12 Resume Mistakes that Deny you Jobs & How to Correct them

Your resume is your first representative in any company you apply for job. It is only when your CV properly represents you that the employer will invite you for interview. That is the more reason why you should avoid mistakes as much as you can when compiling your resume. There are categories of resume mistakes; some are pardonable while others deny you the job instantly. Resume lies are the worst. I have taken time to point out these costly resume mistakes and how to fix them in this article.

Employers revealed that review of resumes is the easiest way to screen out applicants who are not qualified for the job. These employers and HRs do not find it difficult to dispose your resume once they discover that it is full of mistakes and lies. This is because they don’t know you in person and may not get to know since you will not come for interview once your resume is turned down.

Difference Between CV and Resume

Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a complete document that describes your life achievements, written out chronologically. It explains everything about you, especially your background, academics, skills, awards, etc. You don’t change the content of your CV to suit different job positions you are applying for, as you do in resume.

Resume on the other hand is extracted from your CV. Most times, it does not exceed 2 pages. It is a summary of your CV and is always adjusted to suit any job application requirements. The contents of a resume is not necessarily meant to be listed chronologically. It only contains an aspect of your life which is relevant to the job you are applying for.

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12 Costly Resume Mistakes and How to Fix them

Too Many Grammatical and Spelling Errors

I know you might be surprised why this resume was discussed first. Spelling and grammatical error in your resume or CV is a very serious offense. This is because it gives the impression that you will not be able to handle the job position well, especially if the job position relates to writing. It also implies that you are not also fluent in speech, although this is not always true. But employers believe that written English is easier than spoken English for any graduate.

No matter how many times you try to revise your resume, there is always a probability that you will skip grammatical error. The best solution this is to give your resume to another person to review before you submit it to any company.

Not Adjusting your Resume to Meet a Particular Job Requirements

Resumes are not meant to be static like CVs; they change with respect to the company you are submitting it. Never submit he same resume to different companies or jobs.

Also pay attention to the employer’s instruction when arranging your resume. Most employers use this strategy to know applicants that will make good employees. Submitting the same resume to different job offices might make your violate some of the job application instructions.

Including your Picture

Although there is no fixed rule about how many pages a resume should be, but a concise resume is always very attractive. Most resume contain your social media username. These days, employers and HRs check the social media profiles of applicants to verify some information. If they really want to see your picture, they can always get it through social media. Use that image space for other important information.

Stating Unclear Employment Dates

When writing about your work experience in your CV, always include month and year. Giving only years makes it look incomplete or as if you are not very sure of the information you are giving them. Most employers frown seriously at this act. Also make sure you clearly state positions held and accomplishments.

Adding Irrelevant Work Experience and Hobbies

A good resume should only include relevant work experience and should not include irrelevant ones. If you are applying for a job that is not directly related to what you studied in school, make sure you delete some irrelevant skills. This will help you write a very concise resume that any employer will like.

Adding Irrelevant Hobbies

If a hobby is not related to the job you are aspiring, do not include it in your resume. For example, do not tell an IT company that you love going on tours or swimming. Even though are your hobbies, but they are irrelevant.

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Not Giving Enough Evidence to Justify your Claims

Employers get annoyed when you make claims without any evidence to support your claims. When you state that there was an increase in sales when you were the sales manager of a company, they expect to see a statistics to backup your claims. These evidence make your claims more plausible.

Stressing More on Obvious Skills, Leaving Outstanding Skills

There are some skills that have become so common that they are not worth mentioning on resume. Most employers assume that any job applicant must have the skill. For example, when you are applying for a job in an IT company and then stressing that you have skills of MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, will make your resume irrelevant. There are other relevant skills that employers are expecting. For example, skills in Python, SQL, and some other scarce skills will make your resume outstanding.

Making your CV too Lengthy

Always remember that whenever job vacancies are announced, thousands of job seekers apply for the same post. Most times employers and their representatives always look for a way to reduce the time it takes them to pick out relevant resumes. Lengthy resumes are sometimes very scary and may even make the employer to dump it, even without checking the contents. Eliminating irrelevant information helps to ensure that your resume is concise.

Using a very Tiny Font Size and Illegible Font Style

Employers always want to save time when skimming through resumes. They judge your competence from the way you arrange your resume. The font style and size of your resume text should not force an employer to wear his or her glasses in order to see them clearly. Avoid font styles that are too stylish and illegible.

The same applies to font sizes. Also note that the size 10 for Times New Roman font is not the same size as that of Arial.

Using an Old File Format and a Wrong File Name to Save your Resume

Always make sure you use the latest file formats to save your resume. This is because if a file saved with the old file format is opened in MS Word which only supports the latest file format, some of your formatting may be misrepresented. For now the latest file format for MS Word files is “.docx” and not “.doc”.

Always save the final version of your resume with your first name and last name only. You might also include your middle name initial in case someone else answers the same name as yours.

Telling Sensitive Lies

Almost all lies are sensitive, in the sense that they can be easily discovered either directly or indirectly. For example, an employer might pick interest on your resume and then decide to make research about you. He might search your details on social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. If he discovers that the information in your resume is different from the one in your social media profile, you have automatically lost the job. Another scenario that might expose your lies is during interviews. You might not remember exactly what you wrote on your resume and then say another thing. That is why it is always advisable to avoid lies at all cost. Instead of lying, improve yourself by acquiring more skills.

Siri Hedreen ranked some common lies people add in the resume on a scale of 1 to 5. According to her, the most serious lies are University alma mater, Employment or work history, Academic degree, Foreign language fluency, Collage major and CGPA. While the ones she ranked as not very serious were; Presentation skills, Membership in a club or organization, References, Communication skills and Year of graduation. Also note that an employer might rank a resume lie higher.

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Conclusion

You now know these costly resume mistakes that have made you lose that your dream job. Now take time to adjust your resume accordingly or look for an expert to help you out.

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