10 More Mistakes you make in your Applications

In my previous article on this subject, I said that ‘An application involves more than just your resume. It's an invitation for you to make a case for why you should be considered for a role’.

Since then, I have reviewed more resumes and have seen more ‘mistakes’ applicants make. Here are some more:

1.   Poor Writing Skills

In a world where spell check has made things easier, there’s almost no reason why this should happen. Unfortunately, there’s nothing spell check can do if your writing skills need a lot of improvement. Having a trusted friend help review your application would help…a trusted friend, whose letter writing skills you and others know to be good.

2.   Font Inconsistency

Whether you are using an online template to create your resume or you’re creating it yourself, using two fonts randomly, not only creates an impression that you don’t pay attention but it might make some Applicant Tacking Systems reject your resume. If you use two fonts, let it be in a consistent manner e.g. one font for headings and another for the body of your resume. To be on the safe side, though, stick with one.

3.   Wrong Font use and use of Colour

This is similar to point 2 but slightly different. There are some fonts that are considered more official than others. Comic Sans is not a great font to use for a resume, especially when applying to an industry that is considered more formal…financial institutions for example. Times New Romans, Calibri, Arial.., these are fonts that you can almost not go wrong with. It’s your resume design and value proposition that sets you apart.

Please do not use bright colours in your resume. It could be perceived as a bit childish. Industry matters but as a rule of thumb, stick to black or grey.

4.   Forgetting to attach your Resume!!!

Yep, applicants do this! They send the email, say ‘find attached…’ and then do not attach their resumes. Please double check to ensure that you have indeed attached your resume before pressing ‘send’.

5.   Not Customising your Resume

In other words, sending the same resume for every application. It’s unlikely that even jobs in the same role, will require the exact same skills or experiences from you. Carefully examine the job specifications to see which skills or attributes are more of a priority for the company advertising. Doing some research on the company as well could give you some insight as they would have their core values, vision, mission and so on.

6.   Highlighting irrelevant Qualifications or Experiences

‘Throwing everything in your resume to see what sticks’ is a no-no when sending your application. What are they asking for? Which of your past roles or experiences relate most to it? This is what should come first when listing your work experiences; be sure to include your achievements in those priority roles. This holds, even if the desired experience is not your most recent one. Start with your most recent but lay emphasis on the most relevant experience. Same thing with qualifications…prioritise. If that qualification does not relate to the role, list it last or leave it out altogether.

7.   Including unnecessary information in your Resume

This is related to point 7. See, you want to make your resume as compact as possible so that you give the recruiter less work to do. He or she is looking at a huge number of resumes after all. Your University project topic or published works are not useful, unless you’re applying for a teaching role.

8.   Sending an email containing emails you have sent for other applications

This is tantamount to bringing an ex-girlfriend on a date with a girl you’re hoping to charm. You send your application, all well and good…you remember to attach your resume…brilliant! However, in the body of your email, you include ‘forwarded from…’ and there are one to three recruiters’ email addresses there from applications you had sent to other companies for other roles. You have forwarded your resume from other applications and did not take the time to delete the previous recruiters’ emails. You always want to put your best foot forward so, don’t be in such a hurry to apply that you do yourself more harm than good. It makes you look LAZY.

As unrealistic as it may seem, every potential employer, like every new girl wants to believe that they are the best among others you could potentially pursue. Of course recruiters know you apply to other places, but they also want to know you considered the company important enough to take some care with your application.

9.   Using ‘Text Speak’ in applications

Since so many of us are on social media, we need to be very careful that we do not transfer our social media writing style to applications. I see this a lot, ‘am excited to apply..’, ‘as per your ad..’, The use of short forma like ‘ur’, incomplete sentences like ‘hope to hear from you soon’ instead of ‘I hope to hear from you soon’. Always cross check to make sure one of these did not slip into your application by mistake.

10. Missing out Letters or Numbers in Contact details

I wanted to invite an applicant for first stage tests but was unable to call her because her phone number had 11 digits rather than 10. How many opportunities could have been missed because there was an error in the contact details? Many more than you think. So, always check and check again.

This list is not exhaustive but I hope making a few corrections will position you better for your dream job. Take care!

Oluwatoyin Puddicombe