The Top 5 Reasons Your Resume Could Be Thrown Away

Is finding a job a nightmare? Do you find it hard to secure that all important interview? Well it could be down to your resume. A lot of the time your resume is your first chance to make a positive impression on an employer. Internal transfers and promotions account for around 50% of full time hires and referrals accounts for 26% of external hires. So the competition is really high and in order get where you want to be you need to make sure that your first impression is a good one. So what might you be doing wrong?

1.   Not Enough Specifics

Employers will want specific information and examples of your experience so that they can have a better understanding of how much you can bring to the company. Don’t be broad or vague and use numbers and percentages where you can.

If you’re too vague an employer might be left thinking things like: What was your actual role? What did you accomplish? Don’t sell yourself short.

2.   Rambling & Cutting Things Short

This is a much debated topic and unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer. But what we can tell you is that the length of your resume should depend on how many relevant and valuable experiences and skills you have that can help you secure an interview. Don’t try to squeeze it on to a certain amount of pages by cutting out important details.

However, you shouldn’t make your resume longer just for the sake of making it longer. If a certain statement will get you the interview then keep it, if not, take it out.

3.   Not Using Action Words

Try to avoid simply listing your responsibilities and use action words instead. Action words relay the skills you used for a particular task. Action words help you seem engaged and showed that you actively participated in your role. Another added benefit is that it can stop your resume sounding repetitive.

4.   No Focus Or Direction

This can apply to several areas of your resume. Try not to use broad sentences, instead try to give clear information as to what you’re looking for as well as the direction you would like your career to take. Also don’t forget to make your skills, responsibilities and statements relevant to the job you’re applying for.

5.   Incorrect Information & General Mistakes

Employers and hiring agents will most definitely scrutinise every inch of your resume for mistakes. So go over your resume very carefully after you make all your changes and then get someone else to read it as well. Having the wrong address or phone number, or having numerous spelling mistakes would be a horrible way to lose an interview.

If you manage to avoid making these mistakes then you will find yourself one step closer to securing your dream job. Take your time, check, check, check for mistakes and remove anything that falls under the above five categories. Spending this small amount of time on your resume can save you weeks of job-searching in the future.


Image by Wiertz Sebastien on Flickr