Creating an enticing and engaging resume may seem like a challenge. After all, you only have a few moments to catch a hiring manager’s eye, so the pressure is certainly on to provide powerful insights into your capabilities quickly.
However, as important as it is to make sure you address critical points the hiring manager needs to know, it is equally (if not more) crucial that you avoid mistakes that could be viewed as red flags. Otherwise, the small missteps might cause the hiring manager to send your resume straight to the discard pile.
If you want to make sure that you aren’t making detrimental resume mistakes, here are a few that you need to avoid at all costs.
Not Including Social Media Links
Many hiring managers head to social media platforms to learn about candidates. If you aren’t providing direct links to your profiles, the hiring manager might struggle to find your profile or could possibly mistake someone else’s information for yours.
Consider providing at least your LinkedIn link with your contact information on your resume. If your Facebook, Twitter, or other profiles are also set up to reflect well on you as a professional and enhance your brand, then you can list those as well if you’d like.
Bullet Point Overload
Using bullet points to highlight individual achievements can improve your resume’s readability. However, if you have more than five under each job heading, it may appear that you aren’t able to self-edit or that you’re trying too hard to look qualified. Skip listing every accomplishment and skill and instead focus on those that are most relevant, allowing you to limit the number of bullet points to a reasonable amount.
No White Space
If your resume is wall-to-wall text, it’s going to be hard to read. By keeping a suitable amount of white space, your resume is easier to review. Plus, it makes it look like you know how to focus on the most critical points, as you aren’t trying to cram in as much information as possible.
Having an “Objective” Statement
Objective statements were once part of every resume, but they have since been removed. Ultimately, objective statements didn’t provide hiring managers with value, leading them to be replaced by professional summaries instead.
If you have an objective statement, you’ll look behind the times. Make sure to remove it and consider using a professional summary in its place, allowing you to highlight what you bring to the table right at the top of your resume.
Spelling and Grammar Mistakes
When you have spelling or grammar mistakes on your resume, it makes it look like you either don’t have any attention to detail or that you didn’t care about the opportunity. While spelling and grammar checking software can catch most errors, it won’t spot everything. Make sure you proofread yours carefully and, when possible, enlist help from a friend or family member as a second set of eyes may spot problems you overlooked.
In the end, all of the mistakes above can hurt your chances of getting a job. If you’d like to learn more about how to showcase yourself as a top candidate, the team at TempStaff can help. Contact us to speak with one of our skilled staff members today and see how our resume writing expertise can benefit you.
