A resume is a tool that can help you get noticed by a recruiter. It's the first impression that a potential employer gets of you, and resume mistakes can cost you an interview. Based on how your resume is written, a recruiter can make a decision on the spot whether to give you a chance for an interview. It's important to avoid some common mistakes that can make a recruiter trash your resume.
A good resume should appropriately reflect your experience, qualifications, consistency, creativity and originality. A recruiter should be able to concentrate on the valuable information presented in the resume and not be distracted by mistakes or bad design. In order to make your resume a true presentation of your value, you should avoid these common resume mistakes.
One of the most common resume mistakes is to have a resume that is too long with too much information. A resume that contains a lot of information can make a recruiter skip it right away. Recruiters usually take only a few seconds to scan a resume in order to catch valuable information about the applicant. If they are not able to get a good idea about your background, they are most likely to throw it away and move on to the next one. To keep your resume short, focus on your most recent and most relevant experiences. Don't forget to include only relevant achievements and accomplishments. This also ensures that your resume is focused and easy to follow.
Another resume mistake that might cost you an interview is a bad design. It's important to make your resume stand out, but this shouldn't be done with fonts and colors. A resume should contain only one font and should only be in black. Otherwise, it distracts from important information. Also, a nice clean design with a lot of white space is much more appealing than a page crammed with information. A simple and classic design is more professional, and it gives a better first impression. Further, any spelling or grammar errors are an automatic turn off; these resume mistakes will lead to the immediate trashing of the resume. Once a resume is completed, it should be proofread a few times by you and by a second person. A computer spell and grammar check can be of help, but it's best not to entirely depend on one. This type of resume mistake demonstrates lack of care and education, and it's something that can easily be avoided by proofreading.
In order to make your resume stand out and leave a good impression, it's important that it is professional and that it reflects your work background appropriately. This can be accomplished by avoiding common resume mistakes made by job seekers. A good resume is what makes a recruiter give you a chance for an interview, and you should take time to create one with care and attention.
Photo courtesy of Stuart MIles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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