5 Resume Mistakes that Can Hurt Your Job Search

Your resume is the first impression you’ll make on a hiring manager, so you want it to be a good one. If you’ve been applying for jobs for awhile now, but the response has been radio silence, it may be time to take another look at your resume to make sure it’s not holding you back.

Take action immediately if any of these five resume blunders sound familiar:

1. Submitting a Generic Resume: If you’ve been out of the job search realm for a few years, you may not realize the newfound importance of resume customization. It used to be perfectly acceptable to submit the same resume for each open position; however, this is no longer the case. Hiring managers expect you to tailor your submission for their specific job opening and if you don’t, you’ll probably be disqualified.
2. Failing to Incorporate Keywords: Companies often receive a high volume of resumes for each open position, making it impossible to review each one. Many organizations use keyword scanning software to help find candidates who seem to be the best match. You may be the best person for the job, but if you don’t include the right keywords, your resume will likely never even make it onto the hiring manager’s desk. Combat this by carefully reviewing the job description for frequently used words and finding a way to naturally insert them into your resume.
3. Skipping the Proofreading Step: No one wants to hire someone who does sloppy work, so if your resume has even one misspelling or grammatical error, you’re probably not going to get the job. You can’t rely on spellcheck to spot every blunder, so after proofreading the document yourself, ask a trusted friend or family member to review it. You can never be too careful when the future of your career is at stake!
4. Lying About Your Experience: When applying for a job you really want, but aren’t quite qualified for, it may seem like a great idea to embellish the truth about your skills and experience — but liars always get caught. Don’t tarnish your professional reputation by embellishing the truth or flat out lying. If you don’t have what it takes to get a position on your own, it’s not meant to be.
5. Using an Unprofessional Email Address: It’s important to put your most professional face forward when trying to impress a potential employer. An email address like mustang79@xxx.com may be cute to your friends, but it won’t get you anywhere with a hiring manager. Create an email address using only your name — and a few numbers if your name is taken — to use for your job search.

Looking for a great job in Michiana? We can help. The Wood Companies helps thousands of job seekers like you find rewarding positions with leading employers in the region each year. Contact us today to get started on your future!