When you think that your resume 2023 is almost done and seems like nothing could stand between you and your potential employer…And you have already sent your resume to a wide range of different companies..AND nothing happens. Nobody calls you and nobody mails you back. And looks like you are not the best candidate for all these positions you applied for…BUT maybe something is wrong with your resume. Maybe there are some mistakes you did while crafting your resume? Maybe you picked not the latest resume format 2023?
Now we decided to create the largest checklist on how to craft your resume. What resume writing mistakes are better to avoid and what stuff you should double check in your resume before you will push the “send” button?
It’s not about how to write resume, it’s about how to write an outstanding resume and GET THE JOB!
RESUME 2023 SECTIONS
1. Contact Details in your resume
Tons of candidates missed their chances to get a job, only because hiring managers were not able to find contact details and reach them out. That’s how important your e-mail address and cell number could be in your resume. Before you will send a resume, you should double-check them twice (spelling errors) and place them at the top of your resume.
HR should not spend much time, scanning your resume, and trying to find information on how to contact you.
What should you include in your contact details section:
- First | Last Names
- City you live or are ready to relocate
- Cell | Home number – place those, which you will be ready to pick up
- Personal e-mail address
2. Introduce Yourself
It’s not about how to write something in your resume to grab the hiring manager’s attention. It’s more about how to let HR read your resume till the end. It doesn’t matter what level of candidate you are. Then you can start your resume – would show how well you can grab attention and how well you can maintain interest.
It’s not enough just to let them say WOW at the beginning, it’s more strategic to let them say that after they finished reading your resume. But you should know how to start it well and burn their interest.
We know some approaches, that really work and have never failed. So, we’d like to tell you a bit more about them. And we hope, you’ll find something interesting for you as well.
Here are, the most common thing each resume should start with:
Summary of qualifications
Career Objective
We decided to show you the most common way how your resume could be started. Also, there are tons of other ways how you could grab HR’s attention, but most of them are really creative and we decided to omit them.
If we are not mistaken, and we’re not – there is only one case when you can not include professional experience in your resume, it’s when you don’t have it at all. In all other cases – it’s like the heart of your resume and it should be added anyway.
One of the most important things you should remember – try to list your professional experience using the achievement-based approach, Show what exactly value you did bring to your ex-employer. Do not be shy to show some numbers and facts, which you achieved when placed in that position, It works and really well.
Nobody wants to hire somebody, who just sits and did daily duties. They are looking for result-oriented personalities. And we do believe – you are the of them!
Heh, that was a good day at university, wasn’t it? Seems like it is worth being included in your resume section when you are writing your resume. There is no need to list all your schools. Show your university degree and av. score. Read more here on what you should include in your resume education section and how it should be listed in your resume 2023.
5. Skills section
Some candidates devalue the importance of skills. What do you know about skills and how they could help you to stand out your resume from a crowd? According to some internal polls among hiring managers in huge HR agencies, the first things they are looking for while scanning any resume – are relevant skills.
It’s not a myth – you could be a really nice specialist, but all they would like to see in your resume, it’s your hard and soft skills. Even more – hard skills are more important to show because it’s only the one thing, which could help them understand if you are a potential candidate.
Soft skills – skills, that hiring managers can’t measure or assess during an interview. They are more common and could only generally overwrite your competence in some areas.
Soft skills example: Team player, open to anything new, able to work under stress.
Hard skills – proven experience, which you could show and what HR or specialists in a specific area could test. If you are a techy guy and you have some SQL or Photoshop expertise – that could be your hard skills.
Remember to list skills in your resume. It works really well. One of the most popular resume formats – the functional resume format is based on skills, The main idea here is to show your skills. Skills OVER duties and responsibilities. This resume format is also known as the skills-based resume format and it’s widely used by many job seekers all around the world.
6. Additional Resume Sections
The main goal of any resume is to reflect your level of expertise and show your readers how you could help them to solve their problems or needs. We saw too many resumes with different structures and sections inside. And today we’d like to share the most valuable “extra” sections with you.
- Certifications (Number | field or course name)
- Memberships (professional only, not hobbies)
- Awards (show if any, it’s a nice sign)
Usually, you could find more, but we decided to show you only those, which we found useful.
7. LinkedIn Profile
We even can’t remember candidates, who help in middle or senior positions and did not create their personal LinkedIn profiles. Nowadays – it’s really impossible. It’s a kind of corporate culture. Moreover, professional business networks like LinkedIn – it’s an additional source for hiring managers to find relevant candidates for vacant positions.
Do you still hesitant to create your LinkedIn profile? There are no doubts – it’s gonna be a good thing to include in your resume. Just add a link to your LinkedIn profile and show that you are serious about well-paid job opportunities.
8. @Tweet it in your resume
Some personalities still believe that a Twitter account it’s something personal, something that you can’t link with your professional area. It’s not true. Wanna impress your hiring manager? Show your professional Twitter account. It’s a new resume trend – which would not only impress your reader but would also show your dedication and involvement in the area, where you grow as a specialist and try to share knowledge with other people.
