Introduction

Every student wants to get a dream job right after graduating, or even before. However, our cruel modern world is filled with competition, and this requires you to have some “edge” to get what you think you deserve! That’s why there are some basic yet crucial things that you need to know about if you want to land on an interview and get a job.

One of them is your resume. A properly created resume usually is the determining factor when recruiters decide whether to invite someone to an interview. That is why I am going to provide you with 8 common mistakes in resumes and how to fix them!

Visual presentation matters

Typos and grammar errors

Well, this is a no-brainer. It is quite obvious that a resume has to have great, even perfect grammar. Just imagine yourself being an HR manager, recruiter, or headhunter who is going through a resume with poor grammar. You are most likely to read between the lines and make unpleasant conclusions about the candidate.

If a person makes typos in the resume, you would think this person just doesn’t care about a potential job or cannot write properly! So yeah, perfect grammar is important, and that is why I advise you to use things such as Grammarly to check your text.

Going way too deep into the design

Lots of people want to present themselves as highly creative individuals that are able to bring something new to the table. I am talking about things such as making a custom photoshopped pattern just to make a resume look bright. Also, some people want to invent new things, but they have to remember that recruiters are working with hundreds of resumes and want the information readily available and easy to find.

If you’re in some doubt about the way your resume looks, you could have it checked by someone, try it for free at CraftResumes.com. So, my best advice is not to go too much into the design and stick to a clean minimalistic look. This way, you are likely to be perceived as a more serious candidate.

Making a generic resume

Now this one is a little tricky. Most people are making one copy of a resume and send it off to lots of companies. Although this may work because of the basic probability that increases with the number of companies you send a resume to, I would highly advise you to just do better, or your resume might end up in a trash bin just like lots of other generic ones.

If there are specific companies of interest, try to highlight the things that might be of the most interest to them. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but a potential employer will feel kind of special and more likely to consider you.

Photos are not a thing anymore

Nowadays, no one adds a photo in their resume. The reason is quite simple – social platforms such as LinkedIn eliminate this need. Furthermore, adding a photo will just burn up space on your resume, so I would advise you to avoid that and use that free space to give more details about important things.

Content – the most important part

Skills and attributes

Let us put on the thinking hat. Skills and attributes are often confused and often leads to conflicting information in a resume, which recruiters are spotting immediately. So, what’s the difference between skills and qualities? Well, attributes, also known as qualities, are the things that you possess naturally and can include things such as positivity, self-awareness, or initiative.

Skills, on the other side, are the things that you were able to acquire through hard work, education, training, or other experiences. I am pointing out the difference because you want to back up your skillset with evidence, which may include certificates, letters from other companies, and real-life examples.

Types of skills and why they are important

There are two types of skills – soft and hard ones. I am going to explain the differences between them because your resume qualities have to be appropriately prioritized, as I explained, “Making a generic resume” part. So, soft skills are very often expected for any sort of job and include things like people skills, communication skills, management skills, and negotiation skills.

Hard skills, on the other side, should be considered as more technical aspects of your skillset. For example, things such as proficiency in foreign languages, marketing skills, financial analytics, or knowledge of some programming language are considered hard skills. It is very important to distinguish those in your resume, as different employers are looking for different skillsets, and you should highlight the ones you are confident in!

Highlight the right things

As with skills, you need to highlight what is important. Most people are making the same mistake of focusing more on their duties, which is just plain boring and doesn’t tell a lot about you. Instead, I advise you to focus on accomplishments! So, instead of listing what you used to do, make a list of what difference you made in your previous position, it is way more impressive.

Small things that can ruin everything

Always double-check your resume! Any person could make some mistakes, so always check if things such as job duties, job titles, dates, and other important information are aligned properly. You see, an inconsistency in these small details will most likely raise awareness of a recruiter about you. Are you just inattentive or just lying on the resume?

As you can see, this sort of question is rather logical and can put you in a bad spotlight. Giving unnecessary information is also a no-no for a great resume. HR professionals are usually not interested in any way about your hobbies and other personal details – they want to know about what really matters before accepting anyone in their company.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are lots of things that make up a bad or great resume, like grammar. That is why it is imperative to know the most common mistakes and how to avoid them. This list will be an excellent guide for students who want to feel confident when sending out their resume.

So, it is required to remember that the visual presentation of your resume is important. There are lots of small details such as typos, mistakes, fonts, and other stuff that can lead to failure to get on that interview. Content – this aspect of a resume is what could land you an interview immediately. You have to be focused, specific, and adequate when explaining why someone should hire you.