6 Resume Myths to Avoid

There’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there about resumes and what makes a resume great. Some of that information might be helpful, but a great deal of the suggestions you might have found out there are probably going to get your resume chucked into the hiring manager’s trash.

So arm yourself with knowledge about these 6 resume writing myths and try to avoid them if you want to get a call back for the interview!

1. Saying “I” and “My” makes your resume more personable.

Actually, using “I” in a resume makes you look unprofessional. A hiring manager knows that the resume is about you because your name is at the top of the resume. Instead of writing sentences like, “I regularly generate sales leads and am considered the top employee at my company.” Try something a little more professional like, “Considered a top employee in sales lead generation.”

The easiest way to remove any “I’s” from your resume is to simply start with the action verb. So something like, “I supervise over 120 personnel,” becomes, “Supervise over 120 personnel"

2. Fit everything on one page, even if you have to change the margins and make the font tiny.

No way! The only instances that you really need your resume to be a single page is if you’re attending a job fair, you have less than 10 years of work experience, or you’re using a functional resume – and none of those are rules! If you’re applying for a specific position and your resume is 2 pages long, that’s perfectly okay, especially if all the information in your resume is relevant to the job.

If you’re really close to having one page (picture the second page with one or two lines on it,) then it’s okay to play around with the margins of the document to get those two lines on the first page. However, taking up the margin by trying to fit an entire half page into an already full first page will only make your resume look crammed full of information. A hiring manager is not going to bother trying to wade through so much information to figure out if you’re a good candidate for the job. Either cut out irrelevant information to shorten the resume or leave it at 2 pages – just don’t try to smoosh it all into one page.

Definitely avoid using tiny font size to fit everything onto one page. If a hiring manager has to squint to see your resume, it’s unlikely they’ll bother to read the whole thing. Using 11 or 12-point font is generally the way to go, and try not to be overly creative with your font style. Unless you’re a graphic designer, most employers just want to be able to read the information in your resume, so don’t distract them with 15 different kinds of fonts throughout your resume.

3. Never use bullet points

While using too many bullet points might be something you want to avoid, it is still absolutely okay to use bullet points in a resume. Use of bullet points can help an employer find the information that they’re looking for without making them search. To get an idea if you’re using too many bullet points try printing out your resume then hold it up at arms length. If all you see are bullet points, maybe pare them down a bit. But, if instead you find that all the information starts to run together, then the employer will get the same impression when she looks at your resume. In this case, consider switching from paragraphs to bullet points.

So instead of having this under your job title:

Supervised 10 personnel, delegating tasks and assignments. Responsible for the inventory and maintenance of vehicles and equipment. Delivered all equipment with 100% efficiency.

You could do this instead:

• Supervised 10 personnel, delegating tasks and assignments
• Responsible for the inventory and maintenance of vehicles and equipment.
• Delivered all equipment with 100% efficiency.

4. Don’t put your address on your resume.

This is a relatively new myth that’s been going around. People are afraid that if you put your home address on a resume, that the employer could research your address and find out your socio-economic status, thereby discriminating against you before ever bringing you in for the interview.

I can’t say that employers don’t do this, but I can certainly attest that omitting your address from your resume suggests that you simply forgot to include it. This makes you look unprofessional and more than implies that you’re not detail-oriented.

If you’re moving but don’t yet know your new address, use an old address or a parent’s address. If you’re worried you won’t get called back for an interview because your current address is in another state, make sure to include a cover letter where you mention that you’ll be relocating to that area soon.

5. There are specific rules about writing resumes.

Nope. Not even close. There are no actual rules for writing a resume! Sure, there are some general guidelines you probably want to follow. Guidelines such as including your name and contact information somewhere at the top of the resume, or not creating a resume that’s more than 2 pages long. However, those are guidelines and not actual rules. In reality, there are no absolute rules for how a resume should look.

Of course, if an employer gives you a specific template (which sometimes happens) and tells you to follow that template to apply for the position, then do it! The fastest way to miss out on a job opportunity is to not follow directions.

6. Your Resume is all about you.

Wrong! This might be the biggest myth out there! Sure, your resume should definitely only convey information about you and no one else, but a resume is a completely different tool than a biography. The purpose of a resume is not to detail your personal history to the hiring manager. The point of a resume is to show the hiring manager how your experience matches up to the position to which you’re applying. So pay attention to the job description and make sure the information you include in your resume conveys why you’re such a great candidate for that specific job.

These myths are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the resume myths out there. So before you go and make major changes to your resume because your great aunt told you to never put bullets in a resume or your best friend gasped when you showed them two pages instead of one, think back to these myths and remember: there are no real rules about writing a resume.