10 Most Common Resume Errors Every Candidate Must Know

Have you wondered how impactful a resume mistake is? A resume is the gist of your technical achievements and skills as a professional. Common Resume Errors make the recruiter mark your resume read or rejected. However, erring in your resume is the written proof of your lack of commitment, accuracy, and efficiency as a professional.

To create a flawless resume that gets noticed by the HR Manager, follow the experts’ tips below.

10 Common Resume Errors to Avoid

Making a resume without any errors or irrelevant information may seem next to impossible. Regardless of the technical advances, resumes are mandatory for job applications today. Keeping wary of the most common resume writing errors will make your resume stronger and professional.

Hence, learn the ten ways to evade the most common errors in fresher resumes to draft a flawless resume on your own.

1. Irrelevant Content or Keywords

More than 70% of Hiring Managers use software such as ATS to track applicants by filtering the resume with a specific set of keywords automatically. To pass similar high-tech tests, it is necessary to customize your resume to fit the needs sought by the employer in the job offer.

According to resume writing coaches, candidates must include not more than 50% keywords directly from the job application to qualify.

2. Generic Terminology

It is common to use run-of-the-mill cliche phrases, greetings and vocabulary on a resume, but the same does not guarantee you the job. To appeal to the hiring manager, candidates must use unique technical terminology and vocabulary in the resume. It is best to cut the fluff and elaborate your work experiences deftly while writing your official resume as it proves the brevity of the candidate.

3. Lengthy Paragraphs

An overlong resume is rejected sooner than its counterparts as hiring managers to find it hard to find the core skills and achievements of candidates from cluttered resumes. Resume writing coaches advocate to condense vital points and eliminate irrelevant experiences in a resume. It is best to transform lengthy paragraphs into bulleted points to de-clutter your resume easily!

4. Haphazard Format

Based on the ATS software used by the hiring manager, every employer will require a standard format in a resume to qualify the candidate. Depending on your choice of format such as PDF or Word for reading the resume document, the consistency of your data differs.

It is best to choose a format such as PDF that does not change your content after saving, unlike MS Word, which changes characters and formatting the document based on the version.

5. Unreadable Font Choice and Size

Yet another vital concern that judges the readability of your document is the font choice and size in your resume. It is recommended that candidates use legible Sans-Serif Font with 12-point size for easier reading on multiple readers, resolutions, and screens. Serif fonts are good for artists and graphic designers but derogatory for candidates looking for employment in the corporate sector.

Candidates must also experiment with multiple resume font styles and sizes by comparing the resume on different e-readers or print before finalizing on one.

6. Floating Information

Drafting a resume with insubstantial information is yet another recipe for rejection. It is important to be specific in your resume to answer the specific needs that the employer is looking for. Instead of using cliches and generic vocabulary, listing quantifiable profits you earned for your previous employer will establish your superlative competency as a candidate.

For example, instead of writing- “Worked with Restaurant Staff” when elaborating a work experience, write this- “Served, Waited and Supervised during Busiest Working Hours in a Chinese Restaurant”. Candidates can also use resume power verbs that apply to your job sector to strengthen the candidature.

7. Informal Language and Information

Using the informal style of communication does not highlight your candidacy, but degrades it. Candidates must always restrict themselves from adding uncomfortable personal content and language in an official resume. Avoid using personal pronouns such as “I”, “You” or “Me”, as hiring managers claim that it makes the candidate seem incompetent in a formal hiring process.

8. Poorly Written Objective statement

Hiring managers are looking for candidates with precise skills that can profit the company. Most resume objectives comprise of generic and ordinary vocabulary, which brings down the interest of the hiring manager. Resume coaches’ advice candidates to be creative in the resume objective statement by boldly listing relevant skills and achievements in your past jobs that also applies to the current job applications.

9. Incorrect Information

Was your internship 6-months or 3-months? Are you proficient in JAVA and HTML? Can you speak and write seven languages?

It is important to be transparent and honest in your resume as the opposite can even beckon legal liabilities. Trying to match your resume with the job application is essential but you must not make up work experiences and skills just to qualify it takes but a few minutes to do background checks today.

Yet another common error is listing incorrect or unprofessional contact information. It is best to create an official email id in case your email address contains one too many indecent words!

10. Typing or Spelling Errors

Hiring Manager claims about 58% resumes received annually contain elementary mistakes including grammatical, spelling and semantic errors and are directly rejected. According to leading resume coaches, justifying typographical errors in a resume is implausible in this era.

Commonly seen resume errors apart from spelling errors are You’ re/You’re, Chose/Chose, Lose/Loose and other similar wrong usages. Candidates must always proofread the finished resume at least thrice to ensure that it is free of errors. Yet another beneficial tip is to request friends or colleagues to scan your resume once you are done writing it. You can also use online spell checks and software such as Grammarly to cite common and advanced errors in a resume.

In a Nutshell

Resume writing is not rocket science, but it takes dedication, commitment and focuses to draft a resume noticed by the hiring manager.

From proofreading to relevancy checks and professional tone in a resume, many parameters boost the quality of a professional resume. There are many tips to ensure that your resume contains no errors or discrepancies at the hiring desk. Hence, it is best to stick to PDF format if you fear the MS Word content might change on different readers or resolution.