On the hunt to land your dream job? Remember that first impressions are critical. More often than not this won’t come in the form of an in-person handshake, but instead in the form of a resume, and it’s up to you to make sure that your potential future employer likes what they see!
If you’re looking to polish up your resume take a few moments to help yourself stand out from the crowd by making sure you haven’t fallen into many of the traps that others likely will. Check out this list of common missteps courtesy of a gentleman who has seen a LOT of resumes: Laszlo Bock, SVP, People Operations at Google!
Mistake 1: Typos. This one seems obvious, but it happens again and again. A 2013 CareerBuilder survey found that 58% of resumes have typos.
Mistake 2: Length. A good rule of thumb is one page of resume for every ten years of work experience.
Mistake 3: Formatting. Unless you’re applying for a job such as a designer or artist, your focus should be on making your resume clean and legible.
Mistake 4: Confidential information. I once received a resume from an applicant working at a top-three consulting firm. This firm had a strict confidentiality policy: client names were never to be shared. On the resume, the candidate wrote: “Consulted to a major software company in Redmond, Washington.” Rejected!
Mistake 5: Lies. This breaks my heart. Putting a lie on your resume is never, ever, ever, worth it. Everyone, up to and including CEOs, gets fired for this.
For a more in depth look at these tips and more check out Laslo’s full article available via LinkedIn here!