Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Three Common Mistakes That Kill Resumes

Career Center - by Carie Bishop

Hiring managers must have a private cache of resumes that make them chuckle. Imagine reading through a batch of applications from job candidates who spell their college name incorrectly, list a dead telephone number, or submit a document that itemizes five pages of former jobs, going back to the car wash where they labored during hot summers in high school. Ouch.

If you’re going to land a job upon graduation, you’re going to need a strong resume that distinguishes you from the pack of applicants. Your resume has to illustrate specific skills and accomplishments in clearly articulated prose, formatted into an attractive presentation.

Here are three common blunders to avoid:

Overly Focused on Duties
Prospective employers don’t want to know what you did every day; they’re looking for what you accomplished during your tenure on the job. Instead of saying that you formatted documents or participated in company meetings, note how you created a new system for documentation that saved your employer time and money, or how you became the go-to person at company meetings for your ability to foster collaboration. Cite specifics.

Typos, Misspellings, and Grammatical Misdemeanors
Chances are that the HR professional will toss out your resume if typos, misspellings, or common grammatical errors turn up in the document. Consider these as a poke in the eye. Multiple misspellings and awkward constructions can land you in the comedy pile for sharing in the bar at recruiter conventions. Ask someone you trust to proofread your resume before you submit it anywhere.

Omitting Keywords
There’s hardly enough time for a recruiter to read all the resumes that drop into the morning mail. The sad truth is that your resume will be funneled through a digital keyword scanner. Be sure to read job descriptions with care, collecting key words that cite pertinent job skills and experience required for the position. Work them into your resume.

Good luck!