A resume for an employee is more like a mirror. It may won’t reflect exact you, but it is in your hand to make it as accurate as you can or else it to make it sound like a boring resume.
During the entire process of the interview, an employer goes through numerous resumes and cover letters.
Some of these resumes make employees go, “wow” while others don’t make them react at all – such resumes are termed as boring ones. Here is the list, that would certainly tell you if your resume is boring or not.
Top Signs of a Boring Resume:
1. Cluttered presentation:
Before reading the resume, what matters is the presentation. If the presentation of a resume is cluttered, no section wise differentiation is done, then your resume would appear to be boring.
It will create chaos in the mind as to where to exactly focus and which section talks about what.
2. Paragraph and not bullets:
The absence of bullet points and placing of the paragraph in their place can turn out to be a bigger kind of blunder.
Long paragraphs explaining about you, work experience, achievements and so on might fail to grab the attention.
Instead, one has to put bullet points wherever they can. Presence of bullet points can make the resume look précised and specifically to the point. On the other hand paragraphs would make it look boring and drab.
3. Same old lines:
In the entire career of recruiters they must have gone through numerous resume and thus, if you even try to use an old line – it becomes easier to catch.
For example the sentences that are used for “objective” are so common that the moment the section is seen on the resume, a perception of “less creativity” is from.
It is advisable for the candidates that they must avoid the same old sentence as it steals the creativity out of the resume making it look very boring and dull. It is also advisable to write a excellent resume objective.
4. Unsuitable to the job description:
The way one cannot wear same traditional outfits in a board meeting similarly you cannot pass on or present the same resume to every job description.
Different jobs have different demands of skills and hence you should learn to change your resume accordingly.
If you present a resume that talks more about your software skills for a job that requires a person with the flair in hardware skills then, probably your resume would undoubtedly turn out to be extremely boring to them.
If your resume doesn’t match with the job requirement, then it is ought to appear boring for them.
5. No “me” feeling:
It is agreed that there is a generally followed format of the resume that is usually followed in order to avoid any confusion and make it more clear.
However, simply, copying the format and replacing the fillings with your own doesn’t make the resume “your resume”. There has to be something about your resume that will reflect you.
For instance, a graphic designers resume has to be filled with some graphics. If the resume failed to reflect you then it turns out to be mechanical, non appealing and boring for the recruiters to read. Thus be careful, take the idea, but make your own.
6. Jargons:
Avoid using technical jargons or each and every word handpicked from the thesaurus. It is quite easier to figure out if the usage of words is actually a fruit of your rich vocabulary or it is just that you are hand picking them for the sake of putting up impression.
There is no harm in using good words instead of usual one, but you just have to ensure that it must look artistic and not artificial.
If such words are overused in the resume then the resume fails to connect and becomes boring to analyze.
7. Fancy handwriting:
While we are blessed with numerous handwritings in Microsoft word, that we often get confused as to what to choose.
It is highly advisable to keep in mind that the resume is something that is formal and hence no fancy handwriting would work.
Fonts like – Arial black, times new roman are the standard one. You can choose other fonts as well, but you got to ensure that it should be able to provide the same level of formal attitude.
Using any random font can either confuse the recruiter, make your resume less appealing or make it boring to read. Thus, you must avoid it.
8. Fancy colors:
While usage of colors Is welcomed in the resume, it depends upon the client how well he or she can blend them up which would enhance the overall look of the resume instead of making it look tacky.
Colors like, yellow are supposed to be avoided. Some of the clients also change the color of the page which is not at all advisable.
A white background, that is a white paper is supposed to be the standard one and changes can make it look tacky. Thus, using too many colors without any uniformity can make your resume look exceptionally bad.
9. General statements:
If you state that you are multi tasking or have good communication skills then you must back it with some of the examples as well where these skills of yours were shown.
Otherwise, each statement of yours remains to be general only unless and until it is backed with a stronger proof to support. Also, make sure that you are well aware of what you are stating in the same.
There are times, when you vaguely add something or the other without knowing exactly what does it mean.
10. Hard skills than, repetitive ones:
Having a good communication skills, leadership qualities is being the most repetitive skills these days.
Recruiters are looking for something different. Something that reflects you and talks about your own skills that you have mastered with time.
It is advisable to avoid writing this,recruiters this day are looking for something different apart from monotonous skills that are present in every other resume. These overtly repeated skills makes the resume sound boring and doesn’t let it slip and stand away from the crowd of thousands of candidates.
11. Regular mast head:
A masthead is the area where you write your name and the address below the same. You might get surprised to know that even an attractive masthead is important to make the resume interesting.
There are several generalized way in writing the mast head however you can add your idea to it which will remain formal and yet with a tinge of “you” in it.
So try breaking up from regular mast heads and make your own masthead of the resume.
12. A little color combination:
Most of us are either afraid to make the resume colorful or make it look even more tacky by adding multiple colors, balance is what makes the resume look good and not boring.
Firstly, you must understand that the resume has to be formal and therefore, keeping a formal combination like, blue and black or red and black can certainly turn your resume into an interesting one.
Keeping your resume black and white is boring now, and hence keeping a contrasting color that doesn’t appear to be tacky is always welcome.
