Top 10 Resumes Mistakes To Avoid

If there's one undeniable truth about resumes,,,,,,if you ask 100 people for their opinion on your resume, you will get 100 different opinions! You HAVE to do this! You can't do that! Take this off.....add this on.......1 page......2 pages.......blah blah blah. It never ends. And here I am, just one more self-proclaimed "expert", sharing my opinions on resumes. As someone that looks at resumes all day and has personally written 100s of them, here are my top 10 things to avoid on your resume. Take my advice for what it's worth, which may not be much - but I have my reasons. In no particular order.

#1 - Objectives: An "Objective" at the top of your resume is very 80's, and it doesn't add ANY value to your resume. Please do yourself a favor and take it off. What to do in replace of it? A STRONG title, ideally the job title of the job that you are going after - dead center, nice and bold - right below your contact information. No need to tell me your objective - your title says it all.

#2 - Conservative and professional is always the way to go. Unless you're a cartoonist trying to apply for a job at Disney, keep your resume simple, stay away from a lot of color (black is best), and don't overthink it! Enough said.

#3 - How long is too long? No idea, but use common sense. If you just graduated from college and your only job was working part-time on the weekends, you probably only need a one page resume because you're just starting a career. Once you have more experience and have worked at multiple places - your resume is going to naturally get longer (as it should), and 95% of the population is going to have a two page resume for most - if not all - of their career. Exceptions?? Sure. It's common for Executives to have longer resumes, and I've seen a lot of very technical resumes that are longer as well. If you feel that your resume needs to be 3+ pages, don't let anyone tell you different, just make sure you have 3+ pages of GOOD content.

#4 - References. Don't list them, don't mention them, no need to even say "'References will be provided upon request". It's always assumed, and if someone wants references, they will ask when the time is right - typically when and offer is close. Good to have them teed up and ready - but no need to ever mention.

#5 - First Impressions. Do this....print out your resume and tape it to the wall in front of you and step back. You can't read the details, but do the margins look right? Do the bullets line up? Is some of your content a different font than it's supposed to be? Did your resume print out a 3rd blank page? Details are critical on a resume, and as they always say - you only get ONE chance to make a FIRST impression. Make it count!

#6 - Accomplishments are KEY: Do yourself a favor, focus on accomplishments on your resume and stay away from "duties" and "responsibilities". I tell job seekers all the time, if you don't brag about yourself, is anyone else going to? No. But, I can assure you that your competition for these same jobs are bragging their butts off about themselves, and in that situation - guess who gets the interview? (They do). Be specific, but honest - because while you might not be checked on every detail on your resume, as soon as you stretch the truth a bit, is always when you get caught.

#7 - Grammar and Spelling: Oh my....nothing like seeing a sharp resume and then catching all the spelling and grammar errors on it - it can make a reader cringe. Use spellcheck, it's simple and easy to do. And, check the tense on all your verbs on your resume......if it was a job that you no longer have, everything needs to be in the PAST tense. If it's a current job, present. Seems simple enough - but you would be surprised how many resumes I have to correct before I can submit them to a client.

#8 - Focus! Focus! Focus! If I look at your resume, can I tell in the first glance exactly what you're looking for? If not - why not? You DO NOT want to rewrite your resume for every situation, but having it set up so that you can "tweak" the top of your resume in minutes to make it more focused for the reader is a really good idea. Grab me early and encourage me to keep reading - if you can do that, your resume is doing its job!

#9 - How Old is Too Old? If you still have experience on your resume from 20+ years ago, unless it's CRITICAL for explaining what you bring to the table today, I would seriously consider thinking about trimming it down (or out all together). Someone is going to hire you because what you have done lately - not what you did during the summer after you graduated college several decades ago. Lead with your strengths and keep the reader focused on what YOU want them to focus on.

#10 - Final Advice.....STOP giving your resume away! Seriously......if someone asks for your resume, they need to have a good reason or they don't get it. Simple as that. As soon as you give your resume to me, I get to judge you on that piece of paper and I get to decide if I'm going to call you back. You need to turn that around! Your resume is important, but it should not be doing ALL the work for you. Take control of your search, lead with confidence and focus on face to face networking.

I hope this was helpful insight! Feel free to send me a note to connect as my email is [email protected] and I accept ALL invitations. I can also be reached at 678-646-7936. My full-time job is a recruiter, but I still do occasionally write resumes and I offer 1on1 job search coaching - upon request.