Despite the myriad of articles, books and other sources of information and advice about contemporary resume writing, many successful professionals and executives who create their own resumes still seem to gravitate to the old styles and formats with which they have been familiar over the years.
The information you provide and how you format it will create an impression about you, which may or may not be true. In today’s competitive job market, you need to be aware of assumptions that potential employers can make from your resume, and adjust accordingly.
Here are some common career and resume errors you will want to avoid:
1. There is no email address on the heading of your resume: This gives the message that you are not technology savvy, an absolute requirement in today’s professional job market. Even if you are not as proficient as you would like to be with computers, get an email account if you don’t already have one. Access to free email accounts is available through the Internet. You should have your email address at the top of your resume along with your other contact information. This may serve to keep you from being initially overlooked.
2. An “objective” reads like this: “A challenging and upwardly mobile opportunity in a progressive environment that compensates commensurate to ability.” This gives two messages: the first is that you are more focused on yourself and what you want than on the employer and what they need. The second assumption is that if you can’t come up with an opening that is more original than what everybody else writes on their resume, you probably won’t be a very innovative or original employee, either.
3. The resume exceeds two pages: This gives the impression that you have difficulty in being concise and to the point, or in identifying priorities. Today’s professional needs to be able to assess a need and develop a concise and targeted solution to that need. This same process applies to what you choose to include in your resume. For instance, it’s generally not necessary to go into the specifics of a job you held fifteen or more years ago. This is old news and probably not relevant to the needs of the employer you are addressing today.
4. There are no entries that indicate professional memberships or additional courses or classes since you got your degree. This omission leads the reader to believe that you have become stagnant or complacent in your career. This also gives the message that you do not embrace life-long learning and are not motivated to grow your skills and stay current with what is happening in your profession or industry. Regardless of how positive your accomplishments have been, a lack of ongoing professional development on your resume will be a detractor to your candidacy.
5. Your resume is loaded with the jargon of your company or your industry: If you are marketing yourself in the same industry, this is a plus as you will be seen as “one of us.” However, if you are looking to change careers or industries, it will give the opposite message: you do not belong with them. Even though you may feel very confident of the transferability of your skills, they will not see this if you have distracted the potential employer with terms that they won’t relate to in their organization.
6. Your work experience / accomplishments are presented as a re-write of your former job descriptions: When a potential employer gets this kind of resume presentation they are left to presume that you are not a key player. When you present your work experience as “responsible for…” you are giving only half of the information they need to evaluate your candidacy. Beyond the scope and content of what you were responsible for, you need to articulate, with quantifiable results, how you made positive contributions to your company.
Your resume is a presentation about you which is a marketing tool for securing your next job or career advancement. Remember that beyond the information you provide, the information that you do not provide, as well as the format, will send messages that can positively or negatively impact the initial impression.
