A charming face is the reflection of a healthy body similarly a well-written resume is the mirror of your skills and experience. Resume is not a versatile document which will qualify somebody to do any sort of job nor should it be floated to all the places. It is your gateway to get you to the right place to fulfill your goal with best suitable role. Be lucky to get noticed by the recruiters by avoiding these 13 mistakes in your resume.
1. Do not use copy paste objective: An objective is NOT JUST a general paragraph at the starting of the resume. Most of the time it is something which you copied from your friend’s resume. Stop using copy paste objective. It is better not to have an objective than to add copied objectives.
2. Weak Job Details: Highlight your work done in numbers. Mention what you exactly did for that particular task. Don’t just mention that you reported bugs but write down that “5% of bugs mentioned in the test closure were reported by me”. Show that you are better than others and let the employers know you’re potential.
3. Unknown company’s resource: The recruiters might not be aware of the name, purpose and location of your company. They might list it out for not having a big tag name. Provide a few sentences to show the services and focus of your company.
4. Trimming as you progress: Cut short the older stuff as you have new things to add on with every passing year. Do not add a new paragraph for a new job. After 10 years of experience the resume should be more hardcoded and do not put the achievements in college, training projects or elaborate description of your starting jobs.
5. References: Do not mention the references on the resume. They should be provided only when requested, so that they should not be contacted unless the company is serious about you.
6. It’s not a story: Don’t use third person while writing resume.
7. Skip Hobbies or Interests: Don’t market yourself as an all-rounder and interesting person by writing extra co-curricular activities and your favorite pastime. If the interviewer wants to know more personal details about your interests, he will ask.
8. Dates are important: It is important to mention the dates of your graduation and the joining and leaving of a company. It will give a clear idea about your experience and your age, to the employers. Skipping the dates might seem you are being opaque.
9. Check your English: Check your resume yourself or get it reviewed by someone else for spelling mistakes, grammar and punctuation at least three times.
10. Reaching the right place – part one: Don’t use the sites who promise to distribute your resumes to the appropriate employer. Most of the places they send the resume are not valid, moreover you will not know where your resumes are going and whether those jobs are relevant to you. This will not lead you to your dream job.
11. Reaching the right place – part two: On different job sites you get different instructions for sending the resume. Sometimes it says, email, cut and paste in the description section and attach it. Every system has different settings so you don’t know how it is actually going to look like. Try to avoid emailing it because after that you will only have to wait and watch. But most of the times that’s the only option you have.
12. Reaching the right place – part three: After sending your resume, follow up with the company if they received it. If you know the company, ask them how you shall send the application. Some of the recruiters don’t check their e-mails and do a mass delete every morning. So save your efforts.
13. Resume Visuals: Resume should be on ivory paper with black ink and individual pages. The name should be at the top. It should look like a professional document not a school report. Your resume must be precise, personalized and easy to read. It should focus with the different types of tasks you did in your previous companies and your accomplishments. The resume is a mode of entry to the desired job. If your resume is poorly written, looks unorganized, is difficult to read, hiding something you won’t even get in the door.
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