6 Resume Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs

4/26/2017
Emily Moore

“You only get one shot — do not miss your chance to blow.” Eminem may have been referring to rap battles when he dropped this lyric back in 2002, but he just as easily could have been talking about resumes and the job search. Resumes, after all, are your first chance to show a company what a perfect fit you are for a position — but if done incorrectly, they could also be your last. That’s why it’s absolutely critical to get them right the first time. Otherwise, all the time you spend filling out applications is essentially for naught.

But for every resume mistake, there’s a remedy. We’ve rounded up a few of the most common resume errors that prevent you from moving onto the next round, as well as solutions for how to fix them. It may take some time to tweak, but the payoff is worth it.

1. Not Customizing Your Resume

When you’re applying to multiple jobs, it’s tempting to use a generic, cookie-cutter resume and blast it out everywhere you’re applying to. But that strategy may end up preventing your resume from getting in a recruiter’s hands at all. “Most resumes are reviewed electronically before a human sees them,” shares career coach Jeanne Patti, and if your resume doesn’t have the keywords specified in the job description, it will likely be overlooked by the software.

The Fix: It may be a pain to create a customized resume for each company, but if you’re truly interested in a position, it’s worth it. “Tailoring each submittal with keywords from the job posting is critical to pass the electronic screening,” Patti says.

Read more
View Count 1,572