EmploymentDigest.net

Top 5 resume mistakes

Posted on 01. Jun, 2009 posted by Bill in Employment News, Resumes

Careers and wealth. As the old adage goes, you never have a second chance to make a first impression. And your first impression during most job searches begins with your resume. So don’t make the five common cv mistakes that Brad Karsh, founder of jobbound.com and author of “How to Say It On Your Resume” (penguin, $16), has found.

1. Missing the mark often, job seekers apply to multiple jobs at one time. Although creating a general resume is easiest, karsh recommends sending a unique resume to each. “make yourself look as hirable as possible. Use the job description as a cheat sheet for your resume.” tailoring your resume to the field and job you are applying for shows you have a clear objective.

2. Every word counts “recruiters spend 10, maybe 15 seconds on each resume. They are looking at stacks of hundreds, even thousands of candidates,” karsh says. This means your resume should act as the speed date of the application process. The more information you put on the page and the more pages you have, the less likely it will all be read.

3. Getting too creative when you cover your resume with excessive gimmicks and additions it detracts from your message. Make your resume clear and readable; utilize bullets and avoid full sentences to save space. Karsh recommends the “15-second test.” send your resume to your friends and have them look at it for fifteen seconds to give you feedback on what they recalled.

4. Forgetting the final edit 4there is nothing more obvious than a spelling error. “a typo on your resume guarantees that you will not get a job,” says karsh, “and one out of five people are not getting employment because of this.” since many applications are done through e-mail, make sure to format your resume as a pdf file.

5. Painting the wrong picture 5the single biggest mistake people make on their resume is writing a “job description resume,” he says. “only put items on your resume that you can prove,” says karsh. “self-ascribed attributes like ’strong communicator’ don’t mean anything.

Courtesy MetroInternational

Similar Posts:

• How to Make a Winning Impression at Your Job Interview Using This Essential Checklist
• How to Make a Winning Impression at Your Job Interview Using This Essential Checklist
• How an Online Job Application Can Work For You
• How to Tailor Your Resume to What the Employer Wants
• A Resume They Can’t Say No To!
• Jonathan Clay – Founder Coworkers.com
• Cover Letter Mistakes Everyone Should Avoid
• 10 Tips For a Reader-Friendly Resume
• Choosing a Resume Distribution Service
• Your Resume is Not the First Step