During my days as a recruiter and hiring manager, I read through a LOT of resumes. Unfortunately, most of them were mediocre at best because the candidates didn’t know the simple rules to writing a good resume.
But, to be fair – how do they learn? “Resume Writing 101” isn’t a very common class. And many times, if they’re not chosen for a job, the recruiter won’t necessarily give them feedback specifically on their resume. That’s why I’m passionate about helping you discover how to craft great resumes so that you can truly impress your recruiters and hiring managers.
I’m not going to sugar coat it – there’s a lot to do to write a really good resume. So an easier way to start is to figure out the TOP 4 things NOT to do when writing your resume.
1. AVOID having more than one page
A recruiters’ time is precious. They’re looking at piles and piles of resumes each day for many hours a day. So they’re looking to find out who you are as a candidate as quickly as possible.
While you may want to brag about yourself by writing as much as possible, when a recruiter sees more than one page, they get turned off. They don’t want to read a novel about you. And they don’t want to look through multiple pages to find the information they need.
Also, many times when I’ve received a resume that’s more than 1 page, it’s because of formatting issues. Either their font is too big or their margins are too wide. And sometimes they just have a bad resume design. (To find some great resume designs, I recommend using Canva.com and use one of their eye-catching resume templates)
Do everything in your power to keep everything onto one page, single-sided!
2. AVOID spelling and grammatical errors
It doesn’t matter how impressive your experience may be, once a recruiter sees spelling and grammatical errors, it’s downhill from there. If there’s one minor mistake, it may not be that big of a deal – they may just think you need a little better attention to detail. But if there are multiple errors, then they may think that you’re not that serious about the job because you didn’t spend the time to proofread your resume.
Spell check and grammar check are your friends!! Pay attention to them in your word processor. Don’t ignore those warnings when they pop up. And it might even be a good idea to actually use the spell check function after you’ve finished typing the whole thing.
Then find someone to proofread it for you. After spending hours on your resume, you can become blind to your own errors. So having another set of eyes is super important to weed out any small errors. Plus, if it’s someone you trust, you can ask for their feedback on the resume overall.
3. AVOID irrelevant experience
The space on your resume is precious. And so is the recruiter’s time. You can’t waste either of those things by putting things on your resume that have nothing to do with the job you’re applying for.
For example, if you’re applying for an accounting firm, you should include previous jobs as a bank teller or a cashier at a restaurant. But you’ll want to leave out your last job as a music producer or DJ (unless you can clearly relate it back to accounting and finance).
Recruiters and hiring managers want to see what you’ve done in the past that can be applied to this job. They’ll want to see skills and knowledge that are related and that can help you succeed in the position.
While you may have experiences that look and sound cool when you post them on social media, that type of stuff shouldn’t be on your resume.
4. AVOID using the same resume for every application
A resume needs to be tailor made for every job that you apply for. That is how you’re going to set yourself apart from the other resumes. It shows the recruiter that you spent extra time and effort on this resume, which means that you’re serious about wanting a job there.
If the same resume is used, recruiters will see it right away. They will notice things that don’t line up exactly with the company or the job. They will see a very generic resume that ultimately will not paint the best picture of you.
So how do you tailor the resume to each job?
Make sure that the bullet points under your previous work experience matches what the company is looking for. Read through the job description of the job you’re applying for and write down experiences that are related. You can also find keywords or key phrases within the job posting to use inside your resume. These “buzzwords” will catch the recruiter’s attention as the resume is being read.
For more tips on how to tailor your resume for each application, read my article HERE.
If you can avoid doing the 4 things I’ve listed here, you’re well on your way to having a resume that will catch the recruiter’s eyes and getting you one step closer to landing that dream job.
You mentioned one thing to leave off of a resume is irrelevant work experience. What if you are shifting career objectives? The most recent and longest held work experience is still relevant even though it may not be directly applicable with respect to applying for a position with a different career objective, correct? I’m sure if I think about it long enough, I can eventually unveil experience that will be relevant to a future job because I believe working for Disney encompasses a variety of skills and experience including within entertainment. Also, my past experience has given me the impression that simply putting Disney as a past employer often puts you at the top of the pack because of both curiosity and the reputation of the company, despite differences in core business.
Curious about your thoughts. Thank you, Larissa
Yes, I definitely would keep your Disney experience in there. I think the work that you do at Disney can certainly be applied to many other jobs. It’s a matter of constructing the bullet points so that it becomes relevant to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying for a supervisor position, you would include bullet points highlighting any sort of leadership skills. But you may want to leave out bullet points about performing in a parade. The performance aspect may be better suited in the Skills/Awards section.
And I also agree that just having Disney somewhere on the resume is a good thing. It catches people’s attention due to the reputation the company brings. (And your goal is to keep their attention until they’ve read through your entire resume.) But what you write within your Disney work experience becomes very important. If it’s too general and not relevant to the job posting, then they’re going to stop reading.