9. Remove social links from your resume
It’s a normal case, when after an interview – HR could ask you to share a link on your social profiles. It’s a normal case – they are just trying to understand who you are a little bit deeper and see what you do in your free time, and what are your interests.
But, you should remember the one golden rule – do not include links to your social media profiles to your resume, It’s not your girlfriend or boyfriend on the other end of the monitor. It’s a hiring manager there. He/She is trying to understand who you are and make the first decision.
To invite OR not to invite
And it would be really pity if they would do a wrong decision, only because you decided to show how well your student party was and how well the beer was as well. Social media – it’s for social media, Separate it from your job, at least till they would hire you.
ERRORS IN YOUR RESUME
10. Wrong Name
It’s hard to believe, but there are tons of candidates who make spelling mistakes, and writing their own names on resumes. Why so odd trend? Maybe because they are so self-confident or maybe there are some other reasons? We don’t know. But still, such spelling mistake hiring managers find really often in resumes. Remember to check it, before you will send it. pass by undetected.
11. Spelling mistakes across the whole resume document
Misspelling your name is one thing. Misspelling other words in the body of your resume is another thing. Even the most confident writer is prone to human error and thus makes typos. At the minimum, you should triple-check your resume for spelling errors. Optimally you will also have a friend proofread it as well.
It’s not a really huge problem if you misspelled your own name, but it’s a really bad thing if you have some spelling mistakes in your resume. In some cases, hiring managers do not forgive such things.
If you did not find time to cross-check your resume for spelling mistakes, it’s not the kind of candidate we’d like to see in our company.
Yes, and it’s true. There were tons of situations when hiring managers get mad because of stupid spelling mistakes they found in your resume, moreover – they were too obvious.
What should you do:
If you’re using MS WORD – switch the spellchecker on.
Try to avoid stupid words and acronyms in your resume. Some hiring managers could not understand them.
12. Ask someone to proofread your resume
It’s a good idea to ask somebody to proofread your resume. Do not shy to show your resume to someone, who could really help you to find mistakes (spelling or grammar) and would give you some advices on how to highlight your strengths.
We do not recommend showing your resume to your friends. It’s not a really good idea. But, if you have some people, who would give you good advice – you should definitely do that.
13. Action verbs in your resume
Action verbs in your resume – it’s a huge power. Doesn’t matter who you are – sales representative or Chief Executive Officer, action verbs in your resume it’s a kind of «meaty» content you show to your reader. No doubt you are a good specialist, but why you don’t like to show it in your resume in the first two lines?
The best place where you could show that – a resume summary or resume achievements block. They are the best for such things. We don’t want to list the whole range of resume action verbs here, we are recommending you to watch them here – resume action verbs list and get some of them for your resume. Believe us – using them the right way would empower your resume 2023.
14. Write periods correctly
When you overwrite your professional experience, usually you add the start date and end date of each job place you used to work. It’s important to follow the main rule here – if you decided to use a format like (start date – end date) across all the resume experience sections, you should place all dates near each place you worked.
Why it’s important to do? First of all, each hiring manager needs to understand how much time you used to spend on each position and the expertise you gained. Are there any unemployment gaps? And what was your career path.
TIP. If you have some unemployment gaps, you need to remember that it’s better to explain them during an interview. And when you will place dates, remember to place an explanation of your unemployment. (Eg. Maternity leave or else.) OR read more on how to format resume 2023 according to the latest trends.
15. Numbers in your resume
It’s not about how to write numbers in your resume, it’s more about how to write numbers in any official document. And your resume is a kind of official document, which would go through a consideration process.
Most the candidates do not pay attention to how they spell numbers in their resumes because they think that it’s not an important thing. But they are mistakes. Experienced hiring managers pay attention to such tiny, but important details.
So, what is the main rule on how you should spell numbers in your resume:
1. Numbers from one to nine – must be spelled out
2. All the numbers 10+ – should be written numerically.
It’s a common rule, which you could find in any official document and show your reader and stand out your resume from the mass of other candidates.
16. Vague keywords
The most irritating factor for any hiring manager, is when he/she can’t understand the real value of a candidate during a resume scanning process. As you know – any resume is a kind of marketing document, which help the hiring manager to understand if it is worth inviting the candidate for an interview process or not.
And when you are adding such adverbs in your summary or in other resume sections like: “efficiently”, “good”, “increased”, “managed” and so on… The one thing in HR’s head is: “Don’t you want to have a look at other candidates?”
We would try to explain to you why such a thing happens. Any hiring manager needs to understand who you are and what value you could bring to their company. If they can’t understand, they would rather call you and invite you for an interview – where you would have more chances to impress them. But when you are writing such keywords above, it’s really hard to understand what exactly value you could bring. How it’s possible to measure? Do you have some figures?
