Common Mistakes made in Resumes according to Employers
Do you know that most candidates lose a potential job opportunity primarily due to the lack of certain important factors in their resumes? A recent study shows that employers take around 6 seconds to scan a resume, out of which 54% of applications are rejected due to non-customized or inadequately tailored resumes. Learn about these common mistakes and fix them to create a worthwhile first impression.
Common Resume Mistakes
If you have a good job opportunity you want to apply for, don’t send your resume without including the essential elements. Critically review your resume and revamp it to make your first impression worthwhile. There are a few common mistakes that candidates make in their resumes without knowing their gravity. However, HR managers keep a keen eye on whether these factors have been incorporated wisely or not. Also, if you are not getting any feedback on your resume after its submission, that’s mainly because your resume is not tailored enough. Having great experience and skills are not enough to fetch a good job; a well-customized resume is imperative to showcase your talents. Let’s explore the common mistakes that your resume should be free of and how they influence the recruitment process.
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Resume Formatting
Resumes are never read thoroughly. During the hiring process, your resumes are merely skimmed by HR managers who target important keywords, sections, headings, and titles. So, revamp it properly since it is going to be skimmed. Try to not beat around the bush and keep the content concise and straightforward. Do not include hyperbole or dense paragraphing, as this would only encumber the skimming process. This is not the right time to experiment with new fancy fonts or bullet styles. You should incorporate keywords, precise and short headings, and bullet points. Don’t make it look intricate or dense by writing lengthy paragraphs. Turn the keywords and headings in bold wherever possible. Give enough line spacing and paragraph spacing to keep your resume easy-on-eyes and readable. Make sure to save your file in professional and accessible formats, i.e., PDF or doc.
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Display Your Most Recent Job Experience
Another crucial factor is to have your current or most recent experience on the first page of your resume. The candidates often overtone their cv with a lot of stuff without paying attention to the elements of foremost importance. A display of your current experience is the first thing that catches sight of employers. They always prefer to proceed with resumes with good job-related experience to avoid the risk of hiring any newbie.
Showcase your job-related experience on top of your first page, or the HR managers might not be very patient to navigate through the resume to find it.
So, make your resume worth reading by incorporating this small but essential factor.
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Grammar or Spell Mistakes
Your writing reflects your persona. There can’t be any grave errors in a resume other than grammar or spelling errors, and unfortunately, these errors are still too common. Candidates often forget to proofread their resumes in a hurry, and that’s something they must avoid. Even a minor error caught during the skimming process might result in trashing of that resume no matter how fantastic is the experience . Your writing style must be elevated, concise, and error-free to reflect your commitment to excellence. Nowadays, many grammar checking applications help you proofread your content and make it grammatically correct, i.e., Grammarly. These apps are like having a personal editor who can save you from big troubles that might hinder the recruitment process.
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Customized Resume
One thing you should keep in mind while designing your resume is that it will not reflect your personality traits in detail. Resumes are meant to decide if your experience and skills are according to the job requirements. Your personality is judged later during the interview. So, to reach the interview phase, keep your cv tailored to the job description. It should demonstrate that you are a potential candidate for the job and can immediately contribute to its success. List your job-relevant skills, experience, and achievements clearly and match the employers’ demands. It is also highly recommended to go through the job description and incorporate its keywords and phrases in your resume. Also, put everything clearly, don’t make it complicated. Don’t hesitate to omit irrelevant experience. You may also have great experience in other sectors, but a tailored resume as per the job requirements manifests your interest in the job, which is the key aspect employers look for.
Remember! Your resume is skimmed, not thoroughly read.
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Employment Gaps
One main factor that negatively influences your resume and gives a bad impression is employment gaps. However, Job-hopping and employment gaps are often the periods where we learn key skills. So, it is better to put these periods under headings like “freelancer” or “probation period” or state periods of travel than to leave these areas blanks. Don’t leave it to the HR managerto look upon it with suspicion and jump to any conclusions that might not go in your favor. It gives an impression of your idleness.
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Lengthy Descriptions
A long resume with exaggerated details makes the skimming process too tough and buries the aim of the resume, which is to keep everything concise. Your resume should be at most three pages long. A two-page resume is considered to be ideal. Even if you’re a researcher, try to filter your content and reduce it to a maximum of 3 pages. A resume is meant to be short, not as lengthy as a book so avoid long descriptions. To the point information in the form of bullets is more than enough to serve the purpose. Also, please pay special attention to the front page and make it stand out. Focus on quality, not quantity! If the first two pages of your resume cannot convince the HR manager. It is most likely they won’t be convinced by the next five.
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Unprofessional Email or Wrong Contact Information
Employers have often reported that they sometimes find the right person whose expertise perfectly fits the job requirements, but they can’t be reached. Candidates often forget to put the correct contact information that can be detrimental. Make sure to write a working phone number and an official email ID while writing the resume with care. Otherwise, your entire effort might go in vain.
Using unprofessional email addresses can overshadow the rest of your achievements. Employers have reported that they often don’t regard the resumes of candidates who provide an unprofessional email ID, i.e., myfavoriteid***@***. Such applications are likely to be rejected without being skimmed at all.
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Emphasize Your Achievements, Not Duties
A synopsis of key achievements throughout your professional tenure is where a candidate should be spending most of the time. Employers are mainly hooked by your accomplishments, not the duties you have fulfilled. They focus on the experience you have gained through your employment and how can they be beneficial for their own company. Think about the increased revenue, successful innovations, campaigns, or even some little value you have contributed in your roles. Your resume should demonstrate how you made a difference in your previous role and what your new employer can expect from you. However, candidates often mistake focusing on their responsibilities during employment, omitting the accomplishments that have actual worth.
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Fabricated Data
It is a terrible misconception that the data mentioned in resumes are not checked. Potential recruiters always make inquiries. Even if your resume gets passed to the interview phase, you can never complete the interview phase with false information. After all, what could be worse than being exposed during the interview? So, beware!
Lying about your academic performance, degrees, job experiences, or accomplishments won’t do you any favor. At best, your resume will be immediately rejected with no response. At worst, you’ll be caught red-handed and face embarrassment during the interview. Instead of wasting your energy in fabricating information, put down your expertise clearly and provide genuine information which would be a thousand times better than lies.
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Bio
Don’t forget to write a short bio at the top of the cv. It informs your employer about your personality, work ethics, values, and motivations. Also, avoid using cliches’ since it shows your lack of creativity. Try to incorporate common vocabulary and give the description a personal touch. Avoiding clichés will make your resume stand out and not sound the same as other resumes.
Ready To Build Your Perfect Resume That Stands Out to Employers?
The above-mentioned mistakes may affect the hiring process significantly and result in losing an excellent job opportunity. A resume must be appropriately tailored to make the impression stronger and worthwhile. So, make sure to take care of all these issues beforehand and proofread your resume for good measure.
Outsourcing4work offers excellent career opportunities with flexible working hours and a Remote Guru work model. The future-oriented model and HR practices focus on the welfare of employees as much as the customers. Our employees’ success stories are a clear manifestation of our company’s integrity. Visit our career page and send your resumes to grab your desired job opportunity. Apply now and enjoy a successful career with Outsourcing4work!
