its own. If you are applying for a travel agent job, a travel or lifestyle blog creator, or for a position of a social media manager, expanding on your lifestyle and knowledge about it is perfectly fine. On the other hand, if you are applying to be a consultant in an IT company, it will be redundant and will cost you your interview.
Conclusion
Avoiding common mistakes in your resume is a big deal. However, this is only one of many steps in any workplace, as you also need to have good content to present. For this reason, take our guide to avoid common resume mistakes as a set of guidelines that should improve your success rate but still rely on your knowledge and values to ensure your resume is worth reading.
Eric Wyatt
Eric Wyatt loves traveling and has spent considerable time abroad. While there, he loves to converse with other people - it helps him understand people back at home better, he says. An avid reader, he loves reading sociology and psychology books.