How to avoid the top 6 resume mistakes to land your new job

Is your resume working for you? If you are struggling in your job search, perhaps one of these top 6 resume mistakes might be the reason.

1. Resume Mistake — Lying or exaggerating

People who lie or exaggerate on their resumes will be eliminated and that will make the future difficult! My client agreement includes the following phrase: “Client guarantees personal & career data is truthful.” For the majority of people, this is a non-issue but if you are thinking about inflating your accomplishments, adding degrees you never completed, or including job titles you never even held, forget it! You will cause yourself more issues and likely will not get the job.

2. Resume Mistake — No target | One-size-fits-all resume

People often ask me to create a generic resume. I won’t! Your resume needs to focus on your talents toward a specific direction. Focus is a hard thing for some people to understand. Employers are looking for people who can do a particular job — their job not all jobs. If you don’t focus your resume, you will not be marketable.

3. Resume Mistakes — No accomplishments | Only duties

You copied your job description and didn’t explain the value you brought to your roles. Your resume sounds boring, filled only with duties. When you inject accomplishments to depict the value you bring, you create intrigue for the employer. They want to interview you because they want to discuss how you can solve their problems. When I say accomplishments, I am not necessarily focusing on awards you won, but what you did to bring value to the company. For example:

Start-up Wireless Operations

• Collaborated with Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in the $3.5 million purchase and deployment of ten new cellular phone and wireless Internet towers, including fiber optic backhaul.

4. Resume Mistakes — Bad Formatting & Design

People tend to copy what was given them in school. The format is boring and there is no original layout or design. Design Resumes formats are individualized for the client and yes, I always use color in the resumes I create. Expressing your personality (within reason) creates interest. You will get more calls when you inject creativity in your resume.

A client called to tell me that she gave the new resume we created for her to an employment counselor who told her that it was the best resume he had ever seen. It was created for an Executive Assistant role but it captured her value and the formatting made her talents stand out.

5. Resume Mistakes — Confidential information

While your resume should showcase your value, be cautious in sharing proprietary or confidential information. Trade secrets or financial data that isn’t public knowledge could make you look bad in the eyes of the next employer and might even result in losing your current job.

6. Resume Mistakes — One-page resume

I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss the one-page myth. Yes, I said myth. This resume mistake could cost you the job.

Stop believing that you will not be hired if you use more than one page to tell your story! Cramming your information on one page or omitting critical accomplishments to fit on one page will definitely hurt you. Clients of Design Resumes are hired and given substantial job offers using 2 and 3-page resumes that are robust with value-filled stories that show how they improved processes, maximized revenue, slashed costs, or cultivated stronger team members.

Do you need help with your resume? Or your job search?

If you discovered that you have made one or more of the top 6 resume mistakes, let’s get together to fix them!

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