In the end. If you decided to use such adverbs, remember to stress them using figures or percents to show how well the job was done. And it’s going to be the understanding of what level of candidate you are.
AESTHETICS & FORMATTING ERRORS
17. USA or Europe in address
We can’t say including USA in your address line is a mistake. Moreover, if you want to do that – it’s ok. Based on what position you would like to get and what company you are looking for – it’s the normal case.
Some hiring managers still believe that it’s not necessary to include the USA, but aren’t they considering candidates with relocation options? Maybe it’s a really hard position or they are looking for candidates with some specific native language?
So, do not hesitate to include USA or EU to your address line when needed. It’s not a mistake,
18. CAPS LOCK – all text.
Want to stress some details in your resume? Caps Lock is not the best idea for such things, because hiring managers are scary people. And it would be really pity if you would let them think about – INVITE or NOT.
Don’t use caps in your resume. The only way to use it – is acronyms, if any. In another way, the average hiring manager would think that you have some problems and it’s not a good idea to see you screaming in the meeting room during an interview.
19. One-page resume format
There were too many “holy wars” between hiring managers on how many pages any resume should be and what should be included there. We don’t want you to deep into this discussion. All we would like to do now – is suggest a one-page resume 2023 format.
Why one-page resume is the best solution and how it could help you to solve all the problems? The main case is – hiring managers are busy people and you are not the only candidate who applied for today’s position. There are tons of guys like you. And as you already understand – all these resumes should be considered by a hiring manager, who is responsible for this position.
And what’s going next? As result: more and more resumes, which are more than one page are less interesting for the hiring managers. And it’s not because you are not the best candidate. It’s because you don’t know how to interest a hiring manager using one page.
Resume is not an essay – it’s a marketing document. And your goal is to get more and get the job.
20. Recent | Relevant Experience
When you are going to use one-page resume format, you automatically start thinking about what resume section you are going to include in your resume 2023. It’s hard to think before you are going to write your resume, but it’s time to help you with the “too many places” section.
And such a resume section is – resume experience. Too many things you need to write about, yeah? But not all of them are interesting for the hiring manager, and that’s true. The main rule here – is do not to list all your expertise and experience. Remove trash from your resume and show only those, which is the most relevant and fresh. Don’t let them get bored, reading your college part-time experience.
21. 10 Years Experience Rule
Some candidates care much about their resume experience – and it’s a good sign. But you should remember the main rule here – include your relevant experience only for the last 10 years. All the other things are better to remove.
Believe us, if the hiring manager would be interested in your candidacy, they would mail you back and invite you for an interview. During an interview, you would have a great chance to tell more about what you did more than 10 years far back and what school you graduated from.
But if you have some really valuable achievements you got, it’s better to include in your resume summary. Do not remove them from your resume. Let HR see what you did and how well.
22. Keep the order
Do not mix your work experience across your resume. Even if you are sure that you should place the most relevant first and only then the other. It’s not a good idea at all. Each hiring manager prefers to read your work experience in reverse-chronological order. And if you would like to help them to do that, use this time format and keep their life easier. Do not irritate the hiring manager, trying to solve not the simplest issue.
23. Use resume format according to the company’s request
As you have already seen, there are too many positions, each requiring a special resume formatting approach. What does it mean for you? It means that if you are looking for a police officer position in your state, you can’t apply a resume formatted the way you like.
It’s not even going to be considered, because it should be used in federal resume format. It’s a special resume format used for government positions. And if you are looking for those positions – read the instructions carefully. Format your resume exactly according to the required instructions. It guarantees that your resume will be considered and you will get feedback from a hiring manager. In another way, they are allowed to keep you without any response.
24. Resume format – Your key to success
Why there are too many hiring managers discussing one topic: “Resume format”? Maybe because in some cases it’s hard to know how well or bad a candidate is if the resume was formatted professionally.
Really, using a proper resume formatting rules could not only highlight your main skills and achievements but would also hide some gaps you have and would stress some stuff you’d like to show the most.
The most interesting fact is that resume formats are the same, but year-to-year candidates and hiring managers add some tiny edits, providing us with the latest resume format. You should understand the main idea when you will start formatting your resume.
It’s not about how your resume looks like, it’s the way how information in your resume organized. It’s about how YOU would like hiring manager to read it.
There are tons of different CV 2023 formats and the most common we list below. Remember, if you would like to show your skills over experience – use a functional resume format. If you believe your level of expertise is impressive – a chronological resume format is the best choice for you.
The combination resume format is for those, who have mixed experience and a high level of skills they would like to show in their resumes.
Here are the latest resume formats:
1. Chronological resume format
2. Functional resume format
3. Combination resume format
25. Resume sections in the wrong order
When you picked resume format, you should remember that replacing resume sections in your resume is not the best stuff you could do in your resume. For example, some candidates start experimenting and place their Summary section at the end of their resume.
At the same time, if you are a fresh grad or school leaver and you are looking for your first job, you should remember that your Education – it’s all you have at the moment. And when the hiring manager is considering your resume, the first thing he/she is trying to find is your University and the graduation date. That’s why you should place this resume section after your contact details.
