Avoid 8 Common Resume Mistakes: Fix It Now, Land The Job Next!

Most job seekers often overlook the most common resume mistakes. Therefore, ensuring that your resume is free from mistakes is essential to impress the recruiter.
Moreover, a resume is the first thing a recruiter sees and assesses you as the potential candidate.
Creating a resume can be challenging and tricky. It’s not easy to write a paper that explains your background and experiences in less than two pages.
With the variety of jobs available and the differing expectations from employers, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to crafting the perfect resume.
Therefore, a resume is vital for landing or costing the job opportunity.
Try to avoid making the resume mistakes below so that you come across as someone capable, professional, and eager to take on new challenges.
Lastly, no one wants to be rejected before the interview. Let’s jump to the common resume mistakes number one!
Say Goodbye To Your Unprofessional Email Address
Did you ever create a quirky email address in the past? Are you still using it to communicate with your family and friends? If so, that’s okay!
However, if you want to use it to send a job application, we will get an issue.
You will have two options in this situation: First, you shall prevent ridiculous email names. Then, you create a new one with an appropriate professional account name. Second, losing a chance to get your ideal-dream job.
Using an inappropriate email address as a contact can instantly derail your application. Don’t let the “yolecuttiebrie” email address stand as a boundary for you to get an opportunity.
This kind of resume mistake shows that you are unprofessional and seem not serious about applying for jobs.
In our suggestion, You can put your first and last name. If someone else already uses it, you can add numbers or punctuation.
Typos And Grammar Errors
Typos and grammatical errors are the most common resume mistakes. Although we live in the modern era, those two things still become the obvious issues among job seekers.
As we know, a resume is an opportunity to show the recruiter that you have the ability for a job position. Hence, it would help to write like a pro to compete in a competitive job search.
Based on the CareerBuilder survey, nearly 77% of resumes have typos. Even though English is not your mother tongue, it shouldn’t be a reason for spelling and grammar mistakes.
Employers will review your resume by skimming for a few seconds. If they found a minor mistake in your writing, they might skip you for the next stage.
Thus, you have to keep in mind that proper spelling and grammar are critical to your resume.
There are many ways for you to avoid these usual mistakes, from using online tools like Grammarly and spellchecker.
Furthermore, you can proofread by placing your finger on each word, asking a career coach or relatives, or even reading it out loud.
Having a polished and professional resume will help you in your job search.
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Don’t Leave The Keywords Behind
If you haven’t heard back from the resume you sent, there is a possibility that your resume does not pass the ATS software.
Currently, many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS). This software is to help employers in filtering and scan unqualified candidates.
One of the reasons why many resumes get rid of the ATS system is that they don’t put suitable job description keywords in it.
Therefore, you need to do keywords research to avoid these issues. This keyword will represent who you are, your experience, what you’re looking for, and march the job description.
If you don’t know the right keyword, you can go to any job portal. Then, you can search for the position and read the job description.
Use keywords wisely. You can do a slight paraphrase to match your previous experience. We also need to consider the number of keywords to attract recruiter attention.
Including keywords in your resume will increase your chances of being selected.
Disorganized And Poor Resume Layout
Another common resume mistake is the disorganized and poor resume layout.
Although you always need to check the resume’s content, engaging resume layout is also essential.
Unless you are applying in the creative field, your CV should not be a piece of art. Disorganized formatting will only make your resume look cluttered and hard to read.
As a result, It becomes a massive loss for employers and job seekers. Therefore, you need to avoid a less attractive layout and beware of using different fonts and sizes.
All you need is a simple layout and a practical font like Arial or Times New Roman.
All you need is to keep your resume concise and straightforward. Last but not least, This resume must be easy to read on-screen, which will be opened as an email attachment.
Too Long
Your resume is not a novel. Hence, You need to write a CV as concisely as possible.
Unfortunately, many job seekers still write more than two pages, especially those with ten years plus experience. Therefore, the maximum page for a resume is no longer than two pages.
A clear, concise resume will entice the reader to learn more about the writer. On the other hand, a long resume may indicate less focus in your career or job search.
To avoid these issues, you should include the necessary information about the position.
A one-page resume is enough for entry-level or fresh graduates with little to no experience. Your resume should contain contact information, work/internship/organization/ volunteer history, educational and course certification.
Moreover, for those with ten more experience, keep your resume two pages long. In this case, your resume should include working experience, skill, and work achievement.
In the end, you have to customize your resume for the employer’s needs.
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Incorrect Contact Information
When writing a resume, you must check the information in your resume. It will help you and also the employer to prevent missing any information.
Recruiter will not spend their time searching your details on google. They have a lot of tasks to do!
Hence if you want them to get in touch and offer you a chance, don’t make it difficult for them. In this case, you should put the correct contact info such as email, phone number, or even home address.
As a result of incorrect contact information, you may miss out on a potential job opportunity.
Don’t Forget To Share Your Achievements.
Your resume is not just a place for you to write your previous job list. You also need to share short information about any recognition you have received during your career.
If you are unsure whether it is acceptable or not to put achievements on your resume, the answer is fine. CV is a great place to share accomplishments and sell yourself.
You can mention that you were the employee of the month. In addition, it is to show that you work well with others to achieve company goals.
Lying
It’s not uncommon for job seekers to lie on their resumes to impress employers. For this reason, it is a red flag for recruiters to pass you for the next stage.
Most recruiters are experienced in dealing with various kinds of job seekers. They’ll be able to tell right away if you are telling the truth or not during the interview process.
Hence, you shall not try to play or trick them.
According to a 2015 CareerBuilder survey, 56% of employers have caught a lie on a resume. All your lies will be revealed in reference and background checks.
The most common areas around which candidates lie are:
- Skills (57%)
- Responsibilities (55%)
- Dates of employment (42%)
- Job titles (34%)
- Academic degrees (33%)
- Companies worked for (62%)
- Recognition (18%)
The consequences of exaggerating the truth are that you lose credibility in your career, are considered untrustworthy, didn’t get the job, and are likely to get fired.
Nonetheless, you get the position. You may fail to meet your employer’s expectations.
Therefore, It’s better to be honest and lose job opportunities than getting the roles and being fired for lying.
To sum up, above are the common resume mistakes that recruiters always find. It may seem not a big deal, but it can cost you a lot of opportunities.
The company wants to hire people who pay attention to details, no matter how big or small.
Hence, you have to prevent any common resume mistakes in your resume. Using the above tips will ensure that you are free from errors.
There will always be a second chance to increase the possibility of getting shortlisted for the next stage.
FIx it now and get a job next!
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Good luck to all of you on the job hunt!
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