January 27, 2009

10 Most Common Resume Writing Mistakes

Personal information or picture

Leave off the personal information or picture. Do not include your age, gender, race, marital status, hunting skills or picture. These details do not determine your ability to perform your job and must not occupy a place within your resume.

Using a template design for your resume

You should never use a template to create a resume. Your resume should be uniquely designed to highlight your unique qualifications and achievements to set you apart from other candidates.

Remuneration

Do not mention details of your expected remuneration. Giving this detail will either undersell you or overprice you.

Lies

There are many risks involved in lying. Once the untruth is discovered, you will lose your job. If there are areas that you prefer not to disclose, do not mention about them in your resume. Just don't lie - be honest.

Irrelevant or out dated information

Don't list irrelevant work experience just to fill in space. Keep information relevant to field and industry. Also, if the work you did many years ago is not related to a job you are applying for now, do not mention it. This information is out dated.

Omitting dates of employment

Never omit dates of employment in order to hide your age or cover up an unstable work history. The hiring managers will know instantly you're trying to hide something. However, you can leave off jobs held for a short duration or omit the earliest part of your work history to hide employment gaps and periods of job hopping.

Voluntary work

Unless there is a direct and positive link with the job you are applying for, omit this out of your resume. Some employers may appreciate your commitment to social work but others may find it as a potential distraction.

Long paragraphs

Write short, easy-to-read, statements about your skills, knowledge, abilities and achievements.

References

This information is unnecessary for your resume. Present it later when this will be requested of you as your application progresses to the final stages.

Poor grammar and spelling

Spelling and grammatical errors can automatically disqualify a resume from consideration. Proofread and then proofread again.