Job hunting isn’t easy, and it can discourage even the most determined individuals. Still, if you need work, you can’t give up. You must keep going till you find something suitable since everyone needs money for food, shelter, clothing, and life’s other essentials.
Job hunters know their resume counts for a great deal. It’s how you show a possible employer what you bring to the table. You can use a template if you need resume help. Multiple template examples exist online, and if you use one, you won’t have to create a resume from scratch.
Once you have your resume, you might feel you’re ready. You can start putting in some job applications and scouring job boards like Indeed, Monster, LinkedIn, and others. However, you should also watch out for resume mistakes that can doom your efforts. We’ll discuss three crucial ones now.
Not Checking for Spelling and Punctuation Errors
Not checking for spelling, grammar, punctuation, or syntax errors can ensure a potential employer throws your resume in the trash in a hurry. A hiring manager or any other individual reading it might immediately notice a glaring spelling error in the first line. They likely won’t read any further than that.
Remember that your resume sells your identity and skill set. If you can’t take a few moments and read back through it looking for spelling and grammar errors, that means you don’t notice the little things.
It’s precisely the wrong first impression you can make, and it usually means you won’t get the attention you deserve, even if you’re the most qualified applicant. Make sure you run your resume through Grammarly or a similar checker before proceeding.
Not Tailoring Your Resume for Each Job Opening
You might write up a standard or basic resume. It should have all the professional information you feel best represents your skill set and background. However, you should not send out the same resume each time you target a job you want.
Presumably, no two jobs have the same requirements. They may have similar ones, but they’ll have subtle nuances.
You should change your resume accordingly before you send it out. You might not change much, but altering a few words here and there should help your cause. You must make it seem as though you’re the best candidate, and that often means making small but significant changes before you put each resume into the next potential employer’s hands.
Too Much or Too Little Information
Resumes should not be too short or too long. They should highlight all your skills, omitting nothing, but at the same time, they should not drone on forever.
The average resume doesn’t go beyond two pages. You have that much room to make your case. If you find you’re going much beyond that, you probably need a revision. Make sure you are hitting all the high points concisely.
Avoiding these mistakes should help you on your job hunt.
