The following is a guest post by Matthew Ellis.
Job seekers often complain that, no matter how many resumes they submit or jobs they apply to, they cannot even elicit a phone call or email response, let alone an interview. If you are one of these people, the problem might be as simple as one of the mistakes below.
Here are five common mistakes people make on their resumes. See if your applications make any of these errors!
1. Failure to send the resume as a PDF attachment. You created your resume in Word, so why not send a Word document? The answer is simple: PDFs are better. When you send a PDF, you can be assured the document appears the same way when the recipient opens it as it did when you attached it to the email. Word documents can change, depending on who is opening it. What was one page on your computer, may be two pages on your recipient’s. Formatting can change, too. Send your resume as a PDF so you know it will look as good when opened as it did when sent.
2. Failure to tailor the resume to the position. A lot of people rely on one version of their resumes to apply to every job they look at. But this means the resume does not meet the requirements listed in almost any of the jobs being applied for. A lot of companies use software to sort through the hundreds or thousands of resumes they receive, before anything reaches a human. For example, if a job description is for an “analyst” and your resume never uses the word “analyze,” it will get quickly screened out of the process.
3. Leaving typos in the resume. One problem with constantly tailoring your resume is you have to be more vigilant against typos because you are making more edits. But for a lot of human resources professionals, a typo signals a lack of attention to detail and can automatically eliminate you from the running. So proofread your resume every time you send it.
4. Forgetting to include interests or hobbies. Some people think these lines on a resume are pure fluff, and they are not entirely wrong. But that fluff can work. Your hobbies and interests show who you are as a person, not just a professional. At the same time, if your hobbies and interests are too generic (e.g., music, reading, travel), you are just wasting important real estate on your resume. List hobbies that are true to who you are and tell the reviewer something about you (e.g., modern American fiction, skydiving, artisanal cheese).
5. Lying. Everybody exaggerates a bit on their resumes, but outright lying will not be tolerated. If you make it into an interview but cannot speak genuinely on a piece of your experience, it will reflect poorly on your integrity and intelligence — and you will most likely not be invited back. So be careful to know your resume and be able to speak well on any experience or interest listed on it.
What other resumes mistakes have you seen — or made yourself? Share with us below!
About the Author:
Matthew Ellis has written for many industries over his long freelance career. When he’s not writing, you can find him covering sales jobs in Chicago or training for his upcoming triathlon.
