3 Resume Mistakes You're Probably Making (and How to Fix Them)
While most job-seekers realize how important the resume is to a successful job hunt, few put in the time necessary to perfect the details. Even good resumes may suffer from the following mistakes, and fixing them can make the difference between an interview and a missed opportunity.
Your Job Details are Boring
The Problem: The bullet points under each of your jobs sound like you're just repeating the job responsibilities. Your descriptions may be overly vague and fail to convey specific details about your experiences. You may be guilty of this even if you begin each bullet point with an action verb (which you should!) Some examples of problematic bullet points include the following:
Collaborated with team of software engineers to implement new features
Managed finances for small company division
The Solution: Every bullet point on your resume should add value. The best ways to do this are to demonstrate your competencies and show off significant achievements. Anywhere you can quantify an accomplishment or show off a specific technical skill, you should. For instance:
Collaborated with team of five software engineers to implement a new graphical user interface using Java
Managed a $15,000 budget while reducing expenses by 20% for a small optimization project
These small changes add depth and make your resume stand out over the many that have only generic bullet points.
You Send the Same Resume to Every Job
The Problem: Sending the same resume to every job is an extremely common mistake, but it is just that: a mistake. No two employers are looking for exactly the same thing, so you shouldn't send them all the same resume.
The Solution: You should tailor your resume to each individual job that you apply for. While this may seem time-consuming, optimizing the keywords and specific experiences that an employer sees is important to show that you are the right candidate for their specific position. To facilitate this process, keep a master list of descriptive bullet points and skills that you can then interchange based on what a given position requires.
You Have Too Much Fluff
The Problem: Your resume features phrases like "team player" or "detail-oriented." These terms have been overused to the point of being completely meaningless.
The Solution: Show, don't tell! Instead of saying you're a team player in an objective statement (which you should probably remove anyway), show the employer by adding a bullet point about a successful collaboration you undertook in your last job.
Making these three simple changes can make your resume vastly more appealing and can help you stand out among a sea of similar candidates.