20 RESUME BLUNDERS THAT COULD SINK YOUR CANDIDATURE
Searching for a job can be both physically taxing and emotionally draining experience. To win this battle in a tough-tough job market, you must arm yourself with the right tools.Â
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The resume is the most critical of those tools at your disposal. It is your first interface with the Recruiter and the Hiring manager and the key to opening that elusive door of opportunity. Having a sub-optimal resume can only add to the burdens of the job seeker.
To make sure that this important tool is working for you and not against you, keep in mind these 20 resume blunders that can possibly sink your candidature.
1- Spelling and Grammatical Errors offend recruiter sensibilities
Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors distract from resume content. Instead of letting your skills and achievements talk for you, they bring under lens your lack of eye for detail, poor language skills and inadequate interest in the opportunity. After all, if you were that keen, you would have put in the effort to get the document right.
Therefore, it is essential that you run a spell check and proofread your resume, to eliminate any possibility of silly mistakes and typos. If you are not up to the task, getting the help of a professional resume writer is the way to go.
2- Formatting and Style goof-ups can sink your resume
There's a thin line between making your resume stand out, and over-styling it to the point of it being distracting. On the flip side, not using the design advantage can easily render your resume unreadable. Large blocks of text, with not enough spacing and excessive font variation in type, size and color are equally annoying.
3- Information Layout Missteps and Boring Language will result in recruiter disinterest
Information if not presented in either a logical or chronological order conveys to the recruiter that you lack clarity of thought, are unable to project yourself in a clear and cohesive manner and perhaps even lack maturity. Similarly, your resume must not be riddled with tired and repetitive language. Be creative and entice with power or action words.
4- Information Overload is a big turn off
No one will be able to read your resume if youâve tried to cram in too much information in eight point font, or spilled your life experience across multiple sheets of paper. No one wants to read that much anyway. Recruiters are normally sitting on a huge pile of resumes and never devote too much time on any individual profile. At times candidate rejection happens in the first 10 seconds of evaluation. By keeping your document crisp and to the point, you will make it easier for them to decipher the important information.
5- Inaccuracies in data shared leads straight to the rejection pile
This is a big spectrum, from getting details wrong accidentally to putting in cooked facts which constitutes misrepresentation. At the resume shortlisting or the interview stage, inaccuracies set you up for failure. Messing up dates, titles etc. show a lack of attention to detail or the lack of interest in presenting a proper case for yourself. Where the resume content does not add up, the recruiter is left wondering if you are lying or exaggerating, making them hesitant in considering your candidature.
6- Giving everyone the Same Resume without customizing it to the opportunity will not generate recruiter excitement
Job seekers tend to craft a single resume and proceed to use it across all job opportunities they apply to. However, no two roles are alike. Each role has its unique asks and as such your generic resume will not carry universal appeal. Tailor your resume to the Job Description, by understanding  what the employer is looking for and prep your profile up by using the right keywords. Itâs important to remember that very often a Right Candidate is rejected just because the Recruiter did not see the right words at first glance.
7- Giving Unprofessional Vibes - small and seemingly insignificant points can have a devastating impact on the Application Status
Your Email Id and your Social Media Handle (if shared on the resume) must be professionally and formally named. There is no recruiter who wonât be put off by titles like hot boy, fairy princess, Â daddyâs girl and the likes. A resume is also not an expression of the free and cool you. Images of you informally dressed, drinking, showing off muscles and tattoos or all dressed up to party are not the images you want to convey to the recruiter. So make sure to get your profile picture right â well groomed and professionally attired.
8- Writing a Third Person Narrative comes across as arrogant and out of touch
Your resume is a communication between yourself and your potential employers; so it should be written accordingly in the first person narrative. This helps with building a connection between you and the recruiter, while portraying a professional and unpretentious image.
9- A Poorly Crafted âObjectivesâ Statement at the head of your resume has the power to ruin your appeal as a candidate
Objectives statement if harnessed right is an excellent tool to communicate with the recruiter - âwhy would Recruiters waste time with all the other resumes when they have what they are looking for right here in front of themâ. To get it right, however requires you to make some investment of time and thought. Self-serving statements which focus on what you want are of no interest to the recruiter. This section must be used to underscore your interest in the opportunity.
