The Resume

The Top Ten Mistakes in Resume Writing

1. Too long – Resumes should be restricted to one or two pages.  If you have trouble condensing it, get help from a technical or business writer.
   
   
2. Typographical, grammatical or spelling errors – These errors suggest carelessness, poor education and/or lack of intelligence.  Don’t rely fully on a computer’s spell-checkers or grammar checkers and have at least two people proofread your resume.
   
   
3. Hard to read – Use a plain typeface, no smaller than a 12-point font.  Asterisks, bullets, underlining, boldface type and italics should be used only to make the document easier to read, not fancier.
   
   
4. Too verbose (using too many words to say too little) – Do not use complete sentences or paragraphs.  Say as much as possible with as few words as possible.  A, an, and the can almost always be left out.  Be careful in your use of jargon and avoid slang.
   
   
5. Too sparse – Give more than the bare essentials, especially when describing related work experience, skills and accomplishments that will give employers desired information.
   
   
6. Irrelevant information – Customize each resume to each position you seek (when possible).  Of course, include all education and work experience, but emphasize only relevant experience, skills and accomplishments.  Do not include marital status, age, sex, children, height, weight, health, church membership, etc.
   
   
7. Obviously generic – Too many resumes scream, “I need a job—any job!” The employer needs to feel you are interested in that position with that company.
   
   
8. Too snazzy – More and more companies are scanning resumes into a database, so use plain type and avoid symbols, underlining, italics and borders.
   
   
9. Boring – Make your resume as dynamic as possible.  Begin every statement with an action verb.  Use active verbs describing what you accomplished on the job and avoid repeating words, especially the first word in a section.
   
   
10. Too modest – The resume showcases your qualifications in competition with the other applicants.  Put your best foot forward without misrepresentation, falsification or arrogance.