Writing a resume is a challenging task, as you might already know. It takes time and patience to condense your whole career history into one or two pages, and present yourself as the top person for the job. While we focus so much on what to put into our resumes, we don’t think about the information that should not be included. The following five things will leave a bad impression:
1. Do not include personal information. Anything that reveals your demographics should not be listed in your resume. Your job performance does not rely on your age, religion, hobbies, race, marital status or political affiliation and therefore should never be part of your resume.
Your potential employer wants to know about your job experience, your skills and your education. Your resume should reflect that you are a professional.
Your contact information should be very accurate. 76% of resumes are thrown away due to a terrible email address. The email address should not be from your current employment. Nor should it contain a silly or unprofessional word.
2. Do not state salary requirements or current pay on your resume.
If you are asked to come with a salary in mind, research what others are receiving in your field. Decide the minimum amount you are willing to accept and reveal this information at the interview if asked. You might also include it in a cover letter if the job posting asks for it.
3. Do not use technical words. Even if your job has specific jargon, the human resource manager is not interested in technical terminology. Tailor your resume toward the job description, because the recruiter will be the first to screen your admission. You can showcase your skill level through your job titles and through your accomplishments.
4. Do not list your personal social profile. It might contain inappropriate photos and jokes. You can, however, set up a professional page that includes your resume, portfolio, reference letters, presentations, projects, and contact information. LinkedIn is a good place to do this.
5. Do not submit a resume that hasn’t been proofread. The most important step in composing a winning resume is through proof reading. You want to put your best image forward. If your resume contains grammar and spelling problems, your potential employer will get an impression that you do not care. Communication and writing is very important in higher level positions. You can use spell check on your computer, but you should also have someone else look at the document. Print out your resume and read it out loud to see if it has any mistakes that you missed. Brush up on your knowledge of comma usage, sentence structure, and capitalization. Make sure that your paper is consistent. All titles should be in the same font and size. All dates should be equally formatted. Check that all of your lists are numbered correctly. Do not use odd characters such as the ampersand.
6. Avoid being too general. This applies to your objective and to your job description. Be specific and use action words. Show why your job performance is different than that of other applicants.
7. Don’t include every job. You do not want to have a very long resume. Only include those positions that are relevant to the current job opening.
8. Final tips. Only include the year that you graduated college. Don’t leave that off your resume. It will look like you are trying to hide something. You do, however, want to leave your references off. You can provide them upon request. You do not want every interviewer calling your reference unless you are really being considered for the job.
If you can afford it, have a professional write your resume. Not only will you get a great document, but you will have an outside assessment of your skills. If you cannot go this route, then there are plenty of resume examples online. Take one and just customize it with your own background. When you do have your resume ready, do not use an online blaster. Thoughtfully submit to each employer, according to the directions on the job post.
Your potential employer wants to know about your job experience, your skills and your education. Your resume should reflect that you are a professional.
Your contact information should be very accurate. 76% of resumes are thrown away due to a terrible email address. The email address should not be from your current employment. Nor should it contain a silly or unprofessional word.
2. Do not state salary requirements or current pay on your resume.
If you are asked to come with a salary in mind, research what others are receiving in your field. Decide the minimum amount you are willing to accept and reveal this information at the interview if asked. You might also include it in a cover letter if the job posting asks for it.
3. Do not use technical words. Even if your job has specific jargon, the human resource manager is not interested in technical terminology. Tailor your resume toward the job description, because the recruiter will be the first to screen your admission. You can showcase your skill level through your job titles and through your accomplishments.
4. Do not list your personal social profile. It might contain inappropriate photos and jokes. You can, however, set up a professional page that includes your resume, portfolio, reference letters, presentations, projects, and contact information. LinkedIn is a good place to do this.
5. Do not submit a resume that hasn’t been proofread. The most important step in composing a winning resume is through proof reading. You want to put your best image forward. If your resume contains grammar and spelling problems, your potential employer will get an impression that you do not care. Communication and writing is very important in higher level positions. You can use spell check on your computer, but you should also have someone else look at the document. Print out your resume and read it out loud to see if it has any mistakes that you missed. Brush up on your knowledge of comma usage, sentence structure, and capitalization. Make sure that your paper is consistent. All titles should be in the same font and size. All dates should be equally formatted. Check that all of your lists are numbered correctly. Do not use odd characters such as the ampersand.
6. Avoid being too general. This applies to your objective and to your job description. Be specific and use action words. Show why your job performance is different than that of other applicants.
7. Don’t include every job. You do not want to have a very long resume. Only include those positions that are relevant to the current job opening.
8. Final tips. Only include the year that you graduated college. Don’t leave that off your resume. It will look like you are trying to hide something. You do, however, want to leave your references off. You can provide them upon request. You do not want every interviewer calling your reference unless you are really being considered for the job.
If you can afford it, have a professional write your resume. Not only will you get a great document, but you will have an outside assessment of your skills. If you cannot go this route, then there are plenty of resume examples online. Take one and just customize it with your own background. When you do have your resume ready, do not use an online blaster. Thoughtfully submit to each employer, according to the directions on the job post.
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