6 Mistakes You Might Be Making on Your Resume

When it comes to resume writing, there are hundreds of courses, tips and tricks you can Google and, of course, you can also work with a professional career coach to build your best resume ever.  That said, here are six common mistakes that people make when building out their resume. Have you made any of these mistakes before?

1-) Your resume has formatting issues

It’s crucial that you organize your resume in a concise and clear manner that not only demonstrates your most important and valuable assets, but in a way that is also easy to read.  Many large corporations use a computer system that scans resumes to pull out the relevant candidates, and when your resume isn’t formatted well, it could affect that system’s process and you might get overlooked.  On a similar note, you want your resume saved and sent in Microsoft Word (no PDFs or jpegs) for that same reason.

2-) Lying on your resume

This is a super important one!  It may seem tempting to add a white lie or two when it comes to accomplishments or employment dates but, trust us, it’s something we advise strongly against. If you get caught (and it’s likely you will with Google and other search databases), it can stain your reputation and, of course, you likely won’t be hired for the job you’re applying for.

3-) Your resume has too much information

Of course, you want to include relevant accomplishments, projects, and other significant career and education milestones on your resume – it’s your time to shine and demonstrate exactly why you’d be an asset to any company.  That said, to showcase the truly important info, it’s crucial that you eliminate any obvious information. For example, if you’re currently a Director of VP, you can skip the line or bullet point that says Strong Leadership Skills. Instead, you can could articulate how well you retain your staff or get them promoted during their tenure.

4-) Your resume isn’t specific enough about your achievements

On that same note, while, yes, you want to make sure you’re only highlighting relevant details, it’s important to be specific with those details.  Always share specifics, such as growth by percent increase, exact sales numbers, etc. For example, “Increased company revenue by 22% in 14 months” or “Delivered $3 million in incremental revenue in 2019.”

5-) You didn’t include your LinkedIn information

Every company wants to hire employees who are not only smart and hard-working, but employees who are also well-connected with a professional “resume” of sorts that lives online.  We always recommend adding your LinkedIn URL to your resume at the top underneath your contact information.

6-) You’re not customizing your resume

If you’re really serious about a job that you’re applying for, customizing your resume will give you a leg up.  We always recommend taking the extra 20 minutes and adding in any relevant information that is mentioned in the job listing that, of course, also applies to your skill set and work experience.