These resume mistakes will make you look dumb

Employers take a good long look at your resume before they decide to call you for an interview. They don’t know anything about you, and your resume is what provides them the first look into your career, your achievements, and your personality. Their entire first impression of you is based on your resume. This is why one or two silly mistakes on your resume may ultimately end up costing you the job.

We always emphasize the importance of ridding your resume of all sorts of mistakes before you send it out to employers. Today, we will discuss some of the most common mistakes we see on resumes and how you can fix them.

1. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors

These are the most common types of resume mistakes we see every day. Although these resume mistakes are small, they can end up causing a lot of harm. Employers consider spelling and grammar mistakes on your resume to be signs of carelessness and inattentiveness. The next time you write a resume, take a few minutes to thoroughly proofread the document.

2. Crazy fonts

Have you used quite a few fancy fonts on your resume to improve the look? Your font choices might be harming your chances of getting hired. It is important to make good font choices for your resume. Too many font styles in too many different sizes will make your resume look sloppy and clumsy. Choose one or two professional font styles for your resume. Keep the text size between 10 and 12 pts. You can use a larger font size for resume section headings.

3. Too short or too long

It isn’t good if your resume is either seven pages long or just half a page long. Try to keep your resume between one and two pages. If your resume is too short , it will tell employers that you lack qualifications. If your resume is too long, it sends the message that you fail at summarizing qualifications and prioritizing information.

4. Sketchy dates

Have you stretched the dates of your past jobs to cover up career gaps on your resume? A trained hiring manager can easily spot inconsistencies in dates in a resume. Especially when they decide to check you out on LinkedIn and find that your resume does not align with your online presence. Instead of trying to cover up gaps, address your career gaps the right way on your resume .

5. Lacking contact information

Imagine sending out a resume without adding your contact information ! Many professionals forget to update their resumes with a working phone number and email. It is important to list up-to-date contact information on your resume when applying for a job. Another big mistake job seekers make when it comes to contact information is listing their work phone and email on their application. You should never use your work email to apply for a new job.

6. No links

Resumes are more interactive today than they used to be years ago. If you work in the creative industry, your resume must carry several links to lead potential employers to your work. It is common practice to add links to your social media , personal website, blog, digital portfolio, and LinkedIn profile to your resume in certain industries. No matter your industry, you should add a link to your LinkedIn profile to your resume.