3 Mistakes You're Probably Making on Your Résumé
It’s all about your accomplishments.
Photo: ColorJoy Stock
While writing a résumé is necessary for everyone, it can be an incredibly arduous task. It’s not intuitive and it’s not something broached in school, so many people are forced to make do with what they know. But how do you create a document designed to help you succeed when you've never been taught how?
Whether or not you’ve created your résumé on your own or acquired help, there are three mistakes you’re probably making. Fear not, because they are simple fixes that will instantly make your document more effective.
You Don’t Have a Skills Matrix at the Top
I always say this, but by far one of the most important things to include on your résumé is a skills matrix up at the top. This should land below your headlining statement and above your professional experience, but it is extremely important that it’s toward the top of your document. This is where you’ll include any specialized skills, software knowledge, languages, etc. It’s a surefire way to highlight what you can do for the company and what skills you possess.
One study shows that hiring managers and recruiters look at individual résumés for an average of 7.4 seconds each, so it is essential that you highlight your skills at the top of your document. This way, if they only read one section of your document, they will immediately be able to tell if you qualify for the position, or not. You want to give readers an easy and effective way to see what you can do and what skills you possess. By providing this information at the top of your résumé, readers don’t have to dig through job descriptions to figure it out.
You’re Not Writing Your Résumé WithYour Desired Job Description in Front of You
You need to write (or edit) the document as if you’re applying for a specific position. What does this mean? It means that you need to go through the job descriptions that you’re interested in and integrate keywords and phrases throughout your document.
Perhaps you’re happy with your current role, but you eventually want to further your career within the same industry. Do a bit of research and find industry-specific roles that interest you, and use those job descriptions for inspiration. Do they utilize keywords or phrases which you can utilize in your résumé? Does a job description have a more eloquent way of wording one of your job duties?
If you’re not using current job postings to help you write your résumé, you’re doing yourself a disservice. See how industry professionals talk about jobs and utilize that in your document. Using industry jargon will help you appear more professional and knowledgeable about what you do. Some companies also have bots that "read" résumés before they do, to weed out the ones that don't make sense.
You’re Highlighting Your Job Duties and Not Your Achievements
“Subjective terms and clichés are seen as negative because they don’t convey real information,” says Rosemary Haefner, VP of human resources at CareerBuilder. “For instance, don’t say you are ‘results-driven;’ show the employer your actual results.”
It is absolutely important to highlight the specifics of your role, however, if you’re only highlighting the job description and not your achievements, your résumé will not be as effective as it could be. You want to show potential employers what you have accomplished so they can get a better idea of what you will bring to the company and what you can do for them.
If you only talk about the role you played but don’t show them what you did within that role, your résumé will not serve you well. Include as much data and metrics as possible. Here are some great examples of metrics to include in your résumé:
How many accounts did you manage?
How much in sales volume did you secure (weekly, monthly, or annually)?
Did you reduce cost (either by a percentage or dollar amount)?
How many clients did you interact with (daily, weekly, monthly, or annually)?
Did you surpass a quota?
Did you manage a team? If so, how many team members did you manage?
Did you work with any notable clients or vendors?
You may not have metrics off the top of your head, so go ahead and calculate them. Do some research and figure out your personal statistics! As long as you can prove your work and your numbers, you can include them on your résumé.
If you’re one of the many people making these mistakes, all you have to do is fix them and move forward. Writing a résumé is hard, so don’t dwell on your missteps. Learn from them and continue to improve. If you get really overwhelmed, reach out for help. There are people out there (like me) who are willing and able to help. If you ever get discouraged, remember that there’s a reason why certified professional résumé writers have a job.
About the Author: A native San Franciscan, Michele Lando is a certified professional résumé writer and founder of writestylesonline.com. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves, both on paper and in person, and works to polish individuals' application package and personal style. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles presents tips to enhance your résumé, style, and boost your confidence.
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This story was originally published on June 2, 2018, and has since been updated.
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Why You Should Be Wary of Online Resume Templates
There’s more to your resume than design.
As a certified professional resume writer, I stay on top of current trends in hiring patterns and resume writing. A lot of people reach out to me asking for flashy resumes that they’ve seen on Pinterest; however, the truth is, a flashy resume won’t get you the job. A lot of the templates online don’t include the information needed on a resume, so today we’re talking about why you should be wary of those templates. Regardless of how pretty your resume is, if the content isn’t there, the pretty resume won’t do you any good.
