6 (More) Popular Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Creating the perfect resume is freaking hard, especially when you are currently unemployed and willing to take the first job offer you get. With all the stress of knowing that there are dozens of people applying for the same job as you, sometimes small avoidable mistakes fall through the cracks.

Listen, I get it. I moved to Washington DC with just barely over a thousand dollars, no job offers and not even a single job application submitted. I had one month before school started to find myself a job and somehow I did, and I'm pretty sure it had everything to do with my resume. Yes, I was super involved in college but weren't we all? You can try as hard as you want to stand out with your resume but at the end of the day it's just a bland list of all the things you've done. Wait to wow them in your interview, for now, let's focus on making the information easy to comprehend and follow. All while avoiding the six all too common mistakes.

Also, if you haven't caught part one of this series, click here to read the first 6 popular resume mistakes people make.

Vague descriptions.

While I definitely agree that less is more, some people at times get a bit carried away. Strive to have at least three bullet points describing your work experience, because chances are if you can describe it all in two, it's not worth mentioning.

Typos.

It's 2016 but for some wild reason people are still spelling things wrong! Employers understand when Word fails to tell you that you used the wrong version of a word, but if you are making multiple grammar and spelling mistakes, consider yourself denied. To avoid this read your resume aloud or better yet, have a friend look it over.

Outdated contact information.

This one used to frustrate me to no end at my old job. Listen up guys! If you aren't going to check your email regularly, do not list it on your resume. Employers expect a quick response when offering you an interview, so only list contact information that you will have access to regularly. Then again, it's 2016, so if you don't like receiving emails you better get with the times.

Related Post: How to Make the Best Resume with 10 Easy Tips

Including an objective.

Maybe I'm wrong, I don't think I'm wrong, but putting an objective on your resume is as tacky as putting a photo. Just saying. Many of us are most likely applying to jobs that are stepping stones to our ultimate goal, meaning the objective would most likely be a total lie anyways. Every inch of your resume is valuable real estate, don't waste a single line with something you could just state in a cover letter or interview. Just cut it out, literally.

Mentioning your GPA.

Unpopular opinion but nobody gives a shit about your GPA. There, I said it, nobody cares! And this is coming from someone who graduated with a pretty awesome GPA, so don't think I'm just saying this cause I'm not proud of mine. Unless your application is for grad school, your GPA is irrelevant. Once you enter the workforce nobody will bother to ask what your grades averaged out to, and come to think of it, nobody has ever even asked for proof that I even graduated college.

Giving it all away.

Honest moment, I am totally guilty of this one, or at least I was. When I was getting ready to graduate college I was completely panicking at the idea of having to go get my first job. So what did I do to cope? Shoved four years worth of volunteering, officer roles and internships onto two very jam packed pages. Don't do this, instead tailor your resume to each job application. By doing this you can eliminate job experiences that aren't applicable while staying within the one page limit.



What do you struggle with most when creating a resume? Have you been guilty of doing any of the stuff above?? If you're looking for more advice, follow my board for career tips and advice for twenty somethings below!


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