Everybody makes mistakes. Be it a job, personal life or friendship - sometimes we all make wrong choices and do things we tend to regret. Resume writing is no exception. Job seekers too make mistakes when developing their application packages. However, not all mistakes are equal by its importance. At least in the eyes of hiring managers and recruiters. There are errors that are pretty common and there are those that are considered major mistakes. There is another type of mistakes commonly referred to by hiring managers as annoying mistakes. Obviously, these annoying mistakes will be different for each and every hiring manager individually; nevertheless, we have found several errors most decision makers agree upon to be plain annoying.
Resume Writing: Mistakes to Avoid
1. Trying to cram in too much. This mistake is often made by job seekers who have many years of experience and, thus, they have a lot of information to offer on a resume. However, the point of every resume and CV is to be about the candidate but for the hiring manager. Consequently, it would make sense to conclude that job seekers need to think about what kind of things would be easiest for those reviewing resumes to process and understand. Cramming in too much of career information into 1 page is a huge mistake. This doesn't help hiring executives at all. First of all, 1 page is no rigid resume writing page limit. And secondly, not all career information needs to be included in a resume.
2. Being too vague. Communicating your skills or experience in an unfocused or imprecise way is another annoying mistake as hiring executives see it. This often happens when job seekers go with the function or skills-based resume format. Such formats are usually light on the context and hiring managers can't (don't want to) guess where and how you have gained/used the skills listed. Besides, employers know that candidates use the functional format when they want to conceal something; as a result, it automatically brings the attention of hiring decision makers to non-linear backgrounds. Copy-pasting generic statements and job descriptions found online doesn't help either because such an approach doesn't allow hiring executives to distinguish you among many other candidates. Along with skills-based resume format, it contributes to being too vague which is annoying for hiring executives.
3. Developing too long summaries. It seems that HRs are pleased that more and more candidates prefer using a summary section over an objective statement at the beginning of a resume. It becomes annoying though when job applicants make a summary section resemble a lengthy chapter in a book. Since the summary is usually the beginning of a resume, it should be brief and succinct like any introductory paragraph in a newspaper article. Make sure you don't go over 5-6 sentences. Otherwise, it may become a turn-off for those responsible for hiring choices.
Good Advice
In order to make sure your resume or CV doesn't contain common, major or so-called annoying errors, give it to someone you know well and ask for feedback. Ask that person to be honest and tell everything that seems to be weird. It is even better if you could give your resume or CV to someone who works in a similar field or industry. Another thing you could do is to order resume review service - it is relatively cheap because it is basically written feedback provided by resume experts. They will just provide you with a list of things that need to be improved. If you don't want to do it on your own, ordering a resume editing service should help solve that problem.
