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Top 5 Resume Mistakes to Avoid in 2001by Kevin Donlin - Managing Editor of 1 Day ResumesAs a professional resume writer with 12 years of writing experience, I see the same mistakes over and over in the dozens of resumes I read each week. Here are five of the most common -- and damaging -- resume mistakes. Learn to recognize and avoid them! Mistake #1: Focusing on you and your needs. Employers would rather run their business than read your resume. So, yours must quickly answer the question on every employer's mind: "What can you do for me?" Unfortunately, most resumes don't. Most resumes start out like this: "Seeking a challenging position with potential for career advancement ..." And so on. Instead, talk about how you can add value to operations, increase efficiency, etc. Let's revise that opening like this: OBJECTIVE Position where 10 years of sales, marketing and management experience will add to profitability. Mistake #2: Focusing on duties instead of results. While it's important to describe what you've done at each job, your resume should emphasize how you've made yourself valuable to past employers. Think back ... what good things happened when you did your job well? Write them down, as specifically as possible! Instead of saying this: "Responsibilities included (but were not limited to) implementation of policies and procedures ..." Say this: "Helped increase product turnover by 20% and sales by 13% in five months. Trained 14 new employees, five of whom were rapidly promoted." Mistake #3: Too many big words. Don't aim to impress with your vocabulary -- aim to inform. Force yourself to simplify by reading your resume aloud. If you can't finish a sentence without gasping for air, split it in two. And replace words that don't roll off your tongue with shorter ones. Mistake #4: Spelling and grammatical errors. Proofread your resume three times: once for accuracy (numbers, dates, city names, etc.), once for missing or extra words, and once more for spelling. Then read it BACKWARDS to look for weird spacing or punctuation. Mistake #5: Formatting gaffes. Avoid the following: * the "ransom note" effect (don't distract readers with too many fonts -- limit yourself to two or three); * tiny type (don't use fonts smaller than 11 points); * over-italics and ALL CAPITAL LETTERS (both are hard to read in longer passages). Follow these guidelines and you'll avoid the common resume mistakes that can sidetrack your career. When in doubt, run your resume by at least three friends for their input. Best of luck to you!
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