Last week I was interviewed by Krishna De of Blog Talk Radio about my new book Happy About My Resume: 50 Tips for Building a Better Document to Secure a Brighter Future. During the interview, I discussed some of the top resume mistakes including:
- Lack of a clear focus or professional brand…no big picture 40,000 foot view of who the candidate is or what they have to offer. Or worse yet, use of a poorly crafted objective that tells the reader what the job seeker wants, but fails to address what the employer needs.
- Resume fluff…descriptions of personal attributes without any proof of having these attributes. Phrases like team player, good communicator, and out-of-the-box thinker mean nothing unless they are backed up with tangible proof of these attributes.
- Too much information on job tasks…Duties and responsibilities do little to differentiate you from the competition.
- Lack of accomplishments… No real proof of past performance or metrics to justify the impact you have made in previous positions.
- Poor design…Documents that are hard to follow, use small or ornate fonts, or lack the appropriate white space to let the document breathe.
You can download the entire interview here.