It’s time to stop making the same resume mistakes over and over

Are you another mid-career professional who just slaps on their last job to their resume from ten years ago and calls it a job application? You are not the only one to do so and have miserable results during a job search. Over the years, resumes have changed a lot in design and content. Here are five resume mistakes that you may have made for a while without even knowing:

Writing a resume objective

Years ago, people used to write a whole paragraph on top of their resume explaining why they were writing the resume. Today, that act seems self-explanatory as we use the resume to apply for a specific job. So, instead of allocating valuable resume space for an objective statement that doesn’t add value to your job application, you can opt to write a resume summary statement and a resume headline.

Making your resume long

If you have over 10-15 years of experience, your resume will naturally be longer than that of a rookie. However, making your resume longer does not quite help you in the hiring process. Hiring managers tend to spend less than 10 seconds scanning a resume. Your resume should impress them within that short time. If you are struggling to condense 20+ years of experience into a two-page resume, this article will help you.

Not adding enough keywords

Your resume passes through an electronic system called the Applicant Tracking System during initial screening. If you haven’t used the right keywords when creating your resume, it will have a hard time getting noticed by the ATS. Most resumes that aren’t picked up by the ATS are never even read by a human. If you want to pass the initial screening tests, you must incorporate sufficient keywords into your resume.

Describing duties, not accomplishments

Another big mistake that we spot on resumes all the time is applicants using the work experience section to talk only about their job duties and responsibilities. Your role goes way beyond your daily tasks and responsibilities. Hiring managers are never impressed by reading a list of job duties. So, when describing past roles on your resume, you must talk about your professional achievements. You should also use quantified results to emphasize the impact of your contributions. This helps potential employers paint a picture of what you can and will do for their company.

Not linking to your online presence

In this digital age, there are certain steps you must make to ensure that your job application does not go unnoticed. One thing that you can do is add a link to your LinkedIn profile to your resume. This will help potential employers get a good understanding of your career progression and professional background as LinkedIn allows you to display a lot more information than your resume. If you have social media channels where you share content and knowledge relevant to your field of work, you should display links to them on your resume as well. You can also add a link to your digital portfolio to the resume to showcase the best pieces of your work to potential employers.