How to write a professional resume

Well, have you heard of what you think you can dance to? Welcome to “So You Think You Can Write…” a resume…ahem.

Why am I writing this article you ask? It’s quite simple actually. During my years in the professional resume industry, I’ve discovered some pretty common complaints and mistakes job applicants make.

I also offer some suggestions on how to handle these issues and create an impressive resume.

10 Biggest Resume Mistakes

So what is it about resumes that sends people into a tailspin? Could it be having to sell themselves? Write and rewrite the text? Lack of real orientation?

Over the past eleven years, I have read, evaluated, and rewritten countless resumes and resumes. In the tens of thousands, I’d estimate conservatively. I also offer a free resume review service. There are common mistakes I see candidates make repeatedly, and I thought this would be a good place to mention them in hopes they don’t show up on your resume!

1. Dry, boring and endless lists of duties and responsibilities. All of this makes your resume look like any other resume out there. Talk about the key achievements. For example, which of these statements looks better? (taken from a real-life client “before” and “after” resume: “Load and unload truck, arrange for all machinery and materials to be on site before work begins” OR “Reduction of company fuel bill by 39% by introducing fuel cards Get the idea Make a list of the things you accomplished that were “above and beyond” the capabilities of anyone else in the same Market Stall.
2. List previous positions in current time instead of past time and vice versa
3. Long lists of “key skills” like “team player” or “people person” Unless backed up by evidence these are meaningless and in all honesty from what I can see everyone lists them, even those who don’t they have great skills (I’ve seen CVs riddled with typos, and the candidate has stated that they have “excellent written communication!”
4. Resumes that are too long, or attached reference pages that only serve to annoy the reader
5. Listing of your marital status, date of birth within the resume
6. Simple and boring designs that do nothing to market the candidate as a viable product
7. Grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors in the resume.
8. Photography inside the document, which I do not recommend. One customer even went so far as to include an “intimate” shot that really should only have been seen by her husband! Oh!
9. Including a career goal that is so general it doesn’t make sense. It is not the aim of the race that is the problem, but the way they are written. For example, DO NOT write something like this “to obtain a position that makes full use of skills, experience, and attributes” which does nothing and makes no sense. The more specific your goal, the better.
10. Using acronyms or abbreviations within the resume, or technical terms, assuming the reader knows what they are, when often they don’t!

If you’ve rewritten your resume based on the tips above, you can always send me your document for a free resume critique. You have little to lose and much to gain!