Common Resume Writing Mistakes

By admin , in Writing a Resume.

When you are writing up your resume, you want to get a great job, right? You know that you are going to need an awesome resume to get you on your way to an interview. Doesn’t it make sense then for you to present your credentials in the most amazing way possible so that the employer can’t help but call you for an interview? This is the general opinion that would make sense, and yet, resumes end up on the desks of human resources personnel every day that are distinctive in their absolute inattention to detail. If you want your resume to be a good one that gets read you are going to want to avoid the following mistakes that I will list for you.

Everything on this list is more like common sense but it doesn’t help to be prepared. One of the reasons that these mistakes are often made is that some job candidates have no idea how to create a professional document, and they are also unwilling to take the time to learn how to do it either. Not to mention, many people are just too lazy to be bothered. They also do not want to spend the time that it takes in order for them to compose a great resume, much less proofread their material after they are done. Employers have no time to waste on people who are not going to make the effort to ensure their resume is free of errors. Those are not the kind of people they are looking to hire. Here is a list of the common mistakes to avoid:

Take the time to create a professional resume that stands out because it is exactly what employers are looking for and you will be far ahead of the competition
Proofread all of your material and then proofread it again. Be sure to use your spell check options. If you have to have your neighbors, friends, family and anyone else you can get to review your resume for you. Ask them to look for typos and grammar errors.
Do not use small fonts like those that are size 9 and under. Do not use too many different fonts in the same document either. An employer is going to scan your resume, not fully read it. If the type is hard to read or is difficult to follow, no one is going to spend any time on it at all. Keep the type at least at a 10 point and use one font at a time. Make it easy on the person who is going to be reading it.
Know that if your resume highlights your previous or current job duties but omits the actual skills you have mastered or the accomplishments you have made, the person who reads it will not be able to see your special talents and abilities.
Make sure that you focus your attention on what you have to offer rather than what your responsibilities were in your past jobs. Whenever it is at all possible you should include numbers with your statements. Instead of saying you helped the company you should explain how you did it. You have to be specific because vague assertions have no value.
Do not get so wrapped up in the way the resume is supposed to look though that you forget to answer to what it is supposed to get across.
Be clear with what you want to say. Don not ramble on and repeat yourself over and over again. This will only make your resume too hard to scan through.
Do not use colored or scented paper. It may look cute to see that on movies like Legally Blonde, but in real life it is just annoying and takes away from the body of the resume.