No matter how much we try and produce near perfect resumes, it is a fact that mistakes are an indispensable part of a resume. The only way to succeed in creating a perfect resume is to constantly check and remove any common and ignored mistakes that you notice in a Resume.
Resumes are the best way a candidate can use to persuade the employer in believing that he or she is most suitable for the job. It is a platform where the candidate can sell his or her abilities and skills to the employer and give a successful image about himself. It is also a space where you can state about your experiences, qualifications and strengths and prove that why you are more suitable than the rest of the candidates.
An interesting and eye catching resume is always considered as a key for bagging the job. So, it is necessary that your resume should be free of any common or unwanted errors so that the employer may not get a wrong impression about you.
Biggest Mistakes on Resumes and How to Correct Them:
When creating and formatting a resume, keep in mind that most of the mistakes formed during this process are hard to correct, especially when such mistakes are very hard to find and notice.
The most basic mistake that every rookie candidate does is, providing a template of the resume, without adjusting the template according to the job applied. One resume does not fit for all jobs. Keep in mind that for every scenario, it is necessary that the candidate should have certain skills and talents that are relevant to the job.
So, try to create a resume that emphasizes those skills and talents relevant to the job. Hence, try to make different resumes depending on each job. Though, it may sound easy, but in reality it takes a lot of practice and knowledge about the job to create a suitable resume for each job.
1. Sending the wrong file format for the resume:
- The most basic mistake that bugs the recruiters and employers alike is that many candidates fail to send their resumes in the correct or required file format . This error enough will land your application into the rejection pile. Before sending the resume, read through the company rules and regulations for the candidates and learn what all file formats are suitable for sending.
- This is necessary, since most of the companies use software that enables applicant tracking, that is the software selects only the applicants who have submitted the resume in the correct file format. Most of the companies accept resumes of various file formats like .doc , .docx or .pdf files.
- Also, if there is no specific file formats prescribed, chances are that the recruiters do not use an applicant tracking software. In such cases, the safest bet is to send the resume in a pdf file format. This is the most professional way that the candidate can send a resume to the recruiter or the hiring manger.
- The main reason why many companies, prefer .pdf files by default is because, many recruiters are often very busy and follow a hectic schedule. So to read all these applications, in addition to doing their own work requires a lot of multitasking . Pdf prevents any accidental errors such as modification or deletion of document when a button is pressed accidentally.
- Another advantage of sending a pdf file is that it allows seeing your resume more cleanly and clearly when compared to the various other file formats, especially the .docx formats. Also, it prevents others from editing your resume , since it can be locked by the candidate themselves.
- Try to find any information available on what kind of tracking application does the company use. If the company states that they allow .doc and .docx , then chances are the recruiter uses an applicant tracking. Otherwise if it is just .pdf, then the candidate does not use any kind of application tracking.
2. Using professional email addresses:
- Many people tend to mix up with the concept of using personal email addresses as professional email addresses. Keep in mind that many people use personal email addresses that are not professional enough to be shared on a resume. Sometimes they might be puns based off a name, or could include numbers and symbols.
- Using such email addresses may be considered as informal and the recruiter might get the idea that the candidate is not enthusiastic enough that he didn’t even bothered to make a new professional email address. Try not to make a bad impression to the recruiter just because you have a weird and unique email address. Also, try not to give any funny email addresses since these are completely unrelated to the whole purpose of using a resume and attending an interview.
- Also, try to use the latest email applications, if your email address still uses the old and unpopular versions of email applications such as Hotmail, AOL and Netscape, chances are that you might be rejected. Also, try not to use your college email address, if it has been years since you graduated from college. Make sure that the email address you use is professional and up to date with the latest email application.
- Examples of unprofessional emails are: sillybilly@hotmail.com, longjohn123@gmail.com, justsmellynelly@aol.com etc.
3. Elaborating your hobbies and skills:
- Until the recent years, many candidates used to add various hobbies and skills as a factor for getting to know them more and better during interviews. But in recent years, this trend has been stopped and many candidates have stopped including hobbies and skills altogether. The main reason being that, candidates tend to deviate from the main direction of the interview when asked about a hobby since they take it as a chance to showcase how much they are good at it. And in the end, it takes up a large amount of time of the interview.
