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Top 10 Resume Blunders
By Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert
Make sure your resume is in top-notch shape by avoiding the top 10 resume blunders:
1. Too Focused on Job Duties
Your resume should not be a boring list of job duties and responsibilities. Go beyond showing what was required and demonstrate how you made a difference at each company, providing specific examples. When developing your achievements, ask yourself:
• How did you perform the job better than others?
• What were the problems or challenges faced? How did you overcome them? What were the results? How did the company benefit from your performance?
• Did you receive any awards, special recognitions or promotions as a result?
2. Flowery or General Objective Statement
Many candidates lose their readers in the beginning. Statements such as “a challenging position enabling me to contribute to organizational goals while offering an opportunity for growth and advancement” are overused, too general and waste valuable space. If you’re on a career track, replace the objective with a tagline stating what you do or your expertise.
3. Too Short or Too Long
Many people try to squeeze their experiences onto one page, because they’ve heard resumes shouldn’t be longer. By doing this, job seekers may delete impressive achievements. Other candidates ramble on about irrelevant or redundant experiences. There is no rule about appropriate resume length. When writing your resume, ask yourself, “Will this statement help me land an interview?” Every word should sell you, so include only the information that elicits a “yes.”
4. Using Personal Pronouns and Articles
A resume is a form of business communication, so it should be concise and written in a telegraphic style. There should be no mentions of “I” or “me,” and only minimal use of articles. For example:
“I developed a new product that added $2 million in sales and increased the market segment’s gross margin by 12%.”
Should be changed to:
“Developed new product that added $2 million in sales and increased market segment’s gross margin by 12%.”
5. Listing Irrelevant Information
Many people include their interests, but they should include only those relating to the job. For example, if a candidate is applying for a position as a ski instructor, he should list cross-country skiing as a hobby.
Personal information, such as date of birth, marital status, height and weight, normally should not be on the resume unless you’re an entertainment professional or job seeker outside the US.
josiane1612
2 months ago
2 comments
Excellent tips, the only thing I wish is that you would give couple resume samples from the beginning to the end to have an overall better picture of what really reads well .
thank you Josiane
Isis311
2 months ago
4 comments
Good examples. Bullet statements are crucial...don't worry about making "complete sentences." If you get the interview you can put together complete sentences while speaking. The best suggestion is a Summary of Qualifications directly after your objective or career statement. This puts your knowledge in a nutshell. You don't have to repeat it for every employer listed in your experience section, which allows you to bullet the most specific examples of your contributions in each job. As an Admin everyone knows that you can answer a phone and type.
taoandrew
2 months ago
2 comments
Number 4 is good in principle, but the example you give is not a complete sentence. I should think that complete sentences are a requirement of sound business communication.
jagumbs
2 months ago
6 comments
Refining your resume is almost a full time job. Number 1 tip was extremely helpful. Any ideas on how to get beyond the electronic posting of a resume into an actual job interview?
AnnAnderson
2 months ago
2 comments
Great information. I whole-heartedly agree with number 1) to include 'results' bullets. Employers know that most everyone applying will meet or exceed the required skills, they need something to sort you out of the bulk of the resumes coming in. Adding bullets or rephrasing a typical duty to read as a 'results' or 'benefit you added to the company will stand out.
And number 8) keywords are necessary in this day of electronic job boards and searches. I used to work for a resume writing company, and I actually changed my resume to have 3 columns of 'keywords' at the top of the resume for the job boards that replaced the typical summary and called it SKILLS. I listed key duties from jobs that now rolled off my resume that I could explain via email or at an interview. Words such as the job titles were listed, Executive Asisstant, Office Manager, Purchasing, Data Entry, 10-key, Human Resources, Payables, Receivables, etc. Any duty or skill that can be put into a one word skill.
With my background being in programming and database management, I realized I had to do something to get my resume picked up on the job board searches. I received many emails within the day and many from legitimate agencies and employers. However, I do not present this 'keyword' resume style to employers face-to-face. It is only to fit the electronic procurement on the job boards.
It's still a very difficult economy, I"ve been out of work over a year, but at least still getting temp work and noticed more than some of my former 7,000 co-workers.
bdersch
2 months ago
2 comments
Good pointers. I will remove "I" where I can in my resume.
Thank you!