12 horrible resume mistakes spell check won’t catch

Get your foot in the door—rather than having the door slammed in your face—by steering clear
of these mistakes.
Daniel Bortz

Ah, the all-mighty resume. It’s the key to landing an

interview—yet tragically, many job seekers fall short.

“Your resume is the primary gate opener—or gate

closer—for your job search,” says David Lewis,
president and founder at OperationsInc, an HR
consulting rm in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Even the most meticulous job seekers make mistakes.

(Spell check can’t catch everything.) Avoid these
common pitfalls to make your resume shine.

1. Leading with a career objective... Focus on the employer’s needs—not yours. “Career objectives have
gone the way of the dinosaur,” says Dawn Bugni, a professional resume writer in Atkinson, North Carolina.
“They’re me-centric statements, but today’s job market demands a ‘here’s what I can do for you’ approach.”

Instead, start with a professional summary that establishes your expertise. “Begin with a ‘wow’” says
Wendy Enelow, founder and president at Enelow Enterprises Executive Resume & Career Services, Inc. in
Coleman Falls, Virginia. Lead with a compelling achievement (e.g., closed $4 million in sales in 2015).

2. …or your education. While important, “having a degree doesn’t demonstrate your capabilities,” Bugni
says. So put education toward the bottom, rather than near the top. New college graduates are the
exception, particularly if the job posting requires a minimum GPA.

3. Using Times New Roman. You want your typeface to stand out, says Enelow, who recommends using
Calibri or Verdana, which are fresher to the eye. They’re also standard fonts, which ensures your resume
will appear correctly on the receiver’s end. (An obscure typeface may not translate from your computer to
theirs.)

4. Hitting “caps lock.” Microsoft Word, by default, doesn’t spell check words in uppercase letters, Lewis
points out, so either forgo the choice in formatting or change the setting.

5. Sticking to one page. There’s no golden rule for length, says Shauna Bryce, president of The National
Resume Writers’ Association: “It needs to be long enough tell your story—and no longer.”

/
Early in your career? You should be able to consolidate to one page (//www.monster.com/career-
advice/article/length-pages-how-long-resume-0701). A worker with 15-plus years of experience, however,
may need more space, but “cap it at two pages,” says Lewis.

6. Not customizing for each job posting. A 2015 survey by national sta ng rm Addison Group found
90% of hiring managers say they’ve noticed when a resume isn’t tailored to the role in question. Make sure
yours re ects the speci c job posting and the company’s culture.

Look at the prospective employer’s website to identify the organization’s key values, recommends Bryce.
(The “about us” page is a good starting point.) If it’s an entrepreneurial work environment, where
employees operate independently, focus relevant work experience in your resume (e.g., highlight individual
achievements rather than group projects.) “Include anything that speaks to how you can thrive in that type
of environment,” says Bryce.

7. Missing keywords. Many companies—especially large employers—use applicant tracking software to

vet resumes. If yours doesn’t have the right buzzwords (http://www.monster.com/career-start/a/how-to-
boost-your-job-search-seo-and-why-you-need-it-to-get-hired), it could get tossed before a real person even
has a chance to review it.

The best strategy is to copy the language in the job posting, says Nancy Segal, owner of HR consulting
rm Solutions for the Workplace, LLC in Evanston, Illinois. What one company calls “information security”
another might categorize as “cyber security.” Furthermore, the terms “customer service” and “client
relations” may seem interchangeable, says Bugni, but your resume needs to re ect the company’s
preferences.

8. Copying your LinkedIn pro le. The two should be compatible, not identical. LinkedIn, for one, is less
formal since it’s a form of social media, says Bugni.

Your choice in keywords should be different, since you’re applying for a speci c job on a resume, versus
aiming for online search engine optimization.

9. Forgetting to embed links. Make things easier on the hiring manager by embedding links to your email,
Twitter, and LinkedIn pro le. Also, de-clutter your resume by creating a custom URL for your page.

10. Having a “skills” section. Don’t give up valuable real estate. Instead, weave skills into your work
experience.

11. Using jargon. Unless they’re included in the job posting, avoid industry-speci c terms and
abbreviations in your resume. “The assumption is that the hiring manager reads the resume right out of
the gate, but companies aren’t paying someone six gures to sit and read through 500 applications,” says
Bugni, adding that HR recruiters may not necessarily be experts in the eld.

12. Not quantifying your achievements. It sounds basic, but “so many job seekers forget to use metrics,”
says Segal. If you exceeded sales goals by 200%, or helped double revenue, highlight those
accomplishments in your resume.

Similarly, if you had work published, represented the company in a major media appearance, or were
recruited by your current employer for your industry experience, mention it.
/
Find your next job on Monster. (http://www.monster.com/jobs/searchresult?nichecat=career-start)

MORE FROM MONSTER:

7 resume mistakes that cost you job interviews (http://www.monster.com/career-start/a/7-resume-

mistakes-that-cost-you-job-interviews)
Here's how to boost your job search SEO (http://www.monster.com/career-start/a/how-to-boost-
your-job-search-seo-and-why-you-need-it-to-get-hired)
How to avoid clichés that put interviewers to sleep (http://www.monster.com/career-start/a/avoid-
interview-cliches)

Related Articles
50 companies hiring executives now (/career-advice/article/companies-hiring-executives)
Why you should consider an apprenticeship (/career-advice/article/reasons-why-to-consider-apprenticeships)
5 career goals that pay off in a huge way (/career-advice/article/5-career-goals-that-pay-off-huge)
How to write a thank-you note after completing an internship (/career-advice/article/internship-thank-you-letter)
5 bad habits you need to break before starting a full-time job (/career-advice/article/5-bad-habits-you-need-break-before-
starting-a-full-time-job-0816)

Comments