Resume Mistak

To make the right career moves and boost your job prospects, you need to have a resume that highlights your education, work experience, objectives and skills as well. Your resume is what makes the first impression on your behalf with prospective employers, which is why it has to be paid due attention to. Sadly, there are still a few resume mistakes that are often seen. If you see any of these on yours then it’s time to change things up.

Using generic resume and cover letter:

What many job seekers do is that they use the same resume and cover letter for different job profiles. However, that can be a huge mistake, especially if you are using a functional resume. You need to make the most out of the section where you can talk about your skills. If you customize your resume and cover letter you can ensure that this section talks about skills that are suited for the job description. It will let the recruiter know that you are the right candidate for the specific job.

Keeping skills section at the end:

You understand the importance of having skills section in your resume but do you know that you just can’t save it for the end? In fact, it’s the first section that your prospective employers are going to read, which is why it should focus on skills that are best suited for the job. By doing that you will verify your resume emerges from the rest.

Too long or too short resume:

As a rule of thumb, your resume should be about a page long. If it’s longer then the recruiter is likely to get bored. On the other hand it being too short could be assumed that you don’t have a lot to offer. Hence you have to create a resume that is of just the right length and it should tell your future employer why you and only you are the right person for the job.

Resumes that are not user friendly:

The clean, clear layout of your resume will go a long way in being appealing to your employers. Rather than cramping too much on one page, use the next page to organize your resume well. Bullet points can be used to divide your work experience, qualification etc. to offer a clearer picture to the recruiter. You can consider it to be your first interview and go about it in a way that you want to make all your qualifications known.

No links to social media profiles:

Not having a LinkedIn profile or Twitter account or a blog means ruling out a large number of prospective employers. If you want your resume to be in keeping with the times, you have to include links to social media profiles in it. One smart way of doing that is keeping URLs for your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts at the top of your page, right after your contact information.

Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors:

Good news is that spelling mistakes and grammatical errors can be remedied easily. The bad news is that these mistakes are often seen on resumes, and they are the reason recruiters weed out a large number of applicants. You could be highly qualified for the job but if your resume has these mistakes, you will be relegated to the No pile. It’s good practice to ask a friend to review your resume to avoid these mistakes.

Using online resume templates:

Using these templates is a sure shot way of making your resume look like a thousand others. That’s because these templates are out-dated and their complex layouts only end up making things worse. Using these templates can affect your credibility and viability as the ideal person for the position.

Lack of important keywords:

We live in times where employers often look for resumes based on some crucial keywords. That’s the reason you need to include them in your resume and they should be placed appropriately too. Keeping them in the top half of your resume is a good idea because they will draw the attention of any recruiter instantly. Using shorter keywords helps you make a bigger impact. Just saying what you did and not how you did it. You might have a solid employment history with some of the biggest names in the business. But that alone will not make you stand out in front of your future employers, who would like to know how you performed in your previous positions and the difference you made to the company. Ensure that your resume tells recruiters why you were an asset to your previous company. Your past work accomplishments should be used so that they support your cause of being the best candidate for the job.

Lying:

Lying in your resume, even if it’s a white or a small lie is the worst thing you can do. Today recruiters have several options including calling up references, search engines and social media to check the authenticity of your claims. Keep away from exaggerating credentials or plain lying because that can actually get you in trouble.