10 mistakes you’re making on your resume

March 28, 2011

Over at U.S. News & World Report today, I list 10 common mistakes that you might be making on your resume. Yes, you. Go read it.

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Posted in resumes

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Nadeem Bhanji March 29, 2011 at 1:06 am

Having put objectives in every resume I use, I find it hard to get rid of them. How does a resume start without an objective? Does it go straight into work history/ degree information? Speaking of degree info, if one was to leave out the major what would you put down? Just “Bachelor of Science”?

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Ask a Manager March 29, 2011 at 10:49 am

Yep, you can go straight into work experience or education, or you can start with a “summary” section at the top instead, where you highlight key qualifications (which seems to be the new thing).

On degree info, I wouldn’t leave out the major. (If you do, people will assume it’s because you had some crappy major.) But if for some reason you want to leave out the major, yes, then you’d just do “bachelor of science” or whatever.

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Angela March 29, 2011 at 10:49 pm

Yes, no objective. You start with something called “PROFILE” – a summary of your key qualities in 1 long sentence.

I had tried to write objective in my resume, and I always find it silly and pointless. I’d probably repeated the position I’d like to apply in the email title and coverletter couple times, and my resume is probably nicely sorted under the job I’m applying at. I know, and employers know, why waste space?

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Malcolm April 12, 2011 at 11:25 am

ot: Do you know any good places to get resumes done?

I spent 500$ on one it had most of the mistakes you listed. Needless to say it has been a horrible experience.

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Robert Green September 2, 2011 at 9:28 am

The biggest mistake people make with their resume is doing it on their own. I’ve literally seen 100,000 plus resumes in HR and recruiting and nearly 100% could be significantly improved. People need third party objective input on a resume. Friends, family, and co-workers are not the answer.

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Angela December 3, 2011 at 12:57 pm

For someone who has just graduated from her masters and has only had one ‘real’ job, how long should a resume typically be? I know I don’t have all the experience in the world, but I think my volunteer experience amounts to something. Right now, my CV is 5-pages.. Is this over-board?

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Ask a Manager December 3, 2011 at 1:19 pm

CV (used for academia) can be longer, but your resume (used for jobs outside of academia) should be one page. With only one job, there’s no reason to go over one page.

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