10- Resume Summaries that are not tailored to the Job do nothing to project your value proposition
A resume summary statement is an alternative to the Objectives statement and must not be used in conjunction. This will only make your resume come across as verbose. For people with experience, the resume summary is a tool to capture hiring manager attention by putting forth your value proposition and eminent suitability for the role in a crisp and condensed manner. Â Remember, this information has to match the job requirements for there to be any worthwhile positive impact.
11- Describing your Work Experience/ Internships must go beyond a listing to engage recruiter attention
Merely giving a title or making a list of responsibilities in a mundane language without bringing out the depth of your role / contribution, will only serve to make you unmemorable and unremarkable.Instead write active statements (possibly achievements with numbers) to showcase the richness of your experience.
12- Unexplained Gaps in Resume can leave recruiters with a negative impression
It is not uncommon to have gaps in your education or your employment. However these gaps unerringly raise question marks in the heads of employers, as they convey that your time in this period was not optimized. Â These gaps must be explained to consolidate your candidature. Â Explain your time out with confidence, which could be in pursuit of non for profit activities, personal skilling etc. The justification might also be on health grounds. Recruiters are fairly receptive when they understand the context better.
13- Logos and Images â non essentials which clutter up your resume and do little to add value
Employer Logos and unrelated images aren't necessary in a resume; they often aren't formatted well and take up a lot of space on the page that could be better used describing your value with words. Too many images can also inflate the file size of your resume and confuse scanning software, meaning a high possibility of delayed or failed delivery to recruiter inboxes.
14- Not Quantifying Achievements or forgoing their listing is a good way to fade in the crowd
In a hyper competitive job market, many job seekers find themselves lost in a pile of resumes, especially when other applicants also have similar education and employment background. Your well substantiated achievements are what set you apart from the crowd of candidates hungering for the same opportunity. So skip modesty and state the honors you have earned.
15- Substantiate Your Skills, instead of boring the recruiter with wild unproven claims
Itâs great to share your skills and abilities in your resume but unless you can support your assertions with concrete evidence all you have on your profile are empty self-congratulatory phrases. These will not come across as credible to the recruiter, especially as most job seekers and competing resumes will be making similar claims. So structure your competency statements and achievements with supporting context or data points while also demonstrating the  impact you are capable of making.
16- Extra-Curricular Activities are normally resume padding and do little to move your cause
No recruiter is interested in what you do for fun. Most hobbies listed are boring and generic like reading, listening to music etc. and make no contribution to your candidature. Listing strange and controversial interests like religious or gay rights activism can in fact make matters worse. Unless your interests demonstrate your competencies or have noteworthy achievements associated with them, it is best to skip this section altogether.
17- Writing Salary Expectations on a resume is both immature and premature
The sole objective of your resume is to secure job interviews by positioning you as an excellent candidate for the roles you are applying for â salary is not a relevant factor at this point of time. Making salary demands at such an early stage of the application is likely to put off the recruiter. Moreover stating a figure, removes the scope for negotiations, putting you in the âin or out pileâ without the benefit of an interview.
18- Irrelevant Personal Information will make the recruiter wonder at you, and not in a good way
Some information is critical, like name, date of birth, address and contact details. But other unnecessary information like giving detailed profiles of your family, your religious inclinations, details of you home town etc. is just tedious information, which generates neither interest nor value and is best skipped.
19- The Final Resume â Killing the opportunity with basic mistakes
A hard copy of the resume must be printed on a standard sized, good quality paper and be neatly stapled on the top left. Crumpled and even lightly stained documents will doom you. When sharing a soft copy, the document must be aptly and professionally named. You must also ensure that the file type and size is acceptable and that absolutely no viruses are transmitted at the time of sharing of the document with the recruiter.
20- Not seeking help, this lack of investment is your biggest career blunder.
Resume Writing takes time, as it requires introspection - an understanding of both self and the opportunity. It requires cohesive language and a good command over the written word. It is essential for you to seek assistance from professional mentors/ friends in both the writing and the review of the document to ensure its worthiness. If this help is not available, availing the services of a professional resume writer will substantially increase your job search advantage. You would be surprised to know that most Resumes, even those of senior professionals, are riddled with these mistakes. This normally happens because candidates are too confident about their capability in crafting a professional document. Sometimes they are just too casual and end up wondering what went wrong.
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