Read more about how to format student resume in your case to stand out!
It’s important. In all other cases, we recommend you to leave the resume structure according to resume templates proofread by professional resume writers.
26. Tailor your resume
There were tons of different opinions if you should craft your resume for a specific position or not. We don’t know at the moment what they did discuss, but we are 100% percents sure that you must tailor your resume if you would like to get a high response rate and increase your chances to be invited for an interview.
Stop thinking about how many resumes you should have saved on your desktop or elsewhere. There is one important rule you should keep in your mind: each position – a tailored resume. If you are looking for a highly competitive position, you should think about a tailored resume template for such a position. You can’t use the same resume for several positions,
Increase your chances to get an interview with a well-crafted tailored resume.
27. Write for humans, but don’t forget about ATS
We are living in the XXI century, and the times when each resume was read by a hiring manager have already passed. Today huge companies are using ATS systems, also known as applicant tracking machines. They were created to make hiring manager’s life much easier and save them time.
What does that mean for you as an average candidate who is seeking a job and would like to apply .docx or another format of a resume to such companies? Everything is quite simple, your resume is going through a special program recognition process, and MACHINE recommends your candidacy to a hiring manager.
Quite an interesting question too many candidates would like to know: “How does a machine could understand if my candidacy is the best for a specific position? ” Everything is much easier than you could even imagine. Each position has its keywords, created by a hiring manager who is responsible for this position. That’s how all things going.
Read more here on how to optimize your resume for ATS.
BUT. A resume crafted only for machines would not be possible to read by humans. That’s where you should understand what the right balance is. Do not overstuff your resume with keywords so that HR can read it.
28. Avoid . JPEG or . JPG format extensions
We believe your resume could be much more interesting and include too many interesting pictures, but you have a real chance of getting your resume not passed through an ATS system. Not all of them are too smart. Some of them would deliver your resume to the hiring manager, and he/she would call you back, but some ATS systems are not supporting jpeg or any other picture formats. That’s where you should have another resume sample in .doc or .docx format.
If you understand that MS WORD formats are an option, try to save your resume in .pdf. Most applicant tracking systems support this format. You would have more chances to see your resume in HR’s mailbox.
29. Do not use a “fancy-schmancy” layout
We saw too many resumes with unprofessional layouts, which were so bright, that it could not read resumes. It’s not a good thing for those, who want to show their professionalism, It’s still okay if you are looking for a waitress position in the nearest pub, but if you are seeking a managerial position in an international company, you must pay attention to that.
It doesn’t mean that you should not use resume templates, you should do that if you would like to attract more attention and interest hiring manager. But, you should understand that they were made professionally, according to the last resume writing standards.
30. Bullets, headings, and numbers – are the core of your resume
Your resume – it’s not a game on who would use more colors and formatting options in one document. There are some candidates, who really pay really much attention to this stuff. As result – a resume is not able to be read, because each line is colored in different colors, too many bold texts, italics, or subheadings…
TRASH – one simple word for such a resume. You still can’t understand why they don’t call you back? It’s time to write a professional resume.
31. All resume is a plain text
We have already mentioned above that your resume should not have a fancy layout and should not be over-formatted. On the one hand – that’s true, but on the other hand you should understand one and really simple rule here – a resume should be easy to read.
When your resume is plain text, without any formatted fields and everything there is like a list of words – it’s unable to read. You should understand that and help your reader find your resume’s most important parts. It’s your job to help the hiring manager understand as much as possible who you are and what job you would like to get.
That’s why it a good practice to stress some resume details using:
- Bullets
- Numbers
- Underline some parts of the text
- Italic
Do not forget this important rule, if you want to get a call today, not tomorrow.
32. Who you are?
One of the most often mistakes we face when getting tons of resumes, when candidates do not name correctly their resume title. You can’t simply name your specialization by: “IT specialist” or “Insurance”.
Tell the hiring manager a little bit more about who you are and what kind of job you are looking for, It would solve all the issues between both of you and there would not be any misunderstandings. Writing your resume title, you should specify what exactly position you are looking for and what are your expectations. In another way – you are wasting your and HR’s time. Pay attention to this detail. Moreover – when the hiring manager can’t understand what position you are targeting in your resume – it’s 100% fail for you.
33. Bullet points
Do you remember when you wrote your academic dissertation or some other document in high or another school, you used bullet points to stress some information in the document? The same situation here.
When you write your resume, you should not forget that it’s going to be read by a hiring manager, who would need to make some effort to understand what information is important and what is less important. That’s where you should use bullet points to make their lives easier.
34. Font size and Font style
You could write an outstanding resume. But would not be able to read by an average hiring manager. And all of that only because your font style is too small or too big. What do you know about fonts in your resume?
Your font size should be 12 pt – it’s the most optimal resume font size and it’s easy to read and edit not only for hiring managers but for the whole readers. Keep this trend and advice.
