Three Resume-Killing Mistakes to Avoid

Three Resume-Killing Mistakes to Avoid Three Resume-Killing Mistakes to Avoid Your resume is a tool that can open doors anywhere you go, whether you want that to be a Fortune 500 company or an innovative start-up just down the road. Even so, there are tricks to writing a professional resume and some very serious pitfalls to avoid at all costs: Appearing uneducated or inattentive. No matter what message you have to convey, your resume is going to be tarnished by anything that makes you look like you’re not paying attention or you simply lack the skills you claim to possess. Typos, incorrect contact information, meaningless jargon-filled phrases and non-typical formatting are some of the biggest ways to show a future employer that you’re not a serious candidate. Check your resume carefully or have a friend read your resume before you start your job hunt and you’ll see much better results. You want to appear educated, polished and accessible to your future employer, and the way to do that is by presenting a neat and simple resume. Not treating your resume like a marketing tool. Despite what someone may have told you, your resume is a tool. It’s a marketing tool, in fact, to help you sell yourself to future employers. If you treat it like an encyclopedia entry instead of the detailed presentation on why you’re the perfect person to solve the problems your target business is experiencing, you might as well not bother. McDonald’s loves encyclopedia-like applications if you want a McJob, simply recite your particulars without demonstrating your value. Lying, lying, lying. You may think that a simple fudge is no big deal, especially if you’ve gotten away with it in the past, but it’s easier today than it has ever been to check the personal information of anyone. Your almost-degree, over-inflation of sales numbers or purposefully vague employment dates can be verified with a simple search of the web. Always tell the truth, even if it pains you, and if those three classes you need to finish your degree really make that much difference in light of your vast experience, go back to school and finish up. Bottom line? Don’t make the mistake of showing a potential employer that you can’t be trusted â€" without that trust, there is no job and no future.