50 resume no-nos



Unfortunately, at this point in the hiring process, you are not considered a human being, but merely a piece of paper which must be compared and contrasted with the over-supply of candidates.  The reader is charged with weeding out applicants to a manageable pool of qualified individuals that can be considered for interviews.  The resume is quickly skimmed and used as a sorting mechanism.

Your ability to effectively and clearly communicate what you have to offer is essential to landing an interview.  Make it flawless.

Although there is no one formula, you can avoid sabotaging your chances by staying clear of the following:

1.       Neglecting to have your resume professionally reviewed on an annual basis.

  1. Failing to take the necessary time to do it right.
  2. Deciding to use a resume writing software program which creates a generic, boring or cookie cutter appearance.
  3. Having an uninviting look which discourages the reader to continue reading your resume.
  4. Formatting with too much white space or too little white space.
  5. Creating margins too big or too small.
  6. Aligning the resume improperly on the paper (i.e., Margins: Top = 1.75”, Bottom = .5”, Left = 1.25”, Right = .25”).
  7. Choosing fonts that are non-standardized (i.e., Rockwell, Blue Highway, French Script MT, Castellar, etc.).
  8. Selecting a font size smaller than 11 point and larger than 12 point.
  9. Utilizing inconsistent font types/sizes throughout the resume; using types/sizes for the resume which differ from the cover letter.
  10. Getting too fancy by using such effects as shadow, outline, etc.
  11. Starting the resume off with the word “RESUME” as the first line of your heading instead of simply your name.
  12. Putting your name in a font type different from the rest of the resume or using too large a font size that it screams out loud.
  13. Leaving off your mailing address, cell phone or email.  Don’t write the word “Phone,” but do indicate if it is “Cell” or “Home.”
  14. Listing a work email address instead of a personal email address.  Don’t write the word “Email” before the address.
  15. Using an unprofessional email address (i.e., Hot4U@yahoo.com, PoopyFace26@hotmail.com, PrettyKitty69@gmail.com, etc.).
  16. Including irrelevant or inappropriate information (i.e., age, race, weight, marital status, religion, health, date of birth, etc.).
  17. Failing to study the job description and not customizing the resume for the particular opening.
  18. Using an Objective Statement, when you don’t need one; leaving it off when you do.
  19. Writing an Objective Statement that is too wordy, too vague, too generic or too specific.
  20. Providing a Summary section that is too long and possibly confusing.
  21. Forgetting to properly use bolding, underlining, italicizing or CAPITALZING to make the headings, job titles, etc. stand out.
  22. Listing your education at the bottom as a new college graduate or at the top when you have a lot of experience.
  23. Having it be too cluttered, too long, too disorganized, too much information, too much life history or just plain too much.
  24. Arranging the resume in no logical order which makes it difficult to read.
  25. Designing a resume that reads more like an autobiography which fails to be succinct or employer-centered.
  26. Writing lengthy paragraphs with verbose language that takes up multiple lines and slows down the reader.
  27. Failing to use a bulleted format which attracts the reader’s eye.
  28. Weakening the sentence structure with such phrases as “Responsible for…”, “Worked at…” or “Assisted with…”
  29. Lacking powerful action verbs (i.e., managed, supervised, organized, initiated, increased, doubled, implemented, etc.).
  30. Overusing the same nouns, adjectives or verbs (i.e., developed training manual, developed new brochures, developed staff, etc.).
  31. Coupling unrelated job duties (i.e., managed a staff of 10 employees and restocked shelves.).
  32. Writing ambiguous, incomplete or unclear descriptions (i.e., oversaw IT upgrade).
  33. Lying outright, padding, embellishing or misrepresenting yourself well beyond “enhancing” your resume.
  34. Loading the resume with excessive industry jargon or acronyms that make it more difficult for the reader to understand.
  35. Failing to use enough keywords.
  36. Highlighting aspects of the resume that are not employer-centered.  Don’t use personal pronouns such as “I” or “My.”
  37. Omitting quantifiable results.  Better to say such things as, “Increased sales by 150%” and “Managed a team of 25 employees.”
  38. Failing to leave space between your experiences and thereby making it appear crammed and more difficult to read.
  39. Having more than two pages in length; anything beyond that is called a CV which is used primarily for academics.
  40. Including References or indicating “References Available Upon Request.”  Save it for a separate page you submit only when asked.
  41. Listing salary requirements.  Save that for the cover letter only if it is specifically requested and then give an appropriate range.
  42. Writing only one draft then failing to poofread for typographicol erors, mispellings, gramatical misstakes.
  43. Failing to laser print the resume on high quality paper; choosing paper that is too flashy; printing on the back of the first page.
  44. Putting the resume in some sort of binder or folder.
  45. Sending the resume to a prospective employer during the day on company time.
  46. Forgetting to send it in a large envelope so that when it arrives, it will sit flat on a recruiter’s desk without any creases.
  47. Lacking the proper postage.  Send it via FedEx, if you want to get more attention.
  48. Distributing the resume in mass quantities.
  49. Obsessing about your resume instead of focusing your energies on networking.

Dr. Tom’s Career Tip: “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” – John Wooden

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Categories: General
Dr. Tom Denham

One Response

  1. Chelsey says:

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