!Do not experiment with font colors, It’s not good, because you don’t know what device would hiring manager use to read your resume. It could be not a laptop with a high-resolution screen, it’s gonna be a tablet, Would you still believe your grey font would so contrast? Think about that. Use black color and stop experimenting here.
35. Free space in your resume
Does your resume have too much white spaces? It’s not an urgent mistake you need to fix in your resume immediately, but you should pay attention to fill this space with some information,
Hiring managers are looking at how useful you could be, but keep your resume well-designed and clean.
36. List all the positions within one company
You should know that writing the highest achieved position in the company – it’s not the best way to show a hiring manager your career path. We don’t know why, but during the last past years, more and more candidates prefer to hide their positions within one company and merge it into the last one.
It’s not the best solution and we would like to explain why. First, the hiring manager can not understand how you grew up in different companies. Seems like you were not CEO after you graduated. We think the same. And it’s important to show how you came into the company, what positions you gained and what your route to success was.
Help HR understand, reading your resume 2023 – what you did and how and what factors or efforts you brought to get a level up.
37. Resume Template
You can’t imagine how a proper resume template could help you land the job. It’s not about how colored your resume is, it’s more about how your resume is structured and how well the information is places across your resume.
The latest resume templates you could find, and it’s important to know that they were reviewed by professional resume writers and the structure inside the resume was tested by HRs from different areas of business.
Why do you need a resume 2023 template?
Some hiring managers still believe that you should write a resume on your own, using only your WORD or anything else documents, Yes, you can do that, but why don’t you want to use a resume template with professionally structured information inside? You don’t need to invite something new. Remove outdated information from the resume template and change it with your information. And resume is ready to be sent. Easy to read for a hiring manager! Without any irritation factors or anything else.
38. Summary of Qualifications
We have already written a post about how useful resume summary 2023 could be. And it does not depend on what level of expertise you have at the moment – it’s more about how you can sum up all your expertise in just a few sentences and sell yourself the best.
So, what do you need and would you get, writing a resume summary?
First, a resume summary of qualifications is not a required section in your resume. Most likely, it’s for the candidates with huge expertise behind their backs, which allows them to show their value in 2-3 clear understanding sentences. Hiring managers like them because they don’t need to spend extra effort to understand what was your last place of work, how many years of expertise you have, etc. All you need to do – is sum up and place it after your contact information.
39. Wrong colors in your resume
Some job seekers do huge experiments with colors in their resumes. It’s a good case when you want to attract more attention to your resume, but you should remember that somebody will read it. And it’s a hiring manager.
Try not to use too bright colors, There are some tricks on how you could check it, Just let somebody read it and look the way your reader is trying to recognize the information in your resume. If it’s easy to read, that means you chose the right colors, and it would be easy to read. If you decided to use yellow color on the white – it’s not the best idea, If you are hesitant about what color to pick – it’s better to use already created resume examples 2023.
40. Feel the difference between a CV and a Resume
Are you living in the US? That means you should use a resume format when applying for a job. The most common problem is that too many US job seekers are trying to use the CV format. And we can’t say it’s wrong, it’s not common for US hiring managers.
What is the main difference between a CV and a resume?
Resumes, the same as CVs, are the documents you need to get a job, But a CV is a little bit of an in-depth document, in some cases two or more pages and not always too clear to understand from the first time you see it. A resume – is much shorter and more common for hiring managers and one page is enough.
ALL ABOUT BULLET POINTS IN RESUME 2023
41. Strong first, weak later
Your resume is a document that is going to help you to sell your candidacy the best. And you should remember the main rule here – hiring managers to spend up to 6 seconds to understand who you are, And your goal is to show that you are the candidate and who they are looking for, BUT how the bullet points order could help you here?
Heh, it’s easy, my friend! It’s a small trick the Resume2023.Com team would like to share with you. The secret is that you need to place the most valuable points higher than others, For example, You are going to add some bullet points to your resume. And here they are: able to work under pressure AND increased the number of leads 2.5X times in 2 months. Which one are you going to place higher? We hope the 2nd one would show HR what exactly value you could bring to their company.
42. The same bullet points in different sections
Everybody remembers when we tried to get our first job, and it was really hard to write our first resume. The main question was: “What should I write here if I don’t have any experience?”
AND HERE THE MAGIC COMES. You understand that you lack content in your resume, and you are trying to make the font size bigger and margins higher… But you understand that it DOESN’T help you. And here is the main mistake all the fresh grands make – they repeat the same information in their bullet points. As a result – the hiring manager can’t understand what is going on – and think that somebody is too sly.
Do not do it. It irritates the hiring manager and would not help you to get the job. Your resume – it’s not about the quantity, it’s about what’s inside. Think about it!
43. What are you writing about?
Irrelevant information in your bullet points behind each arch place of work – it’s not the best thing you could show to your hiring manager. What are we talking about?