- These days, nobody cares whether or not you are a good soccer player or you are an avid reader. What matters the most is, how you spend your free time more productively and produce useful results to others. Also, try not to talk too much about your hobbies and skills, unless asked. Try to wrap it up within a few lines just to show the interviewer how much interested you are in your hobbies and how you spend your free time with it.
In recent years, many candidates just scrap the whole hobby and skills section and replace it with various activities such as social work and volunteering that are more or less relevant to the job. - Adding skills relevant to the job is always an advantage and shows that you are ready to expand your knowledge about your area of study by learning new skills and trades. This also helps in creating a good first impression to the recruiter about you, as an ideal candidate for the job. So if you have any hidden skills and talents that are related to the job, then go for it.
4. Having perfect marks and grades are irrelevant:
- It is a known fact that many candidates find it hard to write and add about the educational achievements section of the resume, especially if they are devoid of any education related achievements. But if you have recently graduated college, and you have outstanding grades and marks, you’ll still be considered as a part of the generic group of candidates. This is because; having a good grade won’t be any different than others who have a less grade.
- At the end of the day, what matters is that how well you have created your resume and how interesting it is to the recruiter.
- If you are one of the top students of your college and your resume has a lot of mistakes and errors, chances are you won’t be able to get through the first stage of the selection process.
- But if there is a person who has lower grades than you and does a good job in creating a near perfect resume for the job, then the recruiter will take notice of them.
- Most people do not add their grades since those are usually less relevant to the job. If marks are to be included, then the candidate can do so, but make sure that your résumé is free of common and ignored errors.
5. Stating a generic objective and aim:
- Try not to make your objectives and aims sound boring and framed. The most recent trend that is seen in resume making is that, most candidates are now changing generic objective statements with true and professional summaries. This shows that how much the candidate is enthusiastic in applying for the job. Another fact being that, many generic and copied objectives do not make any sense and meaning.
- While adding your own personal objectives shows how much the job means to you and what all targets that you want to achieve by applying for the said job. Try to make sure that your objective statement is actually your own personal aim and goals. This adds a sense of originality to your resume and makes your resume stand out even more from the rest.
- For example: one instance of a generic statement is “I want to work in a field where I could showcase my skills and prove that I am an asset to the company”
- This objective statement can be further personalised by adding your own aims and targets “I want to obtain a position in a company where I could grow with the company and also get experienced in using and familiarising with the various software and technologies that the industry has to offer and create a productive result to the company”.
- When comparing both the statements, you can see that both objectives are written under the same context, but the impact that each statement gives is very different from each other.
- This is the same way that a recruiter feels when they are reading through thousands and thousands of such objectives and aims. Make sure that you do not write an over enthusiastic and corny aim and objective. Check and ensure that you have an eye catching objective and your resume will also automatically stand out among the rest.
6. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors:
- Everyone who has formatted and created a resume knows that these are one of the most inevitable and hard to find errors in a finished resume. It is true that everyone makes mistakes, but having a resume that has lots of grammatical and spelling mistakes can easily cost you the job.
- The main reason being that most recruiters try to notice of how efficient and detail oriented you are as an employee and submitting a well edited and proofread resume during the application process is always the right choice in securing a job. If your resumes have loads of errors then, the recruiter might even think that you are incompatible for the job and your resume will be placed in the rejection pile.
- Prevent spelling errors and typos by using the Instant Spelling And Grammar Checker.
Do an end to end proofread of your resume either by yourself or better still with the help of a friend or a mentor who can give you constructive feedback.
7. Incomplete information:
- Another reason, that threatens your selection for the job is adding incomplete and invalid information. As mentioned before, a resume is a platform where you have to sell yourself as an ideal candidate for the job. If you leave out important and relevant information from your resume then the recruiter won’t even bother to read your resume.
- To make matters worse, the recruiter might even think that you are either lazy or unenthusiastic about the job and you will immediately be eliminated from the selection process. Try to make sure that you have read through the resume at least twice and have added all the necessary and relevant information needed for the job.
In this fast moving and highly competitive market, having a great resume has proved to be a game changer for many candidates and try to make sure that you have a satisfactory resume that can catch the attention of the recruiters and employers alike.
