24 resume mistakes to avoid in 2024

If you are applying for a new job in 2024, you are entering a competitive job market, no matter what your field is. There are tons of qualified job seekers lined up for great opportunities and you need to make sure that you stand out among the rest of them. The easiest way to do that? Come up with a stellar resume.

However, writing the perfect resume is not an easy task. In fact, it is so difficult that many job seekers fail to submit a resume that doesn’t have mistakes. If you are about to write a resume for your job search, knowing about these resume mistakes will help you create a better document.

Here are 24 resume mistakes you must avoid in 2024:

1. Not getting a review.?Once you are done with your resume, you can have a friend, colleague, family member, or a certified professional resume writer review your resume. It will help you spot mistakes in the document and improve it further.
2. Misspelling contact info.?If the contact information isn’t accurate, interested employers will have no way of getting in touch with you. Recheck the spellings of your phone number and email, and also verify whether the link to your LinkedIn account works.
3. Using a generic resume.?A generic resume does not help you win any favors in the job market. Hiring managers prefer to see a resume that is tailored to their open position. Include only the qualifications that are relevant to the role for which you are applying.
4. Embellishing your skills.?Lying on your resume is not something that we can approve of. Some job seekers go as far as too completely fabricate qualifications for their resumes. This will cause trouble for you later on during the hiring process when your lies are exposed during an interview.
5. Including an unprofessional email.?Ensure that your resume displays a professional email address with your first and last names. If you don’t have one, create a new one for your job search. Avoid using your work email and phone number for job applications.
6. Adding unrelated experience.?Not every job from your past will be related to the current role that you are applying for. You should tailor the work experience section of your resume to include only the relevant information for the new role. Remove any experiences that are irrelevant.
7. Adding personal info.?The hiring manager does not want to see your personal information on your resume. Your physical address, age, religion, political preferences, etc. add no real value to your resume. Remove irrelevant information from your resume to save space for the important details.
8. Not quantifying your achievements.?Your resume reads better when you include quantified achievements in the work experience section. Use numbers and metrics to highlight the impact of your accomplishments on previous employers.
9. Stuffing with buzzwords.?Industry-specific buzzwords are sometimes keywords. However, most of them aren’t. If you include too many buzzwords on your resume, you are wasting valuable resume space. Use professional language to describe your skills and achievements rather than using buzzwords that don’t add any value.
10. Using inconsistent formatting.?The formatting should be consistent across your resume so that the document looks polished and professional. Use the same date format throughout your resume and keep your margins uniform. You should also pay attention to the spacing around resume elements.
11. Typing mistakes and grammatical errors.?These are the most common resume mistakes we see on a daily basis. You can easily prevent them by proofreading your resume a few times before you send it out. Get the help of a spelling and grammar checker to make your results more accurate.
12. Adding irrelevant information.?If your resume contains information that isn’t directly related to the role, you are wasting valuable space and time. Why mention things that won’t add any value to your job application? Save the resume space for important achievements and qualifications.
13. Leaving unexplained career gaps.?Career gaps on a resume are pretty normal. What isn’t normal is leaving unexplained career gaps on your resume. Always list your career gaps and provide brief, but satisfactory explanations for them.
14. Missing action verbs.?Action verbs make your resume more interesting. We advise job seekers to begin each resume bullet point with a new action verb. Action verbs are sometimes important keywords as well. Use a good variety of action verbs to write your resume.
15. Omitting the summary.?A summary statement elevates your resume. A resume without a summary statement rarely manages to grab the hiring manager’s attention. Write a brief, yet informative summary statement for your resume to up the impact factor.
16. Going with an outdated format.?Always use a clean, professional, modern resume format when you are applying for a job. You don’t want the first impression of your resume to be a negative one. Most modern resume formats are easy to scan and navigate.
17. Not tailoring the resume.?You should customize your resume for each job application. This helps you present yourself as an ideal candidate for any position that you are applying for, Hiring managers are more likely to remember a candidate who tailored their resume to the position than someone who did not.
18. Forgetting about keywords.?Keywords are very important for your resume. In most cases, they determine how ATS-friendly your resume is. If you don’t use the right keywords when creating your resume, your job application may never even be seen by a human.
19. Including vague descriptions.?You should be as specific as possible when writing your resume. Use real examples and numbers from your work experience to emphasize skills and experiences on your resume. Be specific when describing your achievements and accomplishments.
20. Creating a wordy resume.?Is your resume too long? Then, there’s a high chance that it will be tossed away. The ability to summarize important information is a quality that employers look for in a candidate. If your resume suggests that you can’t do that, you are in for trouble. Keep it concise and impactful.
21. Not updating the resume regularly.?Updating your resume regularly helps you keep track of your professional achievements. It also ensures that you don’t miss any important information when it is time for job applications. Update your resume as new things happen in your career.
22. Including too many graphics.?Graphic-rich resumes are a thing of the past. Today, resumes are more on the minimalistic end of things. Hiring managers prefer to see clean, clear resumes with modern design elements. Graphics also mess with the ATS and make your resume difficult to parse.
23. Writing lists of job duties.?Your job duties and responsibilities are not important for a resume. What you should focus on are the professional achievements. They ensure that your resume mentions the best about your career.
24. Not mentioning your soft skills.?Soft skills are just as important as hard skills. In fact, your resume needs to mention more soft skills than hard skills for certain jobs. Ensure that your resume highlights your soft skills as well.

By?Resume Mansion