Are You Still Making These Top 5 Mistakes On Your Resume?

Yup, it’s another resume blog.

Here’s why you need it: millions of people are out of work right now, which means resumes are flooding every HR department in the country. 

Your resume should be what motivates hiring managers to find out more about you - not bore them into tossing you onto the pile. So I’m not just going to tell you what you should do. I’m going to tell you what you absolutely should not do.

#5 Mistake: Making a Laundry List 

Why are you putting your entire career history on your resume? Stop it, and scratch the detailed breakdown of your job duties too. This is your first chance to market yourself so you need to make yourself look as valuable as possible.

How’d you make things better in your last role? What results did you achieve and how? That’s the sauce hiring managers are looking for. Be specific about your strengths, experience, knowledge, and skills - but show don’t tell. 

A resume is a marketing tool, not a laundry list or historical record.

#4 Mistake: Talking About Career Objectives

I don’t care what anyone says, you absolutely do not need to explain your ‘Career Objective’ or ambitions. Hiring managers don’t care!

Every employer is looking for someone who can add to their team, not to serve as a stepping stone for you to get somewhere else. Don’t distract them from seeing where your experience and skills can fit into their company.

Stick to one or two sentences highlighting your strengths. A small summary like that will point out what you really want your potential employer to pay attention to.

#3 Mistake: Too Much Info

A resume is not a replacement for an actual interview.

Read that again.

Managers want something easy to look at and comprehend. Here’s a few practical rules to remember:

• If your resume goes past 2 pages, you’ve gone too far.
• If your history starts going past the last 15 years, you’ve gone too far.
• Paragraphs are clunky. Use bullet points, no more than six.
• Make sure your most current job is at the top of the list and work backwards.
• If your work history is super diverse like mine, you can change it up and list each experience based on relevance instead. 
• Coursework, technical skills, certifications, and volunteering all count as experience. Drop it in there if it’s relevant.

The last thing you want is a hard to follow, over-complicated career story with too much information. Oh, and I shouldn’t have to say this but please don’t try to make your experience more impressive by lying. Chances are it won’t do you any favors, and come interview time you’ll get caught.

#2 Mistake: Being Generic

What’s the job? 

Your experience and history doesn’t change, but the strategy of how you list them, the language you use in your descriptions, and the skills you highlight should reflect the job you’re applying for. 

And you don’t have to wing it: Use keywords, phrases, and language from the job description to help you—without copying it exactly, obviously. Rule of thumb: your resume should change in some way every time you apply for a job. 

#1 Mistake: Letting everything ride on your resume

This is #1 for a reason. 

Having a good-looking resume is a necessary step, but let’s be real - it’s barely a foot in the door, let alone what seals the deal.

In today’s job market, referrals are King!

Like I mentioned at the beginning, hiring managers get a flood of resumes daily, and guess what? Most don’t get opened without some sort of recommendation.

The real work starts before you submit your resume - making connections. Hustling to build your network and secure a referral is what will make sure your resume gets read. 

LinkedIn makes it easy. Sending a well thought out message can get you farther than you think. 

The Good News 

Networking isn’t everybody’s thing, and not everyone has the skills or courage to pitch themselves for a recommendation.

Good news: I can help you with that. 

The re:work community is made up of diverse professionals who are well connected and committed to supporting others on their career path. Oh, and we’ve got the resume experts too, if you’re interested in a free update.

If you’re not already, connect with me and let’s get to work!