Recruiting is a tough job. On the off chance if anybody contradicts, just don’t believe them. For entry to mid-level roles, there are always a lot more candidates than the open positions.
So recruiters have to get through the sourcing and identification process quickly and get on to the task of speaking to the ones they’ve shortlisted.
So a recruiter may go through at least 30-40 CVs before shortlisting a few to even have the first conversation. If the position requires niche skills then it might mean surfing through a lot more CVs.
It simply means that as a jobseeker and candidate, your resume gets total airtime of 15-20 seconds max in the hands of the recruiter. If they find anything interesting then they spend more time on it. But if the resume fails the 20-second test, your chances are blown.
So here’s the big list of rookie mistakes many jobseekers make on their resume. This list does not guarantee you an interview but will help you enhance the opportunities to get an interview.
Common Resume Mistakes You Need to Fix Right Now:
1. Funny email id:
Whether you are a Star Wars fan or a die hard romantic person, emails like sithlord@gmail.com or sexyeyesforyou@gmail.com are not good to use on a resume. Get a more professional email id for your job hunting.
2. Incorrect email:
Double check your email id and phone number on the CV. John.Doe@gmail.com can easily become John.doe@gamil.com and it won’t be flagged by spellcheck either.
3. Official email:
Did you just use your official email id on the CV as your contact email?
Are you sure, your company isn’t snooping on your emails?
Even if they aren’t why take that chance. If you really want to leave your current job, there is an easier way. Pick a fight with your boss.
4. Name in the CV header:
Your name should be put at the top of the resume. However, don’t put it in the header section because many Applicant tracking systems (ATS) that parse resumes usually ignore the data in the header. So your CV goes on file, but as an anonymous one.
5. Resume file format:
Stick to Word document or PDF file formats for your CV. Why make it tougher for any recruiter to struggle opening your RTF, ODP and PPT resume. Why make things tougher than they already are !
6. Check the CV file Size:
Many email programs block attachments above a few MB’s, so keep the CV file small.
With upwards of 30% emails now get opened on mobile devices, larger attachments don’t get downloaded. Anything less than 100 KB for the CV is good enough.
7. How many pages is your Resume?
The average recruiter spends less than 20 seconds on each resume. So don’t write your resume like a long story.
Avoid using too much or too little to read, else you will loose her. The ideal size is 2 pages.
8. Spell check:
Spell check with MS Word is good but not perfect. So run it step by step so that you know exactly which word is being replaced.
On your CV you want to highlight yourself as a blogger not a booger!
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9. Style and formatting:
Don’t make your CV in Bernard MT Condensed Font. Stick to Arial, Times New Roman or something similar. Too many tables look good at a restaurant not on your CV. So keep the layout simple and readable.
10. Bullets not paragraphs:
Recruiters don’t read CV’s as much as they scan it. Having your information in bullet points makes it easier and quicker to scan and understand.
Save the long paragraphs for your memoirs.
11. Don’t make it too dense:
Remember 15-20 seconds?
That’s all the airtime your CV gets from the recruiter. So if it isn’t easy on the eyes you lose.
Don’t pack in everything in small font. Make it readable with the right size of the font and line spacing.
12. Adding a photo:
Unless you are applying for a beauty pageant adding a photo on your CV isn’t recommended.
13. Objective:
No one is a mind reader so you really don’t know what kind of person the recruiter is looking for.
Writing an objective statement often ends up painting you in a corner. The risk reward for writing this is unfavorable. Avoid it.
14. Highlight what you did, not what your team did:
Don’t spend resume real estate explaining your project or your role. Instead focus on what you did in that role and how well you did it.
15. Highlight your achievements not just your responsibilities:
“I was voted Customer Delight officer 3 months in a row for my High quality scores in Technical support” sounds way better than “ I handled email tickets for technical support and resolved Level 2 issues.”
16. Highlight relevant achievements:
Highlighting your superlative achievements in third grade on your CV is probably a little over the top. Pick the ones that are really going to make the recruiter want to meet you.
17. Skills and keywords:
Most recruiters and hiring managers subconsciously look for keywords, job titles and skills mentioned in the Job description.
So customize your CV appropriately to showcase those skills. Remember its Customize, not lie!
18. Mention appropriate dates:
Recruiters are wired to reject way more CVs than they select. So don’t give them any extra reasons to give your CV a pass.
Add appropriate dates with your experience so that the recruiter can construct a mental timeline of your career.
19. References:
Mentioning your references on your CV doesn’t help. If you are applying for a job, it’s expected that you’ll have references for a background check.
Most Common Resume Mistakes That Will Cost You the Interview
Unemployment is a tough phase and getting a job in this competitive market is even more tougher. No one would know it better than any job seeker who is trying his hard to get employed.,
As per many experts, lack of preparation is the main cause of why job seekers fail in getting a job. Lack of preparation can be anything, right from revising your subjective knowledge to how you attend the interview. There are also a few things which most of the job seekers ignore and that is the resume.
Your resume provides the first impression of you to the employer in your absence. A call for the interview also depends upon your resume quality.
So, the best thing when crafting your resume is to understand and avoid all the common resume mistakes which most job seekers make. Prepare a resume which matches the job role you are applying for.
Some of the topmost resume mistakes are enlisted below. The list which we provide here might have resume mistakes which are already mentioned above but as we are providing all common mistakes as a list, we have included them as well.
- Spelling mistakes
- Grammatical errors
- Do not mention old work experience
- Generic knowledge
- Unclear experience description
- Using resume templates
- Irrelevant Interests and Hobbies
- Too long or very short description
- Lying on your resume
- Mind your Resume length
- Not mentioning achievements
- Having no cover letter
- Past/Present Tense Errors
- Unnecessary Information
- Mentioning Short employment
- Lengthy contact information
- GPA
- Turn-off resume words
- Fancy Fonts
- Irrelevant Work Experience
- Unnecessary Links
- Too many designs
- Including a photo on resume
- Mentioning references
- Having a Cluttered Resume
- Not using quantifiable data
- Lack of good Keywords
- Outdated objective statement
