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by Career Guide on Jun 12, 2023 4:01:05 PM
Your resume has the potential to impress the hiring manager — or send your candidacy to the bottom of the list. Here are five tips for getting it right!
TopResume Content sources from Talent Inc.
In this age of unprecedented access to knowledge, resume gaffes should be a thing of the past, with missteps on your resume spelling the difference between your next great job and a missed opportunity. However, a survey conducted by TopResume, the largest resume-writing service in the world, shows that hiring managers still encounter a fair share of cringe-worthy mistakes.
Here are the top five most-frequently mentioned resume deal-breakers — and advice for how to avoid them.
- Spelling and/or grammatical errors
Candidates often feel the pressure to get their resumes out as quickly as possible, hoping that this strategy will move their applications to the top of the pile. However, if the resume has grammatical or spelling errors in it, speed won't save it. To avoid this major deal-breaker, ask someone else to review your resume. Proofread a printed version of the document to force your eyes to read what's actually on paper, not what you think you meant to write. Finally, read it backwards from last word to first. The backwards read won't make any sense, but you might spot mistakes that are otherwise easy to skip over.
- Incorrect or missing contact information
A perfect resume includes current and accurate contact information such as your phone number, email address, and link to your association member profile or personal website. Double-check the document, especially if you have recently moved to a new city. Also, be sure to include your contact information as text, not image. The applicant tracking system, or ATS, may get stumped by the image and tag your resume as incomplete — not a great starting point.
- Unprofessional email address
There is a time in everyone's life when an email address is an opportunity to have some fun. However, listing HiRoller4Life@email.com or UnicornGirl1988@email.com on your resume can hurt your candidacy. If you don't have a professional-looking email address (i.e. some variation of your first and last name), now is the time to create one. Keep it simple and save humor for your friends and family.
- Outdated or irrelevant information
Your resume should be like your attire for interview day, which means no extra accessories. Reread your resume and remove any mention of your age, marital status, number of kids, etc. Interview questions about those aspects of your life are illegal — so why bring them up on your resume? If something isn't directly related to your qualifications for the job, leave it out!
- Failure to demonstrate and quantify results
Fluffy resumes don't beget interviews. Remember that hiring managers have no baseline for your history as a professional, so certificates, professional licenses, and position titles can only take you so far. By listing specific, quantifiable results that you have achieved, you can demonstrate your impact and the value you can add to the prospective employer.
Avoid resume deal-breakers
Creating the perfect resume is a great way to begin a new employment relationship. Small details, such as grammatical and spelling accuracy, a professional email address, and a history of measurable results, can vouch for your candidacy and improve your odds of getting an interview. Make sure to spend some time looking over your resume with these things in mind before you send it out.
Content sourced from Talent Inc.
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