Crafting a resume is just one part of a multiple step job search process. Your job search plan should also include networking (virtually or in person), developing a list of target employers, determining your salary expectations, preparing for job interviews and salary negotiation, etc.
Still, in many cases, your resume is the catalyst that gets the ball rolling. Without a compelling, results driven resume you may never get contacted for a job interview.
There are many articles on how to write a resume that generates calls, I’ve written several myself. I have a few podcast episodes that tell you how to create a results-driven resume.
(To learn how to create resume achievements listen to Episode #8 – How to Create Resume Content That Gets Results)
There are a lot of “how to” articles, to switch things up, this episode focuses on 10 resume mistakes that can take you out of the running for your target position.
#1 Don’t lie. Even if it’s not picked up during the interview process, it may cause employers to rescind a job offer.
#2 Don’t provide information about your hobbies and interests UNLESS they are relevant to your target position.
#3 Don’t forget to include a Summary and/or Career Highlights in the top-third of your resume.
#4 Don’t write in paragraphs or bullets only. Use a mix to make your resume easy-to-scan.
#5 Don’t focus on things that you don’t want to do in your next position. This can backfire on you.
#6 Don’t have any misspellings, typos, grammatical errors. Read your resume backwards to catch mistakes.
#7 Don’t use “vague” terms like “responsible for” and “duties included.” Action words get attention.
#8 Don’t include an “Objective Statement” at the top of your resume. As previously mentioned, create a Summary.
#9 Don’t only include a job overview. Focus on your achievements. Listen to Episode 8 to learn how.
#10 Don’t be afraid to get help with your resume if you need it. Here’s what to look for in a resume writer.
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Annette (00:08):
Hi, welcome to the smarter career moves podcast. I'm an at Richmond executive resume writer in principle of career intelligence, resume writing and career services.
Annette (00:31):
Hi, thanks for joining me today. Today. I want to talk to you about mistakes that you're making on your resume. Probably many of them without even realizing it. Crafting a resume is just one part of a multiple step job search process. Your job search plan should also include networking both virtually and in person when possible, developing a list of target employers, determining your salary expectations, preparing for job interviews, getting ready for the salary negotiation process, etc. But in many cases, the truth is your resume is the catalyst that gets the ball rolling or not. Without a compelling results driven resume. You may never get contacted for an interview in the first place. There are many articles on how to write a resume that generates calls. I've written several myself. I also have an episode of this podcast actually episode eight, how to create resume content.
Annette (01:34):
That gets results where I tell you how to use a simple formula to develop achievement statements for your resume. In this episode, I'm going to go through 10 mistakes that are very common, that many people don't even realize that they're making. The first one is don't lie. Now resumes are no longer employment histories today. Your resume should be a marketing document, selling you, your best self, to employers. However, being dishonest is never okay. Even the smallest lies, things you might consider to be an exaggeration, can come back to haunt you. For example, stating that you have an MBA, when you really have an MA may take you out of the running saying you have a degree when you don't almost definitely get you cut. So, just don't lie. Even if you pass through the job interview stage and are able to get an offer.
Annette (02:39):
When the company does a background check on you, and discrepancies pop up, they may in fact, rescind the offer. The second thing is don't provide a bunch of personal information, really no personal information, stick to the facts that are relevant to the job. The fact that you like to play volleyball, or you're an avid salsa dancer, and yes, I've seen that on resumes. Is it relative relevant to your job? Some exceptions might be if you're a salesperson or a senior level executive who does a lot of business on the golf course that might be worth mentioning. For example, if you are someone who is trying to move forward in your career but doesn't really have a lot of leadership experience a volunteer activity, or maybe a paid position, not relevant to your current role. For example, I worked with a client many years ago and he was trying to move up at his company, move to a higher position.
Annette (03:48):
And one of the things that he did outside of his normal day job was being a scuba instructor. Now in this position, people were trusting him. New scuba divers or scuba divers in training were trusting him with their lives as he took them down and taught them how to scuba dive. So we did use this on his resume because it did demonstrate that he had leadership skills. Number three don't forget to include a summary and or career highlights in the top third of your resume. You have to think about your resume, like a print newspaper, where information is above the fold to grab your attention. When you see it on the news stand, the top of the newspaper has a lot of compelling content in order to get you to pick it up and buy it. If you're reading a news article, the juicy bits are generally upfront and it's followed by the details.