The truth about a lot of the flashy resume templates online
First of all, it’s important to note that most of the resume templates you see online are created by designers who have no background in resume writing, recruiting, or hiring. They are coming from a completely visual background. A lot of the resume templates circulating the internet right now are minimalistic, eye-catching, and look more like a work of art than a resume—because many have no real information on them. These templates don’t often offer the space needed for the right information about you, your experience, and your skill set.
Infographics are another popular style of resume known for their attractive nature. While they may appear to hold a lot of information, I have yet to see an infographic resume that actually contains the necessary information needed on a resume. Additionally, many recruiters agree that infographic resumes rarely work when applying for corporate jobs as they don’t pass through applicant tracking systems.
What kind of resume will help your job search?
A resume alone will not get you a job. A resume is tool that will help you get an interview. Your resume, interview, personal brand, connections, and a lot of other factors will help you get a job. Hiring doesn’t come down to your resume alone.
To create an effective resume that will help you in your job search, you should make sure your document meets the following requirements:
It highlights your value and gives concrete metrics and achievements to show what you’ve done
It is accomplishment-based, not responsibility-based
It is free from spelling and punctuation errors
It is aesthetically pleasing and easy to read
When you’re trying to create an effective resume to help you land your dream job, it’s important to keep in mind that a great resume contains information that highlights your value. An online resume template or a flashy resume with no information won’t get you the job. Resumes that are focused on visual appearance rarely have the right information that recruiters and hiring managers are looking for. Resume templates are often created by graphic designers who focus on creating a document that is visually appealing, not on creating an effective resume to meet your needs. Instead of using an online resume template, use the visual aspect for inspiration to create a document for yourself, or reach out to a certified professional resume writer for help!
Written by Michele Lando, Certified Professional Resume Writer
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This One Job Hunt Tactic Is No Longer Working
So why is everyone still doing it?
According to a 2015 study done by the National Federation of Independent Business, 48% of small businesses report there are few or no qualified applicants for the positions they are trying to fill. This suggests that many people apply for jobs they aren’t qualified for, which gives hiring managers the idea that qualified candidates aren’t out there.
Studies show that global IQ scores have risen by an average of 20 points since 1950, implying that there should be qualified candidates out there, so why are so many people still struggling to land a job? The answer lies within the job application tactics being used.
The incorrect job hunting tactic that candidates often use
Often people employ the “spray and pray” tactic when applying for a job. This term has become common among recruiters when describing a candidate that applies to tens or hundreds of positions in the hopes that someone will bite. On average, each corporate job opening attracts 250 resumes. This means that your resume has to be outstanding in order to stand out from the crowd. When using the spray and pray tactic, resumes usually don’t hold the specified requirements or keywords, causing them to get turned down immediately. When you don’t customize your resume to each job, it’s clear that you’re using the spray and pray tactic, and this doesn’t bode well for your reputation.
"Your resume has to be outstanding in order to stand out from the crowd."
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Why this tactic doesn’t work well
On top of the fact that your resume is among hundreds of others in the application pool when you apply online, there’s another internal issue which makes it hard to secure a job. Scott Uhrig at Agile.Careers explained that, “Roughly 80% of jobs are never posted–probably closer to 90% for more senior jobs. The competition for posted jobs is insane…the best jobs are almost never posted.” If a job isn’t posted, you’re going to have a pretty hard time applying for it online.
What job tactics you should be using instead
The Beatles had it right when they sang, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” GlassDoor estimates that being referred by someone at the company boosts your chance of successfully landing a job as high as nearly 7%.
Don’t have any direct contacts in your industry? Use your LinkedIn profile to leverage who you know and increase your professional network. You never know who will be able to connect you with someone who can help you develop your career. At the very least, use LinkedIn to connect with recruiters. Research also finds that staffing agency referrals increase your chance of a successful job placement by more than 5%, and in-person referrals — such as meeting a company representative at a job fair and giving them a resume — increase it by about 4%.