If you would like to get a .net developer position, why did you decide to mention about economic certificate? Are you serious about that? ONLY the relevant information. Do not waste HR’s time. They don’t want to know you much before they would like to invite you for an interview.
44. Lack of information in bullet points
When you are chatting with your friend about your current place of work, it’s OK to say: “I’ve managed a project.” But, it’s not enough if you wrote such bullet points in your resume,
Why? It’s hard to understand, and HR would like to clarify some questions:
- How large the project is?
- How many people did you manage?
- Who was your manager?
And many more. So, if you don’t want to answer them all, tell a bit more about it in your bullet points.
45. Too many bullet points in your resume
Some candidates overuse bullet points in their resumes. And it’s not good! The hiring manager can’t concentrate his/her attention on the most important/valuable details – and it’s not good for you!
Here is the main rule you should follow: FROM 3 TO 5 per each work experience. NOT more. In another way, you would only vague the value.
RESUME 2023 CONTENT
46. SOFT and HARD resume skills
The hiring manager sees tons of different resumes daily during the scanning process. Each of them is different, and each of them includes resume skills.
Resume skills are an inseparable part of any resume if we’re talking about professional resume format. And you should know a little bit more about resume skills, which you will include in your resume section. So, all the skills are divided into two parts: soft skills and hard skills.
Soft skills – are skills that you can’t measure. It’s more about how the candidate can overwrite their abilities. Example: team player, communication skills, fast learner, etc.
Hard skills – it’s easier to check if a job seeker is trying to hide something behind his/her back because you can easily check it by asking the candidate to pass some tests. Hard skills examples are Java – mid-level, PHP, Photoshop, IELTS – 7.5, TOEFL, etc.
It is good practice to bolster soft skills with hard resume skills and vice versa. You need to mix it a little bit, so your resume would be easier to read.
47. Resume achievements are vague
Achievements in your resume are one of the most important sections, and the main goal of this section is to help you sell your candidacy as high as possible. Deplorably, but still too many applicants do not pay much attention to the achievements section, and as a result – lose their chance to get the job or to discuss the salary.
So, what do we mean by saying “vague achievements”? Well, the hiring manager is not a specialist in all areas. They could only estimate how well you are. And when you help them understand how well you are – you will see RESULT will not be long in coming.
All you need to do is to write achievements, which are possible to measure, like:
- “Increased revenue in 3X times in 6 months, without increasing number of sales managers”
- “Finished project in 3 months before the final deadline, saving $20.000”
And the same achievements. Which would show what EXACTLY value you did bring and how useful you were to the company. Nobody cares what you did. All they want to see – how efficient you were.
48. Place information according to the importance
The biggest mistake of all the candidates, who don’t follow the resume writing rules – they don’t know how to place information across the resume, according to the level of information importance.
It’s not hard to understand that if you are a fresh grad – the most valuable thing you have now is your college diploma and some certificates, if any. And you tell about it at first, and only then can you tell about your hobbies.
49. Duties and responsibilities sections are vague
In describing your main responsibilities, it’s important to tell your reader clear information about your main activities.
Do not overwrite all, be concise and show only what you did and how you did it. Hiring managers only need to know their responsibilities and main duties. But at the same time, they should not be vague.
50. Complicated Acronyms
Seems like you know the industry you work in, but you can’t say the same about the hiring manager when talking about acronyms. If you want to impress a hiring manager, it’s better to write the name of the acronym but not leave them out, guessing what it could be.
51. Employment gaps without explanation
Before you pay attention to employment gaps in your resume, we would like to tell you a bit more about how hiring managers sees it. First of all – unexplained employment gaps in your resume it’s not good. Why? Because you know why were unemployed – but you can’t say the same about HR.
And it’s another good reason why it’s a good idea to tell a few words about what you did and how.
Here are the most common examples of how you can explain that:
- Maternity leave
- Certifications
- Relocation
- Long-term vocation
- Courses (with relocation to another country)
- Career change
RESUME 2023 FORMATTING TIPS
52. Stupid E-mail Address
We have already written in our previous post about your resume 2023 format and what details you should pay attention to. But there is one more important detail that hiring managers like to check – how professional your E-mail is. And when they see something like “Sweetbaby92example@domain.com” – it’s not serious.
Remember that your e-mail should be professional if you are looking for a well-paid job. A good solution is to use the example: FirstName_LastName_YearOfBirth@domain.com
53. Blocked e-mail account
It’s a common mistake when job seekers write their e-mail addresses and don’t even check if they are still active. It’s hard to explain why they did not check such a mistake twice before they did it, but still – they will lose their chance to get a job. Be careful, and check your e-mail address, you should get this job!
If you have already attended college or university, you should remove a high school from your resume. In another case, HR would not understand why did you decide to include such information in your resume. It’s not the #1 thing you should take care of, but make the hiring manager’s life easier.
