|
|
Failure Of Resume
- Too
long. Most new graduates should restrict their resumes to one page.
If you have trouble condensing, get help from a technical or business writer
or a career center professional.
- Typographical, grammatical or
spelling errors. These errors suggest carelessness, poor education
and/or lack of intelligence. Have at least two people proofread your resume.
Don't rely on a computer's spell-checkers or grammar-checkers.
- Hard to read. A poorly
typed or copied resume looks unprofessional. Use a computer. Use a plain
typeface, no smaller than a 12-point font. Asterisks, bullets, underlining,
boldface type and italics should be used only to make the document easier to
read, not fancier. Again, ask a professional's opinion.
- Too verbose (using too
many words to say too little). Do not use complete sentences or paragraphs.
Say as much as possible with as few words as possible. A, an and the can
almost always be left out. Be careful in your use of jargon and avoid slang.
- Too sparse. Give more
than the bare essentials, especially when describing related work
experience, skills, accomplishments, activities, interests and club
memberships that will give employers desired information. Including
membership in the Society of Women Engineers, for example, would be helpful
to employers who wish to hire more women, yet cannot ask for that
information.
- Irrelevant information.
Customize each resume to each position you seek (when possible). Of course,
include all education and work experience, but emphasize only relevant
experience, skills, accomplishments, activities and hobbies. Do not include
marital status, age, sex, children, height, weight, health, church
membership, etc.
- Obviously generic. Too
many resumes scream, "I need a job—any job!" The employer needs to feel that
you are interested in that position with that company.
- Too snazzy. Of course,
use good quality bond paper, but avoid exotic types, colored paper,
photographs, binders and graphics. More and more companies are scanning
resumes into a database, so use white paper, black ink, plain type, and
avoid symbols, underlining or italics.
- Boring. Make your resume
as dynamic as possible. Begin every statement with an action verb. Use
active verbs, describing what you accomplished on the job. Don't write what
someone else told you to do; write what you did. Take advantage of your rich
vocabulary and avoid repeating words, especially the first word in a
section.
- Too modest. The resume
showcases your qualifications in competition with the other applicants. Put
your best foot forward without misrepresentation, falsification or
arrogance.
|
