Most employers are deluged with résumés from eager job seekers. Somehuman resource managers have hundreds of them sitting on their deskson any given day. With competition this fierce, the key to effectiverésumé writing means being certain that yours is free of the commonerrors that many employers complain they see made over and over again.
A strongly written résumé can be the difference between landing aninterview and landing in the "no" pile. Here are 10 common pitfalls toavoid when preparing your résumé:
1. No clear focus. Your résumé should show a clear match betweenyour skills and experience and the job's requirements. A generalrésumé with no sharp focus is not seen as competitive. Why are you thebest person for this particular position?
2. Dutifully dull. A solid résumé is much more than a summary ofyour professional experience; it's a tool to market yourself. Avoidphrases like "responsibilities included" or "duties included." Yourrésumé should not be a laundry list of your duties but rather anannouncement of your major accomplishments.
3. Poorly organized. Information on a résumé should be listed inorder of importance to the reader. Don't ask employers to wade throughyour hobbies first. Dates of employment are not as important as jobtitles. Education should be emphasized if you are freshly out ofschool and have little work experience; otherwise, put it at the end.If your résumé is difficult to read or key information is buried, it'smore likely to be cast aside.
4. Too much emphasis on old jobs. Résumés that go too far back intothe job seeker's work history can put that person at risk for possibleage discrimination. Does anyone really need to read about your highschool job bagging groceries, especially when that was 20 years ago?The rule of thumb for someone at a senior level is to list about thelast 15 years worth of professional experience.
5. Important skills buried. Don't forget to bullet the importantskills that make you a standout in your field. Your objective is toplay up the value that you will bring to a prospective employer.Emphasize how you will add worth to the company, not the reason youwant the job. Employers are looking for someone to enhance theorganization, not their own résumé.
6. Drab looking. Try to stay away from the cookie-cutter résumétemplates that employers see constantly. Show a little imaginationwhen writing and designing your résumé. But don't overdo it. Overlyartistic or tiny fonts are a no-no, since they're hard to read anddon't scan or photocopy well.
7. Too personal. If your Web site includes photos of your cat oryour personal blog about what you did over the weekend, don't steerprospective employers there by including it on your résumé. Keep yourpersonal and your professional life separate in order to be takenseriously.
8. One typo too many. Your résumé is your one chance to make afirst impression. A typo or misspelled word can lead an employer tobelieve that you would not be a careful, detail-oriented employee.Spell-check software is not enough, since sentences like "Thank youfor your patients" would get the thumbs up. Ask several people toproofread your résumé to be sure that it is free of typos andgrammatical errors.
9. Stretches the truth. Everyone wants to present his or her workexperience in the most attractive light, but information contained onyour résumé must be true and accurate. Whether you're simply inflatingpast accomplishments or coming up with complete fabrications, lying issimply a bad idea. Aside from any moral or ethical implications,chances are you'll eventually get caught and lose all credibility.
10. Skips the extras. A common mistake is neglecting to mention anyextra education, training, volunteer work, awards, or recognitionsthat might pertain to your particular job area or industry. Manyemployers view such "extracurricular activities" as testament to awell-rounded employee, so leverage such things as assets to.
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