8 Resume Mistakes

Most employers harbor their own personal preferences, expectations, and biases when reviewing a Resume. Subjectivity comes with the territory. It’s hard to get everyone to agree on right vs. wrong when it comes to Resume Writing.

Here are 8 Resume Mistakes that MOST would agree on:

1. Inappropriate Email Address: If your email address sounds unprofessional, it may discourage some hiring managers from contacting you. Do yourself a favor and setup a new email account (separate from your personal account) and use it exclusively for your job search.
2. Abbreviations: Not everyone knows what ROI stands for. You must spell it out (Return on Investment) on your resume at least once before you revert to using abbreviations. An exception can be made for well known abbreviations such as CPA or MD.
3. First Person: “I, me, & we” are all forms of First Person. It’s okay to use first person on your Cover Letter, but not on your Resume.
4. High School Diploma: Only include HS in your education section if it’s the highest level of education you’ve completed.
5. Charts & Tables (MS Word): They may cause formatting issues when submitted to a number of different Applicant Tracking Systems. If you must use a Chart or Table, make sure to save your Resume as a PDF to avoid formatting problems.
6. Multiple Job Titles: You don’t want one job title to look like this: Project Manager/Customer Service/Network Administrator. Rather, you should list each job title separately and include the corresponding dates for each role.
7. Content in Header (MS Word): Make sure all your contact information is in the actual body of the document, rather than the header of the document. Many Applicant Tracking Systems still don’t capture information listed in the Header or Footer of an MS Word document.
8. Personal Hobbies or Religious Beliefs: Weightlifting, dancing, and bowling shouldn’t go on your resume, unless you believe this information is directly relevant to the qualifications/requirements of the job you’re applying to. Same rule goes for listing religious affiliations.