Why these tactics work
Referrals generally produce a better hire, and statistics suggest that referrals lower the company turnover rate. 46% of referral hires stay over 1 year, 45% over 2 years and 47% over 3 years. Amy Segelin, president of the executive communications recruiting firm Chaloner, explains how the best (and most unexpected) hires happen: “Out-of-the-box hires rarely happen through LinkedIn applications. They happen when someone influential meets a really interesting person and says, ‘Let’s create a position for you.’” Why? Because it’s much easier to establish a connection and show your personality in person. While you can highlight what you’ll bring to the table and the skills you have, it’s almost impossible to show how well you’ll fit in with the company culture or how well you’ll get along with other employees on your resume alone.
______________
We live in an age where you can apply to hundreds of jobs with the click of a button, but just because it’s possible, (and easy) it doesn’t make it the best tactic to use when job hunting. Why this job tactic isn’t working is because when you apply via online application, you’re one of hundreds of applicants, which makes it hard to give off a lasting impression. Instead, focus on leveraging your network, asking for internal referrals, and using your contacts to get your resume in front of the right person. And when in doubt, remember that quality of your application will always serve you better than the quantity of applications you’re submitting.
A native San Franciscan, Michele Lando is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and founder of writestylesonline.com. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves, both on paper and in person, and works to polish individuals' application package and personal style. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles presents tips to enhance your resume, style, and boost your confidence.
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The Power of Personalization (And Why It's Not A Fad)
What's your call-sign?
photo by Mark and Graham
Initials. Nicknames. Catchphrases. We’ve all got ‘em.
Maybe it’s a nickname you were given as a kid, and you’ve grown to love. Maybe it’s a motto that you’ve chosen to live your life by. Whatever it may be, there’s a nostalgia that comes along with adopting something that represents you to the outside world.
Back in the day (‘90s babies, we’re looking at you), monogramming was the easiest way for you (and let’s be honest, your parents) to easily identify your backpack in the sea of other Jansport carry-alls.
But as we’ve gotten older (and hopefully more mature…), we’ve brought our desire for product personalization with us. We’ve gone as far as wanting to don our personal branding on denim jackets, leather totes, even bandanas.
What is it that we love so much about adding our personal imprint onto things? Well, think of it like a fingerprint, it’s distinct to you and symbolizes ownership, which frankly, makes us feel special, maybe even a little important.
Mark & Graham, a leather goods and timeless gifts company, recognized the emotional connection we have to adding our emblems on products and capitalized on it, BIG TIME.
Not only do they offer monogramming as an easy add-on to each order, they also make the monogramming options anything but uniform — with over 100 ways to customize each monogram. That’s a whole lot of options and boy, do we love it!
Adding a personal touch to your job application could be the difference between landing the interview and getting stuck in the abyss with all the other generic, predictable resume.
What if we took this same principle and applied it to something maybe a little less glamorous? Say, the job hunt? Or our office? Hear us out for a minute!
Adding a personal touch to your job application could be the difference between landing the interview and getting stuck in the abyss with all the other generic, predictable resumes…. and we don’t want that for you.
So, let’s talk about how you separate yourself from the pack by injecting a little personality! Hint: it’s time to ditch the Times New Roman and shed the frivolous space-fillers.
Jazz Up the Format
Whether they admit it or not, most people are driven by aesthetics. They like things that are clean, curated, and look like a decent amount of thought went into putting it together (it’s why we love Instagram so much). Your resume should be no different. Add personal design touches by mixing up the format, injecting a signature color, or even adding in the logo from your blog you’ve been curating for years.
Want to make design changes, but don’t feel exactly design-inclined? Head to marketplaces like Etsy, where people put their graphic design backgrounds to good use and make one-of-a-kind templates that you can purchase and then populate with your information!
Tailor the Content
You’ve heard it a thousand times, but for good reason. It may take longer, but spend the time editing your resume to best fit the job description you are applying for. Why take up prime real estate on your resume with something that doesn’t pertain to the exact job at hand? Personalize it to the job you are applying for. Everyone wants to feel a little special.
Once, you’ve landed the job…
Personalize your Space
No matter what kind of desk you have -- cubicle, co-working, or corner office, there are ways to make your space say, hey world, this is my little corner of the working universe. Perhaps a Leather Charger Rollup, so no one gets confused about whose is whose. A monogrammed Copper Pencil Cup is also a brilliant idea for making sure you write down your brilliant ideas. (Also serves as a wonderful gift for a co-worker…) And a personal Desk Embosser has the word ‘boss’ in it for good reason.
Tell us, how are you standing out and adding your personal touch to life?
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