Five Mistakes Job Seekers Make on Their Resumes
Posted by
Jessica Holbrook
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I think I’m beginning to sound borderline preachy with my resume and cover letter advice. But I also feel I have a duty to share with job seekers the blunders and mistakes they make that prevent them from getting the interview and ultimately the offer. After ten years of working as a human resources manager and recruiter I’ve seen my fair share of job seeker mistakes. So here’s my list of the five biggest mistakes job seekers make on their resumes.
MISTAKE #1: Outdated formatting
The first impression your resume gives is critical. How do you want the hiring manager to perceive you? Professional and accomplished? Or sloppy and disorganized? Old and outdated formats only reflect poorly on you as a viable candidate for the position.
MISTAKE #2: Using an objective
If your resume has an objective, please remove it. That is an outdated practice that is no longer relevant in today’s job market. Objectives will only land you in the “bland, just like everyone else” pile—not the “oh yeah, don’t let me forget to call them today” pile.
MISTAKE #3: Forgetting important keywords
Don’t forget to use industry specific keywords. Also, make sure you know where to place them. The top section of the resume is the best place because that’s where the hiring manager’s eyes will be drawn. Short keywords are a great way to tell the employer about your expertise.
MISTAKE #4: Length and text density
Too long or too short and you’ve lost your hiring manager. Keep paragraphs to 3-5 sentences—and the same goes for the number of bullets you use in your resume. Why? Any longer and you lose the audience in information overload—any shorter and you appear under qualified.
MISTAKE #5: Listing responsibilities instead of accomplishments
The hiring manager doesn’t want your resume to be an exact replica of the job ad. He already knows what he needs. What he needs to know is how you’re going to meet their needs. Utilize statements that demonstrate your expertise and accomplishments in a given area. Certainly there was a challenge you faced while working for your current or previous employers. How did you address these challenges and what were the results? The answers to these questions make for GREAT bullet points on a resume.
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KDB •CAVEAT!!Although the five mistakes identified are true, please be aware that provincial government opportunities require a modified approach. Resume's aren't a one-size-fits-all and searching for those weasel words in either your covering letter, resume or the actual interview is a waste of time. I can assure you, that after spending 36 years in the public service, I've screened out thousands of resumes because the stated job qualifications were either ignored entirely, or vaguely addressed. -
Lacie R. •I agree with all points and have read this same advice from several different sources lately. I have made these revisions to my resume and am hoping to see a greater response to it in the coming months.
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Keith.B. •In today's competitive job search innovative ideas are welcomed. What do you use instead of the "Objective"? If you are transitioning from one career to another, how does your resume reflect that?
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Maurice •Excellent advice, I have read conflicting advice, I guess it depends on the type of co. you are applying to, and also the person reading the resume. I've tried it both ways, as far as with/ without an objective. All of your suggestions are worth a try. Thanks
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Hilda •Excellent points, sure is helpful
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Lisa A. •Thank you, I just happen to have an interview today, I will look at my resume and see what changes I can make. Thank You!! That was great info!! Lisa A.
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Mark B. •I've dropped "Objective" for "Overview." It has been my experience, though, that an accomplishment-driven resume which lists core competencies and is heavily laden with key words pushes me right out of the running because, I feel, it leaves the employer with the impression that I am unaffordable. This conclusion, nevertheless, is purely subjective; my job search efforts rarely generate even an acknowledgment of receipt of my resume, let alone garner me an interview.
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SandraDee •Instead of an objective, I have been advised to have a summary of accomplishments. This summary should contain many of the key words recruiters and/or computers will scan and look for. It should be a short paragraph highlighting what you bring to the position. Also - the problem with bullets is that when you upload your resume (as you often need to do when applying online), the formatting will be skewed and you will need to fix it. Some recommend you create two versions of your resume - one with and one without bullets and use the latter for online submissions
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bh •I think these suggestions are pretty vague. You don't tell how to improve them or what to do about them. Not very helpful in the long run.