Annette (04:54):
Your resume should be like that as well, to some extent. Recruiters and hiring managers, aren't reading your resume from top to bottom, they spend a few minutes scanning it first, which is why it's essential to make your most compelling information, easy to find. Number four, don't write only in paragraph form or only in bullets. Use a combination, Neither a series of dense paragraphs or a long list of bullets will make your resume appealing to look at. On the other hand, a short paragraph or two, which gives an overview of what you do day-to-day under each position, followed by a few bulleted accomplishments, make your resume both attractive and easy to scan. You always want to have white space, a lot of white space. Think of your resume also as a funnel with most of the information about current or most recent position.
Annette (05:59):
And then a little bit less on the subsequent roles. Number five, don't focus on things that you don't want to do in your target position. Resumes are to an extent a history, they show your career progression, but they also need to be forward looking when they are written. So write about the things that you want to do. For example, if you don't enjoy managing your company, social media, you might mention that, but you're not going to highlight it on your resume. If you do potential employers will think that you will love to manage social media for them. I remember when I was working as a recruiter, I was on LinkedIn looking for candidates to fill a role. And I came across a guy who had a lot of social media experience. I contacted him, asked him to send me his resume.
Annette (06:58):
He did, I looked at the resume, it looked good, set up the job interview. And as I was telling him about the job, I sensed that there was not a lot of interest there. So I asked him, are you interested in this position? And the response stunned me. He said, no, not really. So I asked this potential candidate, what is it that you want to do? And it was something that was completely different. However, not only was social media listed on his resume and LinkedIn profile, the resume just screamed it. It talked about speaking about social media. It talked about writing about social media. Etc. So if there's some area, even if you have a lot of experience in it, but it's not your focus, you don't want to really highlight that.
Annette (07:55):
Number six. This should go without saying, but I still see it. Don't have any misspellings, typos, grammatical errors, or other mistakes on your resume check the spelling of the employer's names and things like that. And check them again. And don't rely on your document’s spellchecker, which will not know if you meant to say there, T H E R E or their T H E I R, take your time proofreading and then put, put it aside for a few hours. Overnight if you can, before one final review and sending out the final copy,. A trick that I learned when I was working as an associate editor, what we did was to read every article backwards. When you're reading something forward, your mind sees what it thinks it sees, but when you're reading a document word by word backwards, you're reading the words and you'll pick up more mistakes. Number seven, don't use vague terms like responsible for duties included instead of passive words, choose action words like achieved, improved, saved, implemented revamped, redesigned, led, managed, supervised. Those are words that show you actually doing things.
Annette (09:22):
Okay. Number eight, don't include an objective statement at the top of your resume. I'm stunned to still see this on resumes I receive from potential clients. Like most things, resume trends, come and go. And the objective statement has been passé for over a decade. Sadly, as I mentioned, I still see them on resumes. So instead of an objective statement, create the aforementioned summary, which is like a career snapshot. Just make sure that you can back up anything you claim in the summary. For example, if you say you have a history of streamlining processes to save time and money, you need to have examples of that in the body of your resume. Number nine, don't only include a job overview focus on your achievements. A potential employer doesn't want to know about every single detail of your job.
Annette (10:29):
People in similar positions do similar things. So if you're a director of sales at ABC company, you're doing pretty much the same thing as the director of sales at XYZ company. It's the achievements that really make you stand out from other candidates who are vying for the same position. Employers want to know what you can do for them, how you're going to solve problems. Again, listen to Episode #8 of this Smarter Career Moves podcast, to learn how to create those achievement statements. And number 10, don’t be afraid to get help with your resume if you really need it. First of all, it's not easy to write about yourself. Second writing resumes is not like writing a report or a memo, or even like writing an article or a blog post. It's a very particular type of tight writing. There's also a lot of strategy involved.
Annette (11:33):
A professional can help you decide what to include and what not to. If you do consider hiring a professional resume writer, I recommend that you make sure they know what they're doing. Look at examples of their work, ask them about their certifications, and what do those certifications mean. Ask them about what professional development they do. Like most professions, resume writing best practices change all the time. Liked dealing with the infamous applicant tracking software systems, also known as the ATS or by some job seekers, the black hole. And finally, you have to remember that resume writing is a partnership. So make sure that you really click with the person that you decide to work with. So thanks again for joining me today and good luck with your job search.
Annette (12:38):
Thank you for joining us for the smarter career moves podcast. We hope you enjoy today's show. If you did, please subscribe. Thank you. [inaudible].