5 Resume Mistakes to Avoid
You may be one of the many who have lost their job. It’s easy to feel helpless and worried about how you’re going to pay your bills, make ends meet, and support your family.
With layoffs flying rampantly these days, many people are in need of help and are struggling to support themselves. The competition for work is fierce. Therefore–
Your Resume is Essential
A good resume is your only shot at making a winning first impression and beating the competition. If you are unemployed, need a job, can’t pay your darn electric bill, let alone support your family. Here are some support tips to help you avoid resume ruin:
5 Resume Mistakes to Avoid:
1) Include Only Your Resume Attachment
Do not send only your resume as an attachment (without also including a message in the body of your email). Introduce yourself and include a few short sentences about why you are suitable for the job, and how you can help them.
*TIP: Copy+Paste your resume in the email as many employers wont open attachments from people they don’t know.
2) Include Misspellings & Grammatical Errors
Proof read, proof read, proof read! I can’t stress how unprofessional a poorly written document looks! Misspellings, mistakes, and grammatical errors reflect you as a poor potential employee, and they convey to employers that you are uneducated. Have several people proof-read and spell-check your resume before you send it. It’s easy to overlook little mistakes when you’ve read your work multiple times, as your eyes become use to those errors.
3) Include Funny Fonts & Weird Formatting
Stick to the good old ‘Times New Roman’ or ‘Arial’ in size 12. Studies show that readers have difficulty processing certain fonts and sizes. Avoid overusing CAPITAL LETTERS, italics, and boldface.
For Example:
AVOID USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS. THE USE OF ALL CAPS IMPEDES ONE’S READING SPEED AND MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR READERS T READ. PLUS IT’S ALSO VERY ANNOYING.
4) Send Your Resume In a Format That Can’t Be Opened – (advice for computer-illiterates like me)
Early versions of Microsoft Office cannot open the new 2007 version of Microsoft Office file formats, for example, ‘.docx’! It can, however, open the old file formats, ‘.doc’. Do not send ‘.docx’ files!
5) Send Your Resume From an Unprofessional Email Address
You might think your email address is the greatest. But ask yourself, “Would my prospective employer feel the same way about HopelessHeart@xyz.com, CutiePooh3576821@cute.net, or I_am_Darf_Vader@thedarkside.com?”
Remember that the person you are sending your resume to online cannot see you. You’re just a computer screen to them. Your email name, therefore, paints a picture of you. The more human your email address is, the more real you become as an actual person on the other side of the computer screen. Keep your email address professional, simple and real (example: April@abc.com).
There you have it. If you’re unemployed and need help, start by creating a good resume by keeping in mind these 5 Resume Mistakes to Avoid. You’ll be more likely to stand out from the 100’s of other unemployed people who are also seeking help.
Tags: MicroGiving
23. February 2009 at 6:56 pm :
We know you have more Do’s & Don’ts regarding Resumes, so tell us about them here. Feel free to share a story or two…
23. February 2009 at 7:29 pm :
Here’s a good employee mistake. My part time employee who’s still in school and comes in a noon today writes as her facebook status, “I’m not in a rush today because my class was canceled.” Good one – both me and my co-worker replied “Why didn’t you come to work early…”
24. February 2009 at 1:12 pm :
Excellent point. Ron– you raise another tip that I didn’t think about!
When applying for a serious job… shape up your Myspace and Facebook profile! There’s a good chance that as an employer I’m going to look you up. The last thing you want for him to see are silly pictures of you at Margaritaville. In fact, take your job pursuit to the next level and cater your social-networking profile to the job position you are applying for. For example, if you’re applying for secretarial work use your profile to communicate your strengths as a secretary (proficient in Microsoft Office, good at multi-tasking, excellent time-management skills, etc). Your potential employer will be very impressed.
24. February 2009 at 2:09 pm :
Thanks for sharing Ron!
26. February 2009 at 12:18 am :
I also would not use your social networks sites or your blogs to vent out about your current or past supervisors, customers or co-workers.
28. February 2009 at 12:05 pm :
This may sound weird but, I have never done a resume. Wow. I have jobs like caring for an elderly woman 7 days a week. House and pet sitting, Cleaning homes, and selling things at Flea Market on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. Of course I have to watch the jobs I get because of my daughter’s health and that I home school her.
These are great suggestions and hope that it will help those looking for jobs. Wishing everyone here the best in finding that job.
MJ
5. March 2009 at 3:26 pm :
I would like to add a don’t to the resume….By experience…Do not make your resume long, Do not over do it on experience, you can be over experienced for a job as well as well as under experienced.
8. March 2009 at 7:47 pm :
Be sure to read the instructions on any job application very carefully…
Make sure all of your resume information is complete, and that they can get a hold of the people you use for referrences, etc, and that all your dates are correct..
Make sure that it is as well packed with info as you can, and I would suggest adding a nice photo of yourself…this eleviates any kind of guessing that the potential employer may have about who he is hiring, and it will make you stand out in that crowd…he may not see anyone else’s photo, and you’rs might just arouse his attention toward looking no more, if you have a great resume also..Make sure your photo is current, and professional looking
9. March 2009 at 2:26 am :
Keep your resume short and simple. Bring your letters of recommandations with it. Dress nice because first impressions say it all.
2. April 2009 at 8:10 pm :
I would like to say I wish all of you the best who are looking for jobs that need resumes. Keep a smile on your face and keep good eye contact when you are called in for an interview! BEST WISHES!!
21. April 2009 at 1:10 am :
Yes eye contact is so important…and a lot of times when people have been through a lot and back to back and are down… they dont look people in the eye. Its by far not their fault… it’s simply because their trust in humanity is gone…and self esteem… So we need to make a self note ” LOOK ‘em in the eyes!” It will pay off…
So great advice there MJ!!