Top resume mistakes Made
Top Ten Mistakes Made
Per Brilliant
People &
America's Job Bank
With the advent of
computer technology and software for "do it yourself"
resumes, many people are endeavoring to write their own
resumes to market themselves in the job search. Most of our
clients come to us with just such resumes in hand to either
avail themselves of our editing services or to have us take
over the difficult task of writing a powerful resume for
them. Often, they have been using the resume in the job
search, it just is not achieving the level of results they
desire and they are puzzled as to the reasons.
As professional resume
writers, we can assure you that writing a truly effective
resume s no mean feat and one that is made even more
difficult when the subject is yourself. We sincerely
recommend that you retain a professional resume writer that
has the experience, expertise, ability, and probably most
importantly, the objectivity to scrutinize your career
and effectively market you to employers. However, we would
be fools to acknowledge that everyone will or can take this
advice and also acknowledge that "resume wizards",
templates, and special software are here to stay. Part
of our mission is to educate job seekers on effective
personal marketing strategies. With this in mind, we would
like to offer all you do it yourselfers some help.
Top Ten Mistakes Made on Do‑It‑Yourself
Resumes
Absolute loyal, die hard adherence to the myth that
an effective resume is always limited to one page. This is
one of the oldest, most out of date "rules" of resume
writing and one that everyone finds hardest to give up.
People argue this point because someone, somewhere, years
ago told them that a resume that is longer than one page
just will not get read. Absolutely Untrue.
Today's employers are interested in seeing your skills,
accomplishments, and experience and sometimes,
especially with job seekers who have more than three or four
years of experience, that takes more than one page. We have
seen so many resumes that are literally unreadable because
too much information has been typeset onto an 8 ½" x 11"
piece of paper. It makes the resume completely ineffective.
It is fine to go to two pages if you have two page's worth
of information; however, we recommend not going over two
except in certain cases.
Use
of the passive voice as evidenced by use of phrases such as
"Responsible for...", "Duties included...", etc. This is not
a grammar mistake but rather a writing mistake. We are all
taught to write in the passive voice in high school English
class. Most formal writing is in the passive voice and it is
second nature to write in that fashion. In the 70's and
80's, the resume was still being used primarily as a
document of work history rather than a marketing document
and, therefore, the passive voice was used in writing
resumes. With the competitive job market and changes in the
employment industry in the 90's, it became necessary for the
resume to really "sell" the individual. Resumes needed
to be very powerfully worded; thus the advent of the use of
the active voice.
Use
of first person and possessive pronouns. The words "I",
"me", "my", "mine", or "our" should never, ever appear in a
resume.
Errors. With the common use of spell‑checkers on
word‑processing programs, people have gotten lazy on
proofreading. Spell‑checkers are not the end‑all and should
never be relied upon to proofread a resume.
Use
of a template or "resume wizard". The popular
word‑processing programs all have templates or wizards that
do the layout of resumes automatically. There are several
reasons NOT to use them including, but not limited to:
cookie‑cutter appearance (your resume will look like every
other person's that used that template), lack of flexibility
for individual needs, out‑of‑date formats, and lack of
flexibility in editing/layout changes. I have always found
it more difficult to use a template than to just
write/layout a resume from scratch since every person's
backgrounds, skills, and goals are different and should be
handled uniquely. Lack of information. People actually
forget to put vital information on their resume such as
telephone numbers and education!
Use
of the wrong format for the job seeker's individual
situation. Did you know there are three separate formats of
resumes? There are chronological, functional, and
combination formats. Each one is suited for certain
employment histories or employment goals. Most people use a
chronological, the most traditional format, but possibly one
of the other formats would better suit their needs. Most
people who write their own resumes don't realize that the
other formats exist and don't know which one to choose for
their individual situation.
Lack
of focus. The resume should be written with a goal in mind
whether it is industry‑ or position‑specific. A resume
without a focus is just a work history. Irrelevant
information. Do not include any information that will not in
some way directly contribute to getting an interview.
Concentration on job duties rather than on
accomplishments/achievements. Employers are concerned about
one thing‑‑how an employee can contribute to their bottom
line. A powerfully written resume conveys how a candidate
can be an asset to the company's profits and productivity.
