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The resume is where most job seekers make mistakes in the application process. But what exactly constitutes a mistake?
Here we discuss the top ten worst things to put on your resume. |
1. Unnecessary Details about Your Life
There are a few personal details you should include on a resume: full name and contact information, including email, phone number and address. But beyond that, personal details should be kept to a minimum. If the prospective employer wants to know more than the minimum, they will ask you or figure it out for themselves.
Your age, race, political affiliation, anything about your family members, and home ownership status should all be left off your resume. The exception to the rule: If you're looking to work for an organization closely tied to a cause, you may consider including your race, political party, or religious beliefs.
2. Your job at Maccas when you were 15...
Don't include information that will not advance you in your work goals or are not relevant to the position you are applying for. Anything extraneous should be left off your resume.
Unless you're an undergraduate student or a freshly minted professional, limit your work history to professional experience you've had in the past 10 to 15 years.
3. A Headshot on your resume
In some industries, being asked for and including a headshot is commonplace, but unless you're a model, actor, or Miss Universe, the general rule of thumb is that photos should be left out.
Why give a Hiring Manager the opportunity to judge you before they have even met you? You never know if the person hiring you has a preference for blondes over brunettes. What’s the old saying about never judge a book by its cover?
More importantly, it's illegal for employers to discriminate against job candidates based on appearance, so attaching a headshot can put employers in an awkward position. Unless it's specifically requested, and it's relevant to the job at hand, keep your appearance out of it.
4. Salary Expectations
Most job candidates feel uneasy discussing salary requirements. For good reason: Giving a number that's too high or too low can cost you the job. You should keep it out of your application materials entirely, unless the hiring manager asks for it.
That information should be reserved for the interview process so you have the opportunity to sell yourself and be able to discuss the topic. If you have the option, save that discussion for a later stage of the interviewing process, don’t go in with guns blazing and talk money upfront – unless of course the interviewer brings it up first.
5. Lies
One of the most common areas in which people fudge the facts is the timeline of their work history. Recruiters are professional interviewers (aka interrogators) and you’re likely to come unstuck at some point.
Whether it's using false information to cover a blemish or exaggerate success, there's no room to lie on your resume. No matter how miniscule the chance is that you'll be caught, you should always represent yourself as accurately as possible.
6. If you were fired from a job – what were you fired for?
Leave out information about a situation that might represent you in in a negative light. For example if you got fired from your last job for stealing or if you had a fight with the boss – anything that suggests you used poor judgment should be left off the resume.
However, following this advice does not violate the rule about lying (No. 5). If in an interview you are asked to explain why you left a job, you need to bite the bullet and be straightforward, but until then, make sure you're putting your best foot forward.
7. Overly verbose statements
There is a pretty fine line between selling yourself and overselling yourself. Too many resumes overstate the importance of job responsibilities. Try not to be too dramatic with the use of big words and flashy job titles. Give resume readers can a picture of what your real responsibilities were with your past or current company.
8. References available upon request
The age-old "references available upon request" has become out-dated. You should have solid references lined up from the get-go, so when the hiring manager asks for them, you're ready to share them.
Have a minimum of two referees listed on your resume and make sure that you:
1. First ask their permission to be listed as a referee for you
2. Notify your referees so that they know when they might expect a call
3. Make sure your referee’s contact details are current
9. Too much information
Too much information and too many pages in your resume is not a good idea. It's particularly bad when it's put in front of hiring managers who are busy, tired, and quite frankly, probably not going to read your resume word-for-word. If you put too much information in your resume, recruiters will likely not read it at all or just scan it quickly.
Keep it simple, make it easy to read and make sure the key points stand out.
10. Attention to detail – proof read your resume
Many of us aren’t wordsmiths or computer gurus and can get a bit overwhelmed with developing a resume. Sometimes silly mistakes can be made that could be avoided by simply proof reading your document or asking someone else to check it over for you. Check your spelling and grammar, and make sure your resume is laid out in a clean and easy to follow format.
When proofreading your resume check the following things:
- The alignment of your document is consistent i.e. all on the left and side of the page
- Check your spelling and the use of capital letters
- Check grammar and make sure your sentences make sense and aren’t too long
- Your headings clearly identifiable
- Your text isn’t too big or too small (size 10, 11 or 12 is generally an acceptable size font).