4 ½ Résumé Mistakes You Can’t Neglect
If you ask 10 different people for feedback on your résumé, you will likely get 20 opinions. It is too long, too short, not bulleted enough, over-bulleted, not concise, too wordy; the list goes on. Even professional résumé writers disagree on which approach is best.
The truth is that your résumé is your most prized marketing piece. Its goal is to get you interviews. Period! If it isn’t doing its job, you won’t get the interviews leading to your next offer of employment. I should add a caveat: the résumé is not the only thing that should be part of your strategy; but I am not going to muddy the waters with too much in this post. The bottom line? You can’t afford to leave certain things to chance.
Whether you decide to hire a professional writer with a reputation of success or you go it alone, there are common mistakes you must avoid as you send your résumé out to prospective hiring managers and recruiters.
1. Check Your Spellchecker!
Many common words like Manager can be inadvertently spelled as Manger and if you are not double checking your spellchecker, you could be embarrassed. Ask several people to proofread your documents before you send them out. You don’t want to burn any bridges and your résumé is a reflection of your personal brand. It must be 100% perfect.
2. It’s Not What You Know – It’s What You Did
It is very important to set yourself apart from the competition by packing your résumé full of quantifiable achievements. While listing skills and duties is important, you must also let hiring managers and recruiters know how you have positively impacted the bottom line in your previous positions. By sharing details surrounding the way in which your efforts influenced the outcome of projects, sales, and business goals, you will prove you can walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
3. Stay Away from Personal Pronouns
While fine for the cover letter, the use of I, me, and my on your résumé cheapens your brand. A résumé should be a highly professional document. When you use personal pronouns on your résumé you can appear amateurish.
4. Don’t Overdo It.
You may need a lengthier résumé than you did when you graduated from college, but this does not mean you have to list every single thing you have done from the minute you threw your cap up in the air.
Sometimes less is more. A résumé, like a skirt, should be long enough to cover the important parts, but short enough to attract attention. Provide the most critical information and save the finer details for the interview where you will have an opportunity to elaborate.
4 ½. Get Help When You Need To
Your résumé not getting the attention on the runway? Seek help from a professional résumé writer who will correct the unseen errors you may be making. The longer you use an ineffective résumé, the more opportunities that will pass you by. The investment you make now will pay big dividends over the life of your career.
Given that most people spend 40+ hours a week at their job, having a job that provides both money and personal fulfillment is important. I always feel so pleased when my clients recognize the importance of having a truly stellar résumé that gets results. Whether you decide to hire a professional or use templates found online to create your own document, give special care to this task. Your résumé is a reflection of you and is an extremely important first step in the hunt for a new role.
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This blog's author, Debra Wheatman of Careers Done Write, provides executive career services including resume and cover letter preparation, job search / interviewing strategies and professional branding including how to effectively use LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media in your career.
Visit CareersDoneWrite.com to learn more about how we can put your career in gear with interview catching resumes and professionally written career documents.
Some very good and important tips.