Are You Messing Your Resume Up Without Realizing It?

It's one thing to be lazy when writing your resume and another to be aloof. Sometimes, we know that we're not giving our all when we write our resumes, but other times, we have no idea that we're making mistakes. This often occurs when we've only written a few resumes and don't yet know what we're doing.

If you think that you may fall into the latter category--the person who doesn't know what to do when writing resumes--then let's take a look at some ways that you could be messing up your resume without realizing it.

Not Adding Enough Detail

When you work with professional resume writing guides, they will tell you that adding detail to a resume is crucial in order to help the employer understand why you're truly qualified for the position you're applying for. Think about it; if you only write that you "answered phones at the reception desk" you're probably only giving a part of the story.

On the other hand, if you write that you "managed phone calls for entire company, which involved directing calls to employees without personal extensions, paging employees, taking and distributing messages and answering company-related questions" then you give a much more detailed (and accurate) description of your actions.

Adding "Fluff" Words

Sometimes, beginner resume writers will try to add a lot of "fluff" words to sound impressive, when in actuality it just sounds like they're trying too hard. For instance, instead of writing that you "managed an entire array of sales projects as the team leader," you could simply go into detail on a couple of projects that helped you receive recognition. In other words, there's no need to write "entire array" and then have nothing of substance to add behind it.

Forgetting to Proofread

If you forget to proofread your resume, you may as well lob a grenade right at your application because there's no doubt that you're killing your chances of being hired. A resume is the first impression a hiring manager has of you when they read it. If you have misspelled words, incorrect grammar or typos, the hiring manager will assume that you care little about presentation and therefore will care little about it if you're hired, making your resume instant trash material.

If you remember that making the above mistakes could hurt your resume then hopefully this will help you to avoid them. If not, you could be messing your resume up while realizing it, making you a lazy writer. Is that something you could actually live with?