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Jennifer •For present job duties use present tense verbs and with past job duties using past tense verbs and make sure you check spelling and punctuation.
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Ginalyn M. •Thank you for the advised. I'll try removing my mistakes and hope it will work out soon.
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Teri G. •With regard to the objective statement, I was just recently advised by a recruiter that I should add one because I am transitioning from public accounting to private accounting. Any thoughts on this?
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KristinaK •I've been interviewing extensively for the past few months and after every interview with a Recruiter I've asked them if there is anything I can do to improve my resume. ALL have stated that an objective statement would help.
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Jason S. •Thanks! I've repeated some of these errors time and time again!Now I know the differ :-0)
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rachna •Thanks i got so much information about how to make perfect resume
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The part about deleting an objective caught my attention because recruiters consistently say to add an "objective" on a resume. However, I think it actually hurts a resume rather then help because the job seeker may think, "We can't fill that objective" and put it in the slush file. I'll remove mine and see what happens. But I agree with those who commented who say the resume critique-ers give conflicting information.
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Your first point involves "Outdated formatting". By this do you refer to the whole document looking "old-fashioned" - in which case just what do you deem "new-fashioned" - modern. Alternatively, do you mean that you have seen many documents that have obviously been cut and pasted together, leaving remnants of different formatting (style, grammar, tense, spelling, font, etc) to clash as one reads the resume?
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S.R. •This article assumes that human eyes actually get the opportunity to read our resumes. If so, the main ideas of this article seem to emphasize a few key points for our resumes: be purposeful in our text to address expertise and accomplishments - a mere laundry list of duties is not interesting; pack a punch very quickly to entice the reader to either refer us to the hiring manager right away or continue reading the resume; contain an appropriate amount of blank space (mistake #4) so as to be pleasing to the eye; be contemporary in format to reflect that our knowledge base is current. The resume does not get you the job, it only gets you to the next step, which is the interview. If our resumes either impress or captivate the reader, we should make it to the next step.
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S.R. Wiggins •To David D. who posted on the resume of a PhD - what you described sounds more like a curriculum vitae ("CV") which is used for academicians, researchers, scientists, etc. As such, this resume article is not applicable for a CV. I would suggest that you tap into a completely different set of resources and criteria.
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Alex •Are you sure? People say different things. One more thing if the hiring personnel ask for experience and you have a degree and no experience you can't get the job. So that would mean the entire human race would be out of a job because they don't have work experience just book and lab knowledge you get what am trying to say.
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David D. •I agree: there is confusion about what is "the" proper format for a resume. I had the opportunity to edit somebody's resume (I am a writer and editor). The dictum that a resume should be no longer than one, maybe two, pages was in my mind. This was a PhD in biochemistry. He had, I think, ten pages in his resume, including not only companies he had worked for but scientific publications he had written for. His academic credentials alone took far more than a few lines. I have had the experience of being told that I was "over-qualified" on the basis of my resume, which is two pages but spans 27 years. Something needs to be said about these kinds of considerations.
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Saeed •Thanks....very informative and precise tips on common mistakes. I have removed objective from my resume. One quick question...should I mention accomplishment at the beginning of the resume or at the end?
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Bonnie •no "objective", what to put there?This is very helpful article, thank you.
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Hi There •I certainly do not have as much expertise in this area as the author, but I have been given the task to review a stack of resumes and filter down the stack multiple times. In this quick screen, objectives or some demonstrated interest in the job and not just sending in a resume because there was an opening announced is one of my key criteria. (Along with required degree, relevant experience, and any required specifics.)
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Tessa •I have been told, and I have read, that a specific objective that matches the position the person is applying for is what is wanted is ie: Sales Manager. The mistake is the stupid sentences that say Seeking a position that will allow me to utilize my skills and abilities. Objectives in Caljobs resume are required to match.
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