For new graduates, your resumé might be the most important piece of paper you own. Be sure you avoid these 12 critical mistakes when you write your resumé.
- Unprofessionalism: Using an extreme, unconventional format and structure will give the impression you are not to be taken seriously.
- Carelessness: A single typo or grammatical error sends the message that you don’t pay attention to details.
- Cuteness and cleverness: Unless your idea is ‘brilliant’ don’t take a chance with puns, a clever play on words or an attempt at humor. If it flops, you loose.
- Irrelevance and ‘Fluff’: You want to be taken seriously. Make everything on your resumé important.
- Vagueness or ‘Jargon’. Don’t assume the people who read your resumé will understand what you mean if you use unconventional language.
- Misrepresentation: Don’t lie or embellish the truth. You will always be caught or found out.
- Overkill: Don’t use excessive superlatives or subjective language.
- Underwhelming: Don’t just list what you did, talk about the impact of what you did.
- Long-Windedness: Don’t make the mistake of trying to make something simple better, by dressing it up with lofty language.
- Editorializing: Your opinions don’t belong on your resumé.
- Over Personalizing: Be professional not overly or too personal.
- Résumé Speak: Use simple language and avoid business clichés.