Although a resume is a simple document that outlines your career, skills and accomplishments, there are five common mistakes job applicants make that can render their resumes ineffective. Poor resumes have an unclear purpose, a weak structure, and the wrong focus. They also have vague content and offer irrelevant information. Fortunately, it is easy to correct these mistakes once you know what they are. This will make a huge difference in improving your chance of securing an interview.
Let us look at each of these mistakes in detail.
1. An Unclear Purpose
When the purpose of a resume is not direct and focused it fails to produce any significant impact in the reader's mind. It does not provide the information necessary for someone to make a hiring decision. For instance, it may not be immediately clear what position you're applying for or your qualifications for the job.
2. A Weak Structure
A resume that does not have a clear structure is likely to be tossed aside unread. Most hiring executives simply scan resumes before reading them. Consequently, resumes that are not concise, but ramble will not attract attention. Like a sales letter, a resume should have a USP-- a unique selling proposition. It should tell the reader why you are more suitable candidate for the job. A well-structured resume will highlight positions, company names and your main accomplishments.
Here are three suggestions to improve the structure of a resume:
Let us look at each of these mistakes in detail.
1. An Unclear Purpose
When the purpose of a resume is not direct and focused it fails to produce any significant impact in the reader's mind. It does not provide the information necessary for someone to make a hiring decision. For instance, it may not be immediately clear what position you're applying for or your qualifications for the job.
2. A Weak Structure
A resume that does not have a clear structure is likely to be tossed aside unread. Most hiring executives simply scan resumes before reading them. Consequently, resumes that are not concise, but ramble will not attract attention. Like a sales letter, a resume should have a USP-- a unique selling proposition. It should tell the reader why you are more suitable candidate for the job. A well-structured resume will highlight positions, company names and your main accomplishments.
Here are three suggestions to improve the structure of a resume:
- Keep sentences short and to the point. Find ways to say the same thing in a simpler way.
- Provide information in bite-sized chunks. Avoid large bodies of unbroken text. This can be accomplished by using short paragraphs, bullet points, and white space to break up the text.
- The proper use of formatting like bolding, italics, and underlining will also assist in making it easy to scan a resume.
3. The Wrong Focus
There are many ways that a resume can fail to hold the reader's attention. One way is to focus on describing past jobs rather than outlining your accomplishments. The details of your job are less interesting than what you did in the job to make a difference. Make sure you focus on providing critical information and providing a list of your exceptional contributions in your resume.
Add statistical information if you can-- the number of people you supervised, the percentage of sales you made, or that impact you had on helping your previous organizations achieve their goals.
4. Vague Statements
Often people make unclear statements, statements that cannot be substantiated or that harp on unimportant details.
Saying that you "improved revenue goals" is an unsubstantiated statement. This is a statement that you need to back up with facts and figures--how much of an improvement did you make and when did you make it?
You can also make the opposite mistake and go into too many details, more than are necessary to make your point.
5. Offering Irrelevant Information
Talking about jobs or projects that are not related to the job you are applying for would be considered irrelevant information. Remember, the reader wants to find reasons why they should hire you, why you are the right person for the job ... why you have the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to fill the position they are offering.
These five common mistakes can be easily corrected. Go through your existing resume and see if you are making any of them. By doing so you will significantly improve your chances of landing the dream job you've been working towards for quite some time.
Jerry Smith is a writer for proHR. When he's not writing he enjoys spending time with his family and outdoors. proHR is a leading professional HR management company that offers recruiting, payroll, PEO & ASO solutions and much more. proHR is based in West Jordan, Utah.
There are many ways that a resume can fail to hold the reader's attention. One way is to focus on describing past jobs rather than outlining your accomplishments. The details of your job are less interesting than what you did in the job to make a difference. Make sure you focus on providing critical information and providing a list of your exceptional contributions in your resume.
Add statistical information if you can-- the number of people you supervised, the percentage of sales you made, or that impact you had on helping your previous organizations achieve their goals.
4. Vague Statements
Often people make unclear statements, statements that cannot be substantiated or that harp on unimportant details.
Saying that you "improved revenue goals" is an unsubstantiated statement. This is a statement that you need to back up with facts and figures--how much of an improvement did you make and when did you make it?
You can also make the opposite mistake and go into too many details, more than are necessary to make your point.
5. Offering Irrelevant Information
Talking about jobs or projects that are not related to the job you are applying for would be considered irrelevant information. Remember, the reader wants to find reasons why they should hire you, why you are the right person for the job ... why you have the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to fill the position they are offering.
These five common mistakes can be easily corrected. Go through your existing resume and see if you are making any of them. By doing so you will significantly improve your chances of landing the dream job you've been working towards for quite some time.
Jerry Smith is a writer for proHR. When he's not writing he enjoys spending time with his family and outdoors. proHR is a leading professional HR management company that offers recruiting, payroll, PEO & ASO solutions and much more. proHR is based in West Jordan, Utah.
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