A major resume overhaul can be overwhelming and potentially unnecessary. It may just be small issues that are preventing you from getting called for an interview. Let's examine a few simple resume mistakes that can be easily fixed and may elevate your resume to "must-read" status!
Do You Have Information in Your Header or Footer?
In an effort to fit more on a page, people often put their contact information in the header section of their resume. Sometimes, people use the footer as well, again, to try to utilize as much space as possible. In either case, this can cause an issue. An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) may be used by the company you are applying to. Often, the ATS, does not read the information in the header and footer. It just brings in the content in the body of the document. Therefore, your contact information, or other important resume details, may not be retained...and if they aren't retained, they won't be seen by the hiring manager.
Although you may be hopeful that the rest of your resume stands out enough that the hiring manager would hunt down the missing information, don't count on it. With potentially hundreds of resumes being submitted per job opening, it is unlikely the hiring manager will take the time to search for the missing information, especially if they have other appealing resume candidates that didn't use the header or footer.
To edit your document, remove the information you have in your header and footer. You can always change your margins if you need to fit more on a page. Also, keep in mind that you don't need to fit your entire resume into one page. Read more on this topic in our blog titled, "How Many Pages Should My Resume Be?"
Review Your Email Address
Often, people don't think twice about their email address. After all, they have likely been using the same address for years. But, you should keep in mind that your email address is one of the first things a hiring manager will see. It provides a first impression of you. Therefore, if your email address is something casual like "partygirl2010" or "bigdrinker2015," you are giving the wrong first impression.
Consider creating a new email address just for your job search. Often people use simple addresses such as firstname.lastname@emailsite.com or firstinitial.lastname@emailsite.com. This will provide a more professional first impression, and may help your resume avoid the discard pile.
Eliminate Personal Pronouns
This one is a bit trickier, but still very important. A resume should contain your results and successes, but should not use the word "I" anywhere in the document. Personal pronouns must be removed. This does make for a difficult writing style, but it is what hiring managers and recruiters expect to see. Should they find words like "I" or "We" in your resume, they may cast it aside. Re-word your sentences to eliminate personal pronouns completely.
Spelling or Grammatical Errors
Hiring managers have told us that spelling and grammatical errors are reasons to reject a resume, even if the candidate appears promising. The fact is, with hundreds of resumes submitted, they will likely get numerous resumes from promising candidates. Spelling and grammatical errors indicate the job-seeker did not put the time and effort into the application. It makes the hiring manager question how engaged the applicant is in this particular position. That, in turn, may make them not want to spend their own time following up with the particular candidate.
It is imperative that you thoroughly review, revise and edit your resume so it is flawless when submitted. If you are worried you might overlook a resume issue, read our blog "Ways to Notice Errors on Your Resume (and correct them of course!)." Our resume critiques also give job-seekers confidence that they are providing an error-free document!
Need assistance ensuring your resume isn't placed on the reject pile due to a simple mistake? Revision Resume would be happy to help. We offer resume creation and resume critique services to those in the Rochester, NY area and beyond!
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