I’ve had a resume for ten years and while my current goal is to never update it again, I know what it’s like to have to update it when a new opportunity comes up or you are looking for a new job. Beside my own resume, I’ve helped clients curate their resumes and I’ve reviewed resumes as a hiring manager. Over the years, I’ve noticed 3 common mistakes people make on their resume and I wanted to share them with you!
One: Not including all applicable work experience.
People leave the craziest stuff off of their resume. A lot of times what they leave off is unpaid work. Well, who cares if it’s unpaid? You still experienced it and it still is part of your portfolio as a potential hire.
Another type of experience that gets left off a lot are projects/jobs that were especially challenging. When I ask why they didn’t include it they usually say because the situation get unsuccessful or they think they “failed” at it. Maybe that is so… but as a hiring manager I want to know you learned something from those experiences and now make different choices as a result (demonstrating perseverance and continuous improvement).
Two: They underestimate/under-explain their key accomplishments.
It goes something like this:
What’s on the resume: implemented a new process to increase efficiencies
What they really did: saw an opportunity for process improvement, organized a project team around it, worked on it diligently for 3 months, managed change throughout the implementation and saved the company $1 million dollars
Potential employers want to know this type of stuff! Often times, people aren’t beefing up their accomplishments as much as they should because they don’t want to “brag”. Ok, wait, you don’t want to brag but you’re working on a piece of paper with your name on the top that is literally all about you?? It’s time to start bragging people, especially on your resume.
Three: They take a one size fits all approach.
This is where people struggle the most because it is so daunting. Every time you apply for a job, you should be tailoring your resume to the position. You can find key words to use in the job description. You should have back up bullets to include or exclude depending on the job.
The changes don’t need to be drastic but I don’t recommend a one size fits all approach!
I have one more pro-tip: spend less time worrying about your resume and more time networking. Random computer application systems don’t hire people, people hire people.
I hope this was helpful for y’all.
Until next time, have a great day!
💗Kelsey