55. Personal pronouns – do not overstaff
Resume is a professional document, which helps you to get the job and lets the hiring manager understand who you are and whether you are the candidate they are looking for. That’s why, you should be careful with personal pronouns like: “I”, “Me”, “My” and so on., Too many of them – is not so good, even more, if you are a team player.
You should remember about references. Some HR would call your ex-employers and would check the information you provided to your current employer.
56. Only positive resume
Your resume – it’s a huge part of your life. And it’s where you should place the information, which would not only help you describe your professional knowledge but would also help you to increase your chances compared to other candidates.
That’s why you should forget about excuses. What do we mean? Too many candidates write their resumes with a bit negative approach.
Why do you try to:
- Explain why you quit your last place of work.
- What was the reason they fired you? (Was it redundancy?)
- Are you tired of daily duties?
- They did not appreciate your results?
It’s all about excuses. We don’t want you to explain such things in your resume. A resume is a document, which is needed to increase your chances, not decrease them. ONLY positive thinking!
57. Silly pictures
Resume is a professional document, which would show the level of your professionalism. Do not TRASH it with silly graphic elements like cars, horses, kittens, etc.
58. Do not try to hide your real age
There are too many job seekers, who are really nervous about their age when writing their resumes. And it’s not a single case, it’s a huge problem in all states,
What mistakes such a group of candidates do:
- Trying to hide graduate date;
- Do not list all the workplaces;
- Do not place their date of birth;
Afraid to include dates.
It’s not a good approach. In any case, you need to understand one thing – if they would like to know your age, they would call/write to you and clarify this information.
59. Name of resume file you send
When your resume was successfully written and polished, it’s time to think about how to name your resume file, which you will send to hiring managers. You could say it’s a silly question and you should not pay too much attention to it.
But, around 30% of the hiring manager deletes the candidates by mistake, because their resume file was named “MYresume_edition2.docx”. Stop doing that. Name your resume the right way. A good example of how you could do that is NAME_LASTNAME.DOCX.
And they would like it!
60. Only real facts
Some candidates are trying to add a little bit more to their resume, so it’s going to be a small lie, which the HR manager would like to check during an interview.
The most common cases are:
- You saw how your ex-colleague did something, and you decided to include these skills in your resume;
- You included not your portfolio;
- Salaries on your previous places of work.
Do not try to WoW hiring manager. Simply do not lie, if they will understand that, you have no way to work there.
61. Salary in your resume
We can’t say that it’s a mistake, but it’s not a good practice to include your salary expectation in your resume. You could ask why. It’s not a hard question, and we will try to explain that.
So, why you should not include salary:
Huge companies have budgets, but they are not greedy if they need a strong specialist. Do not limit your expectations in your resume. Maybe they could offer you a little bit more or extra bonuses?
First WHO, then WHAT, and then HOW MUCH. It’s about how managers think about hiring a candidate.
Including salary in the resume, you let them think in another way: HOW MUCH > WHAT > WHO. It’s not the best way for you!
Money is not the first you should pay attention to, talking with a hiring manager before an interview process. Only fresh grads and juniors including salary to resume.
62. Slang in your resume
When you write your resume, you should remember that it’s going to be read by a hiring manager, who is not always professional in all the areas and could understand all the specifics of your profession. That’s why you should avoid jargon and slang in your resume.
In writing a resume, you could use specific words or acronyms, which would be hard to understand if you are not familiar with the area. So – the best way to avoid stupid situations is not to include tricky words in your resume. If you want to show how well a specialist you are – wait till they would invite you for an interview.
63. Attached file with a resume text in mail
Good thing, you should pay attention. As you know, or maybe not, some mailing agents or servers reject attached files because of many reasons. That could be tons of them like special characters in your file name, too long file name, special decoding, etc. As result, when hiring manager receives your e-mail, they see an empty email, without any attachment.
What should you do to solve this issue:
- Insert the plain text of your resume in your e-mail.
- Upload a pdf version of your resume and attach it to the e-mail.
- Always include your cell number, when you write to a hiring manager, so they would have the ability to call you back.
64. Ask for help
Seems like the whole week was passed and you still can’t understand what resume you need at the end result? That means that you have some trouble with your resume writing skill. And now you should understand that you are face to face with such a problem.
What do you know about resume writing services? If nothing, it’s time to think a little bit in this direction. We usually do not call up our visitors to use such services, because of mediocre quality. But if you have no a choice, you should consider this case as well.
65. Dirty or crumpled copy of resume
You should remember one good thing, most the candidates are not usually do, when going to an interview – COPY of your resume. And this resume should be clean and not crumpled – without any notes on it.
Why do you need it? It’s not a joke, it’s more about a real situation when a hiring manager could forget to print your resume, or maybe it was lost somewhere, or any other situation. But you have a clean copy.
66. Career Objective
Career Objective – it’s a special place in your resume, which was specially made to solve one and the most important issue in this section. What issue? HOW USEFUL your candidacy could be for the company, to which you have sent your resume?
It’s not about you, it’s not about skills – it’s about what exactly value you could bring to the company. Writing a professional career objective, try to be concise and confident.
