We hope that you re-read your resume every time you send it out, especially since you should be tweaking and updating it often. But any time you make changes, you can also make mistakes.
Recruiters tell us about some of the mistakes they see all too often:
- Incorrect contact information—You’ll never know if a company wanted to interview you if your email, phone number, or portfolio / URL has a typo.
- Relying on Spellcheck—If your resume uses the wrong form of a word, your attention to detail is definitely called into question.
- Too much personal information—While it’s important to have a life outside of work, your resume is not the place to highlight your extensive stamp collection or fondness of hiking. Save it for onboarding!
- Listing recognitions that have nothing to do with work—Your mom is glad you won Top History Student your Senior year in High School, but your hiring manager probably doesn’t care.
Our tips for avoiding these mistakes and others like them:
- Always have at least 3 people read your resume before you send it out. One of them will probably catch any errors or odd information.
- Print out your resume and read it on paper.
- Take a break between the revising and finalizing stage to review with a fresh perspective.
Everyone makes mistakes, but your resume is a place where those mistakes could really cost you. Make avoiding them a priority.
Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative