Quite few resumes have come crosswise my desk throughout my career. "Interesting" is an understatement in describing the things I've seen, which often leave me asking the dire question... "Why is THAT on your resume?" I distinct to share with you what "THAT" is, on with some alternatives on what you can do instead of doing "THAT."
The dire "THAT" includes:
Labels Like "Email", "Address", and "Phone Number"
SEMRUSH LIKE APPS
There is no need to label these items in the resume heading. I am pretty sure the average mortal recognizes email addresses, numbers, and addresses. If more than one number is listed, then label them to distinguish the "mobile" (or cell) number from the "home" number. I recall a resume that actually listed 2 cell numbers - just pick one.
Unprofessional Email Addresses
I can't help but chuckle at some of the very creative email addresses people devise. I recall seeing email addresses that made me think, "What does THAT mean?" For example, "oneshot@email.com", "kittystraps@email.com", and "jopuppyfish@email.com", to name few. These very creative email addresses were a distraction for me, albeit briefly, from the task at hand - evaluating the candidate's skills, qualifications, contributions, and accomplishments to determine if they may complement the necessarily of the team and business. Although creative thinking is a great qualification for many jobs, save it for the next big project. Stick with the basic name.name@email.com for your job search and resume.
"And the like" or "Etc."
What exactly does this mean in terms of your qualifications for the job you are pursuing? Imagine you are the hiring manager and you are reading the following on a candidate's resume:
"Execute strategies, etc."
"Collaborate with team members and the like."
"Administered programs, etc."
"Increased profits and the like."
Doesn't it seem like something is missing in these statements? Substance - is what's missing. If your resume is your marketing document, tell recruiters exactly what "etc." and "and the like" mean. How? Firstly, remove the "filler words" [as we would label these in Toastmasters]. Secondly, use actual facts from your background that clearly exemplify your value. Don't leave anything for the hiring manager's imagination. Be specific be detailed, be succinct. Here's an example: "Devised and dead profitable gross revenue and marketing strategies, extraordinary gross revenue goals by 20%." Now, doesn't this give a much better picture of your value?
"Hard worker"
If you have "hard worker" in your resume, revise it immediately. Instead, use your accomplishments and contributions to show hiring managers how hard you run through the impacts you've made and why they should hire you as a member of their team.
"[Credential] Certification Candidate"
If you haven't taken or regular the certification exam yet, why is THAT on your resume? Instead, use your cover letter to state your plans to sit for the exam in the near future. If you have the exam date regular, use your cover letter to mention you are regular to take the exam and specify the date. This shows your commitment to professional growth and desire to be deemed a certified expert that is prepared to make long-term contributions towards the winner of the business.
"Computer Literate"
Where do I begin? There is dead overmuch technology to attempt reckoning this one out. Because of the wide range of programs, languages, systems, software, and hardware in the world, be specific in listing your technical skills in your resume. For example, "Technical proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint," is a clear indication of your skill set.
College Course Numbers
Course numbers mean nothing to hiring managers and take up valuable space on your resume. For new graduates with very little or no applicable professional experience, listing the name of completed college courses that are applicable to your target job is extremely well. Just don't use course numbers. Also, consider truncating some course titles that may be too long. For instance, instead of listing "Introduction to Marketing", list Marketing or a higher level marketing course, such as "Strategic Marketing", which is much more impactful.
Active Links from Copied and Pasted Text
So you used a guide but didn't customize the content? You actually derivative and glued content from the guide into your resume? It is ne'er well to copy and paste content from guides or any other source. But, if you do, be careful of active golf links that link back to the site from which you derivative the content. A general guidepost is, do not copy and paste content from guides. Instead, use guides to guide your thought process, but create your own resume content that is applicable and specific to you.
A long paragraph of information
If your resume contains a paragraph with 15 lines of text under one job, you're hampering your marketing efforts. Think about a written ad or a billboard in the railway station or on the side of a bus. Will you be more apt to read the ad with 15 lines of text or the ad with 3 brief but very informative lines of text? If your answer is the latter, revise your resume immediately. If you are long-winded, have a professional resume author renovate your resume for you. Comprehensive but apothegmatic is the key.
Your Signature
Save your signature for the cover letter.
The resume serves as the promotional tool you use to market your qualifications to a potential employer. You may decide to work with a certified professional resume author to develop this critical promotional tool or you may decide to develop it on your own. Either way, the ultimate goal is to capture a employment interview exploitation a apothegmaticly written, superiority resume (and cover letter), filled with applicable keywords and confirmatory content - the informative stuff.
Just stick to the most informative stuff and remove THAT other stuff from your resume.
