Top 10 Resume Mistakes

5) Mentioning all jobs that you may have taken up: Your resume is intended to be a strong statement that puts you in the most competitive category. This means you need to present compelling details and facts relevant to the job. Listing every job that that you may have had or jobs that you may have had years ago may sometimes work against you.

6) Listing job duties, not achievements: Job descriptions are not needed. Every manager knows the nature of the job. You need to mention how well you can get that job done compared to others. Your resume must present facts and figures about strategies you decided, your problem solving methods, the success stories that bring profits or increase sales, etc. For example, mentioning how you managed to raise sales figures by 110% in a period of three years would be more useful information for the reader.

7) Not using action words: Including words such as “assigned the task of…”, “responsible for” or “duties included”. These words don’t describe your performance. Try replacing such words with phrases such as “accomplished” “resolved problems related to” or “successfully conducted or organized’. These are more impactful and are the keywords managers would be looking for.

8) Not using keywords related to the job: Most resumes today are scanned for keywords to make the process of shortlisting candidates quicker. Not making use of such keywords would put your resume lower in the stack. Make sure you use relevant keywords and phrases. A list of these is easily available on the Internet. [pullquote]Employers are looking for genuine people who can apply their skills and help the organization grow.[/pullquote]

9) Including inappropriate information in your resume: Information about your spouse, your children or your marital status has no place in this document. The company is more concerned with your skills and your usefulness to organization and its growth. Avoid including any unnecessary information that may make the resume uninteresting. Most people tend to place such information in the first quarter of the resume. The first part of your resume is most important and must contain relevant information only.

10) Sending your resume without a cover letter: A cover letter is an introductory letter that describes your specific skills and work experience, which is further qualified in your resume. It creates the first impression on the reader’s mind and it is therefore important to send a cover letter along with your resume to grab the attention of the reader by presenting your case as a compelling choice for the organization.

Other mistakes you could make would be in not mentioning contact numbers or names visibly, not updating the same, using the same resume for all job applications, not sending your resume in compatible documents so that they can be retrieved on the computer, or using too many pictures or graphics so that they become a distraction.

Employers are looking for genuine people who can apply their skills and help the organization grow. From the hundreds of applicants, you want your resume to stand out and qualify as the best contender for the said post. Make sure you create the most attractive, clear, and strong resume with authentic information about your qualification and potential to make that job yours.

Shelly Verma is an avid small business writer touching on topics from insurance, health, higher education, career improvement, self-help to home improvement.