Alright, calm down, calm down! We’re not accusing you! Give us a chance to explain why these common resume mistakes that you are making need to be fixed. Here’s what you’re doing wrong:
- You overcomplicate your current job description! Just tell us what you do in the simplest terms, otherwise it’s a pain to try and understand how you relate to the job you’re applying for.
- We can’t say this enough—don’t exaggerate! If you lie about any qualifications or skills, it will come back to bite you! Whether it’s during the job process or if you land the job and have to ‘fess up to your manager that you never actually got the extra Excel training you said you did…
- Resumes written in paragraph form…we’ve seen this much, too often. A hiring manager wants to scan and highlight the most applicable areas of your experience, and paragraphs aren’t helping your cause. Be succinct—use bullet points!
- Conveniently withholding dates of employment becomes not-so-convenient for the hiring manager that will (yes, they will!) find out. Just be upfront and explain your situation! If age or the frequency of job changes hurts your application despite how you present and explain yourself, then the firm and position weren’t meant for you anyway.
- Mention your education! If your education is not on your resume, then the hiring manager will assume you didn’t get that degree. You earned it, flaunt it!
- Be SPECIFIC! Tell us exactly how much money you saved your company and how you did it, otherwise we won’t get the full picture.
In a sense, a resume is a bit like speed dating. Both you and the hiring manager are looking to find a mutually beneficial partnership. You want to present your best self and a holistic picture of your achievements to appear attractive to a potential employer. However, just like love connections, you’re going to want to present yourself in the best (but most honest!) light possible or the partnership won’t work out in the long term.