The average hiring manager spends approximately a minute reviewing a resume before moving on. Stopping a hiring manager in their tracks should be the main goal you have when composing your resume.
A lot of people are looking for work, which means you have to create a competitive edge. A well-written resume can help you attract positive attention and get an interview with a potential employer.
Thoroughly reviewing your resume and addressing issues you find will be easy if you use ResumeBuild, the ultimate online resume maker.
Using one of the resume templates in ResumeBuild is crucial when trying to make this important document more readable and scannable. As you review your resume, be sure to look for mistakes that need to be fixed.
Here are some of the most common resume mistakes a hiring manager will notice immediately and why fixing them is so important.
1. A Bad Objective Statement Can Derail Your Chances of Getting a Job
As a hiring manager starts to peruse your resume, one of the main things they will look at is your objective statement.
The biggest mistake you can make when filling out this portion of your resume is leaving it vague.
Hiring managers want to see an objective statement that offers them an insight into what your ambitions are and what you bring to the table.
This is why you need to avoid being vague and get right to the point. Ideally, you want to let the hiring manager know what type of work you have done in the past and how your experience will help you fill the position they have available.
Drawing a direct connection between your work history and the needs a business owner has is the best way to get them interested in hiring you.
2. Eliminate Typos and Grammatical Errors From Your Resume
If you are passionate about finding a new job, then you have to be willing to work hard to accomplish this goal. Turning in a resume without reviewing and optimizing it can backfire.
One of the worst things you can do to your resume is to ignore dealing with grammatical errors and typos in it. If a hiring manager sees the mistakes, it may give them the impression that you are not very detail-oriented.
Luckily, there are a number of free online tools that can help you find grammatical and spelling errors in your resume. With the right technology, removing these problem areas from your resume will be far less challenging.
3. Eliminate Fluff from Your Resume
Hiring managers read hundreds of resumes each month. All of this reading allows a hiring manager to detect issues that are common with this important document. If you have a number of sections on your resume that are filled with unnecessary fluff, remove it before it costs you a good job.
Asking a friend or colleague to look at your resume can help you find this fluff. Another person reading your resume provides you with a unique perspective that can be helpful.
Once your friend or colleague is done looking over this document, they can point out any problems they found. Fixing these problems before you hand your resume over to a hiring manager is vital when trying to attract the right kind of attention.
4. Make Your Resume Specific and Informative
The work history part of your resume is very important. A well-structured and informative work history resume section can provide a hiring manager with what they need to figure out if you are the right fit for the job at hand. Instead of being vague about your work history details, be as specific as possible.
Being specific about the companies, industries, and environments you have worked in previously is need-to-know information for a hiring manager. The more details you can provide a hiring manager about your work history, the easier it will be to get an interview and, possibly, the job you are applying for.
5. Customize Your Resume to Fit the Business in Question
Turning in the exact same resume for every position you apply for is a horrible mistake. A one-size-fits-all resume is good for one thing and that is not attracting attention from hiring managers and business owners. Tailoring your resume to meet the needs of the business in question is a smart move.
Including only relevant work history information and changing your cover letter are just a few of the customizations you should make to your resume when looking for a new job.
6. Hiring Managers Want a Scannable Resume
Does your resume have a number of sections with large blocks of text? If you answered yes, then breaking these blocks of text up and putting subheadings on them is a great idea.
This will make your resume easier to scan and read.
Time to Make Changes to Your Resume
If your resume has one or more of the problems mentioned in this article, it is time to make some changes. Using the technology available to you will help you make these changes in no time.
