Failure of Resume

Explore a few common reasons for failure of resumes through this article!

Too long - Most new graduates should restrict their resumes to one page. If you have trouble condensing, get help from a technical or business writer or a career center professional.

Typographical, grammatical or spelling errors - These errors suggest carelessness, poor education and/or lack of intelligence. Have at least two people proofread your resume. Don't rely on a computer's spell-checkers or grammar-checkers.

Hard to read - A poorly typed or copied resume looks unprofessional. Use a computer. Use a plain typeface, no smaller than a 12-point font. Asterisks, bullets, underlining, boldface type and italics should be used only to make the document easier to read, not fancier. Again, ask a professional's opinion.

Too verbose (using too many words to say too little) - Do not use complete sentences or paragraphs. Say as much as possible with as few words as possible. A, an and the can almost always be left out. Be careful in your use of jargon and avoid slang.

Too sparse - Give more than the bare essentials, especially when describing related work experience, skills, accomplishments, activities, interests and club memberships that will give employers desired information. Including membership in the Society of Women Engineers, for example, would be helpful to employers who wish to hire more women, yet cannot ask for that information.

Irrelevant information - Customize each resume to each position you seek (when possible). Of course, include all education and work experience, but emphasize only relevant experience, skills, accomplishments, activities and hobbies. 

Obviously generic - Too many resumes scream, "I need a job—any job!" The employer needs to feel that you are interested in that position with that company.

Too snazzy - Of course, use good quality bond paper, but avoid exotic types, colored paper, photographs, binders and graphics. More and more companies are scanning resumes into a database, so use white paper, black ink, plain type, and avoid symbols, underlining or italics.

Boring - Make your resume as dynamic as possible. Begin every statement with an action verb. Use active verbs, describing what you accomplished on the job. Don't write what someone else told you to do; write what you did. Take advantage of your rich vocabulary and avoid repeating words, especially the first word in a section.

Too modest - The resume showcases your qualifications in competition with the other applicants. Put your best foot forward without misrepresentation, falsification or arrogance.

Resume Preparation Tips

Many applicants believe that the purpose of a resume is to help them get a job. This is not true. The purpose of a resume is to help you get an interview. You will not be hired solely on the basis of your resume.

Resume Preparation

When you are searching for employment you are selling yourself. So you've  to think of your resume as a product brochure - of you! So here's a problem: a static document (e.g., a brochure) rarely helps anyone understand what your product or service can do for them. You don't want to send a resume unless you understand the position and tailor the resume to highlight your background relative to the job requirements. And ideally, you want to deliver the resume personally. But reality says you can't always be there in person. So you've to be sure you present yourself in the most relevant light to the employer's needs. Resumes have to convey facts about you to the employer in a precise and concise manner. Include only those details that are relevant to the post that you are applying for.

All of us like to speak volumes about ourselves but most often we are not so patient while listening to others speaking about themselves. That definitely means that others are not interested in our autobiography either. However there are instances when we have to speak about ourselves. How do we do it in a pleasing way? The best way to do it is to keep the description short, precise and clear. The listener should get a clear idea about us and he/she should not feel bored at all. This is a point to be kept in mind while you prepare your resume. A resume is a brief account of you. Person who goes through your resume does that since he/she has a job opening or offer to make and he/she just wants to know whether you would fit the bill. He/She wants only the facts that can help him/her find out whether you are eligible or not.

Here are a few points to be kept in mind while preparing a resume.

Have a proper focus

Some people have the tendency to make a resume and give copies of it to whichever place they go hunting for a job. As far as possible avoid doing this. Try to make changes to your resume to address the need of the employer whom you are approaching. Give only the facts relevant to him/her. For example if you are applying for the post of a software professional, you have to give details of your educational background and experience related to the software field. If you do not want to take up software and are trying to pursue a career in teaching with your post graduate degree in English language and literature, you need not describe in detail about the software related qualifications while submitting a resume for that post.

Don’t say too much

Be short and precise. You need not include your family details and all your educational qualifications beginning from school days. You need not even describe your physical attributes like height and weight if it is not asked for. Just include the details that are relevant to the post that you are applying for.

SMART method helps

Resume writing professionals say that the SMART method can help in quantifying your achievements. You have to describe the positive results of your past job experiences in your resume. It should be Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic and Time based.

Imagine that you were into marketing and had made some commendable achievements. You should project those achievements. Do not just say, "made remarkable achievements while working for so and so company". It will look good if you describe the percentage growth that you could achieve for the organization in a particular time span.

Do not try to impress

The employer likes to know about your accomplishments to see whether you can do the job. However do not think that you can even cook up stories to prove that you are a great person. Always keep in mind that you will be tested for your worth, before you are appointed.

Use action verbs

Resumes should be lively. So it is always good to use action verbs. Try words like organized, analysed, achieved, implemented etc., and see how strong your sentences now turn out to be.

Use a cover letter

The cover letter should introduce you and your resume, point out the things that make you ideally qualified for the job opening and give information about how you can best be contacted. As with the resume, be honest, concise, accurate and neat. Keep the length to two paragraphs.

Looks matter too

It is always better to decide upon a format for your resume after you finish putting down the details. Once all the facts are in place you will have a clear idea as to which format your resume should have. Remember, the resume has to catch the eye of the employer who goes through thousands of resumes. There should be proper spacing, margins and white space. Borders, Italics, boldface etc., can be used to emphasize text. However do not employ too much of these emphasizing tools. It will give your resume a cluttered look.