Everyone loves to think of themselves as a resume writing genius, but the fact is that some of the most major mistakes people make when writing resumes are also some of the most common. Here are five major mistakes that could make the difference between whether or not you get the job you want.
1. You included an objective. Please tell this to your friends who are searching for a job – objectives are obsolete. Human Resource Officers already know what your objective is. You want to get a job, and you want to work for their company. It’s actually quite common for some Human Resource Officers to toss out a resume with objectives just because they have been included in the resume.
2. You used words that you don’t really understand what they mean, or you tried to hide behind “professional” words. Sure, you may not want to use words like “dude” in your resume, but trying to make your resume sound more impressive or intellectual than it really is, or trying to confuse a Human Resource Officer with overly complex ways of saying very simple things is actually a major pet peeve of potential employers. If you aren’t a very wordy person, don’t fake it. Otherwise, you may end up using the wrong word in your resume, and that can make you look like an idiot to employers. As far as trying to stuff your resume by adding lots of professional sounding terms to describe very simple tasks, well, that’s a major no-no, too. People who have to hire others often want to have the most basic of descriptions so that they don’t need to waste time. Do them a favour – keep your resume short, sweet, and to the point.
3. You lied about your qualifications. Believe it or not, lying on your resume is a common yet serious faux pas that is actually very easy to catch. It’s very common for employers to actively contact old employers of a potential employee to verify that the things that were written on their resume were actually true. Moreover, even if you don’t get caught before the interview, lying on your resume can still spell disaster in the future.
A good way to get fired from any job that you get offered is to be caught lying on your resume. In certain fields, that can even be a prosecutable offense. Lying on your resume is a major, major faux pas, yet as many as 10% of all job applicants have been known to lie. Don’t be that person. You don’t need to lie to get a great job.
4. You didn’t add a cover letter, or attend to the selection criteria.A resume is a good tool to get you to a job interview. However, a good cover letter is what you’ll need in order to interest high paying employers to even read your resume. Cover letters show that you are a thoughtful person who really does care about making a good impression with your potential employer.
If you didn’t attend to the selection criteria as per the application process, prepare yourself as this is why you did not get an interview. If an employer believes you can’t follow the application process what chance have you got following their work process?
5. There are spelling and grammar errors on your resume. A quick method that many employers use to find out whether or not an applicant is worthy of an interview is to check the resume for spelling or grammar errors with a software program. Those who were careless enough to submit a resume riddled with spelling errors end up getting ditched before their resume is even read. And really, who can blame the employers who do this? No one wants to hire someone who was careless with their first impression because it often suggests that the potential employee will treat their job with just as much carelessness.
Give yourself the best chance you can by ensuring you do not have any of these faux pas in your resume writing or job application.
Plus, if you need to attend to selection criteria fast, easy and professionally then you must download a copy of our ebook to help you get that interview today.
