Employers Are Spilling the Beans: 5 Mistakes to Avoid If You Want Your Resume to Shine

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If you talk to hiring managers whose job it is to select the most qualified candidates for open positions in their companies, they’ll be quick to point out certain mistakes that can sour them toward an applicant almost immediately. There are the obvious ones like wearing inappropriate clothing to the interview or having bad personal hygiene, but instead of those, we’re going to focus on resume mistakes that should be avoided at all costs. 

Unprofessional Appearance 

It can be difficult coming up with a professional-looking resume if that sort of thing is not in your wheelhouse. However, there is no excuse for not presenting yourself in as attractive of a way as possible. There are resume templates like those that at https://www.livecareer.com/resume-templates that can demonstrate that you put some care and thought into the process. That counts for something. It shows that you want the job. 

Grammatical Errors And Typos 

Again, even if you weren’t an English major, you need to make sure that your resume is free of any typos and grammatical issues. Do the best job with it that you can, and then hand it off to a relative or a friend that can give it a thorough once over. If you feel like that’s not enough, there are professional freelancers you can hire that will look it over, make corrections, and suggest improvements. 

Not Too Long, Not Too Short 

When it comes to describing your qualifications or talking about your previous jobs, you want to keep things concise. Droning on about the minute details associated with one of your prior positions is not going to convince anyone to hire you, especially if it seems apparent that you’re trying to cover up a lack of experience. At the same time, you don’t want to omit any detail that is relevant to the job for which you are applying. It can be a fine line, but you must find a way to strike that balance. 

Focusing On Duties Rather Than Accomplishments 

Similarly, focusing too much on what you did, day in and day out, when you worked for a different company gets tedious quickly. It’s much better to summarize this sort of thing and focus on what you accomplished when you held other positions. If you were ever promoted, landed a significant client, or got a commendation for being the employee of the month or anything similar, that is going to go over much better. If your possible employer wants to know more about what you did for a previous company, they will ask you. 

One Size Does Not Fit All 

If you’re applying for ten different jobs, that doesn’t mean your resume for each of them should be identical. Each of the resumes that you send out should be tailored so that you mention what is going to be most relevant for each position. If you don’t bother to do that, then it’s going to show. By focusing on the details that matter most depending on each job for which you are applying, it is another way of demonstrating that you are genuinely in joining the team. 

A strong, well-crafted resume can be a work of art, but if you lack talent in this area, bring in a professional to help you. You might be the most qualified for a full-time employee position, but if your resume doesn’t reflect that, then you’re never going to get called in for a second interview.


I hope you enjoyed this article about the major mistakes you want to avoid making if you want your resume or CV to shine for potential employers.

Interested in more articles about improving your career outlook?

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- How To Make Your Resume Appeal To Startups 

- The Pros & Cons Of Job Hopping

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