Resume Pet Peeves and Common Mistakes
What are some sure-fire ways to make a staffing professional less likely to look kindly on your resume? The following information reflects feedback from companies that responded to a survey sent to employers listed in the book The 100 Best Companies to Work For (Plume, 1994).
1
Content
- Leaving out dates
- No chronological listing of work
- Overstatement of responsibility
- Too much detail, usually around job descriptions
- Summary of work history by type instead of listing the exact company and job performed
- Baseless description of personal strengths
- Entitlement mentality ("I have my degree; I'm sharp; what can you do for me")
2
Accomplishments
- No accomplishments listed, only job duties
- Statements of accomplishments without a clear indication of where or when they were made
- Pumped up to look as if the candidate has qualifications that he or she does not possess
- Accomplishments separated from work history so that it's not clear what was done where
3
Visual
- Fancy fonts
- Photo included
- Graphics
4
Grammar, Technical
- Typos
- Misspellings
- Fluff wording
- Poor grammar
- Incomplete sentences
5
Organization
- Disorganized
- Too long
- Two pages from beginners
- Poor organization
- Lack of clear direction, focus
- Covering up or lying about gaps in employment or lack of degree
Excerpted from "Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer" (JIST Publishing, 2007) by Susan Britton Whitcomb. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
