11 Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid

11 Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid 11 Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid Resume/CV / https://www.edenscott.com/blog Having great experience and skills doesnt get you a job interview; having a great resume does. So in this article, were going to look at 11 common resume mistakes that might be costing you interviews.If your resume already passes these tests, great!If not, fix these common mistakes before applying for more jobs. You should see an immediate difference in the amount of interviews you get after fixing these mistakes.Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid:1. Not having your current/most recent job on the top half of the first page of your resumeThis is one of the most common resume mistakes, and one of the most damaging when it comes to your odds of getting the interview.Its crucial to have your current or most recent work or job-related experience on the top of your resumes first page. This is usually the first thing hiring managers look for, and theyre not very patient when it comes to finding it.Make it easy to find, or run the risk of using up the hiring mana gers patience before they even find this important info.2. Having paragraphs and text that are too denseHiring managers dont read resumes, they skim them. They look for keywords, section titles and headers, important facts and statistics, etc. If you wrote your resume under the assumption that it will be read word-for-word, go back and redo it! Its going to be skimmed, so you might as well plan for it and take advantage.Use clear headers (work history, education, etc.) and use bullet points and short statements instead of paragraphs wherever possible.Whittle your sentences or bullets down to no longer than 3 lines (1 to 2 lines is ideal). Insert at least a .5 point of white space between each bullet and/or paragraph to make it less overwhelming to read.3. Not including data, accomplishments, and metricsHiring managers like quantifiable results on your resume. Dont just say you exceeded your goals. Say you exceeded your goals by an average of 29% through each quarter in 2013.Here are 3 other examples of quantifiable facts and statistics that somebody could (and should) include on a resume:Managed 7 customer accounts worth a total of $1,000,000 in annual revenueResponsible for 60 outbound calls per dayResponsible for building a 7-person team from the ground up, with 8 employees and an annual budget of $800,000.4. Not tailoring your resume to match the job descriptionHiring managers arent scanning your resume to determine if youre smart, hard-working, or any of that stuff. That will be determined in an actual interview.So what are they looking for? Evidence that you can hit the ground running and contribute immediately in the position you applied for, based on your past experiences.You should be looking for keywords and required skills on the job description and tailoring your resume to demonstrate your experience in these areas.5. Distracting formattingOver-doing the formatting of your resume is definitely a mistake.Dont get fancy. This isnt the time or place to test a new cool font or mess around with 3 different layers of bullet points (although bullet points are great if you keep the setup simple).Hiring managers look at a lot of resumes, and most look similar. This isnt a bad thing- it allows the hiring manager to find the important info quickly. Whether you like it or not, thats what theyre trying to do.If your resume is the one in the pile that makes this task more difficult,its not a good thing for your job search.6. Having a resume thats too longWhen your resume is too long, it buries the important facts, increases the odds it’ll get skimmed, and makes it harder for the hiring manager to figure out if you’re a good fit to interview.For most people, three pages is way too long. Unless you’re an academic researcher or have 25 years of experience, you should make it shorter.One page is great when you’re new to the workforce or have been in a similar role throughout most of your career.For everyone else, a two-page resume is id eal.So if your resume is longer, try to reduce the content on your resume until you have a two-page resume with the following formatting:Margins:.5 inches all aroundFont: Choose small sans serif font (Calibri or Ariel) with a 10- or 11-point size.7. Having an outdated resumeMake sure your resume doesn’t set off any alarms that it is dated. With an outdated resume, you run the risk of being perceived as out of date yourself.Ditch the objective statement with a short branding paragraph that tells the reader how you are a perfect fit for the role (HINT: Look at the qualifications in job postings to get a sense of what they want to see). Be sure to also remove the phrase “references available upon request.”8. Burying the leadThe first thing journalists learn is to never bury the “lead”. When it comes to resumes, you should never bury your achievements below a job overview or list of responsibilities.First-round readers are often too busy to get past the first couple of lines o f each employment entry â€" which means if your biggest achievements aren’t the first thing they see they may never get to it!Ask yourself what you are proudest of with each role, and lead off with this response. Weave in somedata or figuresto back it up and you are sure to impress â€" or at least compel the reader to take a deeper look during Round Two.9. Selling yourself shortYoumay have decided that your previous job wasn’t glamorous, your responsibilities weren’t that great, or your background just isn’t impressive. In almost every case, that isnot true.The reality is that it’s all about how you describe your experience. Every job has impressive pieces.The companies you’re sending your resume to didn’t see your past work, they’re relying on you to tell them about it. That’s what your resume is for. So it’s your job to show them what you learned in that role, and what the impressive aspects are.Here’s a trick you can use: Think of yourself describing your jo b to someone elseâ€"someone that doesn’t know anything about your position. And you want to impress them. What would you say? Which responsibilities sound best? What accomplishments would you name first? Did you overcome any big challenges?If you’re an entry level job seeker or recent graduate, the tips above still apply. Every class you took and project you worked on can be described in different ways, and you need to make sure you’re not selling yourself short on your resume when describing it.10. Focusing on responsibilities instead of achievementsWhen you take your previous experience in the step above, write it on your resume in terms ofachievementsâ€"not duties and responsibilities. Most people simply list their responsibilities, and it’s not going to make you stand out.Here’s the difference:“Responsible for supervising 5 employees”“Trained and led a team of 5”Which one sounds better? (Hint: It’s the second option).This is definitely one of the top resume m istakes to avoid, and is a great tip forboosting your LinkedInas well.So read through your descriptions of previous jobsand then add an example to how you completed that work, and what the results were.Discuss how many employees you have trained, the dollar amount of the budget you oversee, or how many clients you have gained while employed there, etc. For more ideas of facts and numbers you can put onyour resume,read this article.Adding accomplishments and facts to your resume is going to make it stand out immediately. And the best part is goingthrough this process reminds you of your successes and wins so you’ll knowwhat to say in your interviewif they ask about your past accomplishments or what you’re most proud of (both very common questions).11. Dates making you appear old (or too young)Toavoid age discriminationin your job search, you don’t want to appear too old or too young. Here are a couple of tips that will help.Don’t include dates with your education. If you are a recent college graduate, it shows that you have (most likely) zero professional experience. If you graduated from college in 1982, it shows you are of a seasoned age and may be out-of-date with technology (whether or not that is true â€" that’s the perception). And, if you have a college degree, don’t feel the need to include high school and the graduation year â€" it’s a given that you graduated high school simply because you attended college or further training opportunities.Here’s another tip: If you have been in the workforcefor more than 15 years, include the most recent 12-15 years as “Recent Professional History” and leave the rest off. Or include anything beyond those 12-15 yearsas “Earlier Career Experience” â€" with no dates listed.This will showcaseyour skill-set and your expertise without drawing attention to the dates and years.If you checked all of the common resume mistakes above and fix any issues, you should start getting more interviews.Other usef ul resources:16 reasons why you can’t find a jobThe best times to apply for jobs and submit your resumeTwo guest authors contributed to this article:Virginia Franco of Virginia Franco ResumesDr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish of Feather Communications