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Crafting the Perfect Resume

Your resume is your opportunity to make a fantastic first impression. It must be done right. A single mistake could send all that hard work straight to the recycle bin. Hiring managers and Human Resources executives sort through hundreds of resumes for every job opening, meaning they may spend only seconds on each way.

We’ve included some of the five common mistakes to avoid at all costs on your resume, if you want the chance at that dream job!

1. Fancy Fonts

Your resume should be polished and professional – not showy. Even if the job you are seeking is in a creative field, your resume is not the place to show off your artistic talents. Avoid fancy fonts, unusual colors, clip art and other flourishes – they take more from your resume than they add.

2. Misspelled Words and Grammatical Errors

No matter what your past accomplishments are – misspellings and grammatical errors are detrimental to your chances of landing an interview, particularly in a professional field. Ask a friend or family member proofread your resume before it is sent out, or make use of the free spellcheck tools available.

3. A Lack of Accomplishments

Your future boss does not want to know what your daily duties were. He or she wants to know what you were able to accomplish in the past and what you can bring to the organisation in the future. Your resume should focus on what you have been able to achieve thus far in your career, and the skills you will use to build more in the future.

4. Not Using Keywords

The first person to read your resume may not be a human at all. Search engine robots and automated systems are often used to sort resumes and look for key job skills. If your resume does not include the keywords the robot is looking for, the document may never make it to human eyes. If you do not know which keywords to include, just take your cue from the job description.

5. Too many pages

Your resume should not tell your life story, and it certainly should not resemble a novel. Keep your resume short and sweet; use dotpoints and limit it to a single page or double page wherever possible. The goal is to make the resume easy to read, even for hiring managers who are pressed for time.

When it comes to landing a job, knowing what to avoid can be even more important than knowing what to do. Learning to recognize and overcome these common resume blunders may not guarantee you the position but it will certainly improve your odds of making a wonderful first impression.

Chat to The CloudSitters

As creative writing experts and enthusiasts, we would love to help you craft the perfect resume for landing your dream job! Our classic, digital and social media marketing services are completely customisable – if you would like assistance with the content or layout of your resume, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly marketing team here, or submit a form below.