Title: Don't Distract the Reader, Avoid Common Résumé Mistakes

Content:

Dear Sam: I am writing my first résumé. I have always been recruited for positions through my network and now I find myself in a new situation requiring development of a résumé. I think I know how to write about my experiences, and have been reading up on formatting and strategy, but what are some of the common mistakes you see in résumés that I should avoid? - Steve

Dear Steve: There are several areas on a résumé to which candidates don't really pay enough attention. I've found this isn't as a result of a lack of effort, simply a lack of understanding as to what can distract a hiring manager and disqualify a candidate. Some of these areas include:

Unprofessional or incomplete résumé headings

As simple as it seems, review your résumé heading! Never include a work phone number or your company's 800# as this could tell a potential employer that you do not value your company's resources (the hiring manager does not know if your employer is aware of your search or not, so don't assume they will think this practice is acceptable). Include your cell phone number only if you can answer it professionally every time! Review voice mail messages for all the numbers listed on your résumé and ensure they are reinforcing your professional not personal image. Lastly, be sure you have a professional email address. Don't use email addresses with your graduation year, birth year, etc., these are very easy to spot and can destroy strategic efforts to minimize a candidate's lack or abundance of experience.

Spelling mistakes, typos, and poor grammar structure

Proofread, proofread, and then proofread again! Overlooked mistakes send a message to the reader of your attention-to-detail or lack thereof. Have someone else proofread your résumé to be sure you are submitting an error free document. Turn off the grammar checker in Word once you are sure your résumé is written effectively. This will avoid your résumé appearing with green wavy lines under certain sentences. Fragmented sentences will likely appear throughout your document, and there is no need to try to avoid this as it is a very effective way to write a résumé. Turning off the grammar checker will ensure that the reader is not distracted by the green lines!

Emphasizing job duties instead of achievements

Hiring managers are not as interested in what you were paid to do as they are in where you went above and beyond and contributed to the success of your employer. While you need to include some information on what you were responsible for on a daily basis, emphasis should definitely be placed on the value you contributed to your employer, being sure to distinguish achievements from responsibilities through a separate subheading or formatting selections.

Selecting the wrong format for your résumé

When considering a reverse chronological, combination, or functional format, choose wisely based not only on your desire to present your experience a certain way, but also the knowledge that hiring authorities prefer reverse chronological or combination résumés, and traditionally dislike functional formats. I see a lot of functional résumés that really do not need to use a purely functional format, instead could have used a more savvy combination format which would have pleased the hiring manager while still achieving the focus the candidate was seeking. While combination résumés can be more difficult to write, the fact that they are a hybrid of the two other formats makes them a wiser choice if you seek to focus the hiring manager's attention on certain aspects of your career (possibly by pulling out related achievements and responsibilities in a Career Highlights section appearing before the Professional Experience section) while minimizing potentially disqualifying factors (such as limited related or recent experience, large employment gaps, and frequent job hops).

-------------------------------------------

Do you have a question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@semissourian.com. Samantha Nolan owns Ladybug Design, a résumé writing and interview coaching firm. For more information, call (888) 9-LADYBUG (888-952-3928) or visit www.ladybug-design.com.

-----------------------

[pic]