67. Infographic resume
According to the latest resume trends, we can’t say that all hiring managers are likely to see an infographic resume in their mailbox. But it’s one part of them, and you should hear a little bit more about another opinion on this matter.
So, what exactly value an infographic resume could bring to you? The first thing you should pay your attention to, crafting an infographic resume is – do you have enough data to create it. That’s really important because only pictures or graphics without data – are useless. When we are talking about value – it’s obvious. HR needs up to ten seconds to understand if you are the person he/she is looking for. Visualized information helps them to understand that much faster.
As result, you have more chances to be considered, as your resume attracts more attention.
Who could use an infographic resume:
- UI designers
- UX designers
- Art directors
- Creative directors
And many more specialists, whose skills and knowledge are better to illustrate, using some graphic elements.
68. “References Available Upon Request”
It’s the worst phrase the hiring manager could see in your resume. If you are fresher and just graduated from your college – it’s ok. But if you are an experienced specialist – you should remember that it’s not the best stuff you should include in your resume.
Why? Because it’s not necessary – if the hiring manager would need to clarify some information about your candidacy, they would ask you during an interview or after it was finished. Nobody cares about references, till the time you are interested in them.
69. Licenses/Certificates should be up-to-date
If you believe that expired licenses or certificates could bring you a new job – you are not right at all or you are a huge optimist. They are EXPIRED, And if your job requires a license, for example, if you are a truck driver, be sure that your employer would ask you to provide a copy of such documents.
The same thing is for the certificates. It’s a good practice to include the day you have got them and the term action. If it was not specified, be sure that the hiring manager would ask you to clarify such information. There is no way to lie.
70. Employment gaps in resume
Each of us, we suppose, used to have some employment gaps in our career, In another case, you should have a brilliant career path, And it’s not a problem for us till the time when it comes to resume writing.
All the hiring managers doubt about why you had so a long time period between some places of work or what was the reason you was not employed for a such long time? It’s all interesting things for them and let them know about them during an interview. But, you should know how to explain employment gaps, to increase your chances compared to other candidates.
71. Resume lacks hard skills
If you are looking for an IT position in any area, you must include hard skills in your resume to show your professional level. In another case, if your resume would lack skills, which are able to measure – HR would think that you are trying to generalize your resume and you don’t understand what kind of job you are looking for.
72. Nicknames from your childhood
You could say that it’s not true and we’re trying to lie, but still, it’s a fact. Some candidates are using nicknames in their resumes to stand out from the crowd. It’s really interesting to read them, but not in a resume, maybe in some other place. So, let’s use nicknames like “PredATOR” or “TOXIC” for some other documents, But not for your resume.
73. HANDWRITTEN resume
There are some candidates, who used to send handwritten resumes. Nowadays, it is more exotic and interesting. There are two cases, why candidates are doing that:
They are trying to stand out from the mass of other applicants, showing how important the company they sent their resumes is.
They don’t have a computer at home.
Some companies have a preformatted application form, which you must fill out to be considered by a hiring manager.
In case number two, you should find a solution and go to the public library or some other place to get your resume written and printed. In another way, you have huge risks, when a hiring manager would not like to read a handwritten resume.
74. Video resume
We can’t say that a video resume is the best way how you could present your candidacy before an interview, but we are more than sure that it really a good trend. First of all – it’s a modern and outstanding way to sell yourself.
Some hiring managers still do not believe in the power of such a resume format, but they don’t know how well it works. The most interesting thing is that you can create your own video resume in hours and get extra chances to be considered by HR.
75. Age in resume
You should avoid including your age in your resume. It’s not professional and in some situations, it could work against you.
When such situations could be:
- When HR is looking for a little bit younger and more junior candidates;
- When HR is unprofessional and looks at age first;
- When your experience block is not impressive.
No need to include your age. Let your level of expertise be the only reason they would consider your candidacy.
76. Gender
It’s not the best practice, but still you can include gender in your resume. We can’t say that it’s a bad practice. If you would like to do that – feel free to add.
77. Some copies for interviewers
Seems like you are an interesting candidate for them and they decided to invite you for an interview. And you have prepared a killer resume for that. One or some copies you took with you? It seems like it was one copy of your resume – and it was your biggest mistake.
Why? Because you don’t know how many people are going to interview you and what are they going to ask. So, if you are hesitant about how resume copies you should take with you – put some in your bag. They would never be excrescent.
78. Low-quality resume writing services
If you tried anything and you feel that you can’t do anything with your resume. It’s time to think about the person, who will be ready to help you to solve this issue. And we’re talking about certified resume witters.
How you could find some good resume writers:
- Professional resume writers’ communities
- Referrals
Try to avoid paid services – you never know who is going to write your resume.
Lindsay is a certified resume writer and interview coach. She obtained her certification in resume writing (CPRW) which will allow her resume expertise to help readers outshine the competition within the first 5 seconds of reviewing what they have on paper.
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