You can give one color to your subheads and one to the links. The important thing is to maintain the uniformity without letting it look tacky or overdone at all.
13. Too much detailing:
Your resume should talk about you that is true, but you must understand that there is a difference between a CV and resume.
If you put too much detailing in your resume which seems to be irrelevant then, your resume would appear to be boring than ever.
Recruiters scan through the resume and while they scan, your resume must be capable enough to grab their attention and force them to read.
If you input too many details, then chances are that they might skip through details which are relevant as well. Thus, you are ought to keep your resume to the point, crisper and sharper.
14. Usage of “responsibilities”:
There are many of the candidates who overuse the word “responsibilities”. Try to understand that your resume would become a huge turn down if you take things as your responsibilities always.
Try using words like – directed, lead, accomplished, achieved, appointed and so on. These words are catchy and more appealing.
15. Absence of facts:
Whatever you want to state in your resume, strengths, skills, experience, kindly ensure that they are backed with some hardcore facts. Facts add substance and credibility to your statements.
Instead of simply stating your work experience you can also use facts and tell them how the output of the project benefited you and the company. It becomes interesting to evaluate your performance on different parameters.
Absence of the facts makes it just another statement to read and this often turns your resume into a boring one.
16. Absence of other activities:
Whatever you put in your resume, reflects your personality. It is often advisable that, if you are indulged in activities like sports or art, do make mention of.
Absence of “other activities” can portray as if you are a person who knows nothing beyond your work. Most of the time, jobs are offered because of the involvement in sports. You might get portrayed as a boring person just like your resume.
So, if you have a favorite pastime or know a skill quite well apart from professional ones, then make note of it in your resume without any fail.
17. Missing out on a cover letter:
A cover page acts like something that forms the perception much before the resume. An absence of cover letter can be also a cause of boring resume.
If your cover letter is apt and attractive, automatically a positive perception about your resume is formed.
But, in case you missed out your cover letter or your cover letter failed to provide the desired impact then also chances of your resume getting portrayed as a boring one are high. Ultimately, it is all about the perception that you form in the minds of your recruiters.
18. Absence of the “substance”:
A recruiter goes through so many resumes a day, and to make your resume stand out you must add substance to it.
Instead of putting monotonous terms like – “objectives”,”responsibilities” try adding more of substance to make it real and not fake or artificial.
The resume that you are making of your own must look genuine, even if you are fresher in the field.
19. Grammatically incorrect:
Make sure that your resume is read by you at least thrice, this is to be done In order to avoid typing or grammatical errors.
The document is formal and has to be treated with respect. If your resume is filled with typo errors or grammatical ones, then it might become a bigger barrier in conveying and connecting to the employers. So always proofread your resume before submitting.
Not just that, the disconnect would cause boredom to the ones who are reading it making you look like a careless candidate.
20. Lengthy:
Longer the length,the more boring it is. The rule is simple, if you begin to talk about yourself and fail to stop then this goes without saying that your resume will be trashed.
Your resume must be sweet and sharp. It should talk about you, but to the point. They are not interested in knowing more about you through your resume, they just want a brief idea.
Set the length of your resume apt if you want it to remain interesting towards the end of it as well.
21. No links or sample work:
A resume turns out to be an interesting piece if it involves the sample of your work as well. It could be in any format, links, pictures, graphics, animation. If you are in such field where art is more then, it is vital to attach samples with the same.
Providing links have been just apt. Without this, your resume would look a little too boring and won’t appeal that much.
You can provide a link to your blog or a file where samples are stored. In this way you make your resume much more dynamic than the generic one.
22. Social media presence:
A social media presence counts largely, especially today. Often these sites are checked in order to have a view of your social life.
It also talks a lot of things about you and hence it is important to give the links of your social media account.
If you do not provide any links, it seems as if either you don’t have a virtual social network as yet or you are hiding. Today being, in want of a dynamic candidate recruiters look for all rounder personality.
Your no presence on the social platform might turn against you sometimes. Therefore, even if you are not active, be there and observe.
23. Usage of pronouns:
A resume has to be written in third person. This sounds more suitable and equally formal. Candidates often make the blunder using words like –“I”, “my”,”mine” and so on.
This distracts the recruiter from connecting to your resume and portrays you like an amateur. This can make your resume quite boring to read.
In every resume, a person talking about himself or herself, however adding pronouns to it can make it cluttered and a little weird to read. Thus, always use third person narration instead of using pronouns like, “I”,”my”,”me” and so on.
24. Not updated one:
If you present a non updated resume to your recruiter it won’t look good and thus it is always advisable to keep your resume updated. It can also mislead your recruiter about yourself and your attitude.
Having an incomplete information and then narrating half of the information during an interview can somehow disconnect the recruiter and make the resume completely uninteresting or boring because it would fail to deliver the exact potential of the candidate.
25. Summary:
Summary acts as an underline of the word, the crux of the matter or an entire resume in just a paragraph.
Summaries are important to be written at the end. It some how denotes that the resume has come to an end .
An absence of the summary can leave the resume without any end, it would fail to provide the proper kind of impact which is required.
Your resume speaks up for you and hence it is distinctively important to have a resume that is well done, well planned and equally interesting. The resume shouldn’t be boring at any point of time and for that you can take the measures listed above.
