Sala 4 Ne’ebe Akontese Baibain iha CV – Buka Sira, Hadia Sira
It’s National Proofreading Day, and while you probably have plans to celebrate in style, carrying on the National Proofreading Day traditions of your parents and their parents before them, I suggest that this year, you try something a bit more productive: proofread your resume!
Below, you’ll find a list of common resume mistakes, where they tend to rear their ugly, proverbial heads, and of course, how to correct them.
Inconsistent punctuation and capitalization
- Date range: Dashes, hyphens, and the like can be tricky, especially when you’re using a platform that kicks in auto-formatting from time to time. Ensure that all dashes in your date ranges are the same type of dash (did you know there are three kinds?). Also take a close look to confirm that there’s a like number of spaces before and after each dash.
- Bullets: If you use bullets, select one style of bullet (unless for some reason, you need to use nested bullets, which we don’t recommend). Whether it’s a dash, a dot, or a triangle, pick one and stick with it.
- Capitalization: While degree programs should be lowercase (unless it’s a proper noun like English, Spanish, German, etc.), it’s acceptable to capitalize when you’re listing one on your resume (lowercase in your cover letter). For example, BA in Ethnomusicology. Capitalization of job titles is a bit more tricky. For the full break down, check out The Chicago Manual of Style. If you choose to capitalize your job title, degree, or other proper nouns, be sure that you’re committing to one grammatical standard for consistency.
- Periods: If you use periods at the end of one sentence, use a period at the end of every sentence.
- Pro Tip: I highly recommend the use of periods as it also denotes a more complete statement. Avoid forcing an HR manager to wade through a bulleted list of incomplete details. Descriptive statements offer a more colorful picture of what you accomplished and how you grew.
Incorrect grammar
- Current experience vs. past: Make sure that once you are no longer at a job, you update your bulleted accomplishments and responsibilities to past tense.
Inconsistent formatting
- Italics and bold: Similar to many of the other examples thus far, if you’re going to bold the job title for one job, make sure you do it for all job titles listed. Again, if you italicize the date range of a job, make sure to italicize all date ranges.
- Fonts: Most HR professionals will agree that consistency rather than variety is preferable. Remember that these folks have to review hundreds of resumes, so keeping your resume clean in terms of font and formatting will be greatly appreciated.
- Indents and spacing: A simple way to ensure consistent indentation is by using a table with no borders. This offers an easy-to-implement format for columns and rows and takes the guesswork out of indents. However, if you’re using tables, be sure they’re maintained if you convert the document to a PDF. When proofing spacing on your resume, remember to review spacing around dates (as mentioned above).
- Pro Tip: Two spaces after a period are a thing of the past. While it may be hard to swallow—especially if you learned this rule in a typing class—it’s nearly universally accepted these days, that one space after a period is the standard.
Incorrect contact information
- Resume header: Did you move recently? Do you have a new email address? Did you perhaps marry and hyphenate your last name? Double check of these details, as even the smallest error can come across as forgetful and unprofessional.
Do you have questions about resume errors or anecdotal words of warning to share with the community? Tell your story here!
Find the main article here: https://idealistcareers.org/common-resume-mistakes/
Related Blogs
-
Nov 2, 2017Ita Persiza atu Haruka…
Today’s question is inspired by a reader who made a formatting blunder on his resume: Last week I applied for a..
-
Oct 28, 20179 Tips for Dealing…
One of the is that feelings of burnout will magically be pushed in the background simply because you’re doing meaningful work...
-
Oct 27, 2017Burned Out? 5 Things…
Instead of feeling refreshed by the prospect of having a holiday break, are you already dreading being back at work?..
-
Oct 23, 2017How to Know If…
Recruiters: Are you giving off the right message? Editor’s note: Recruiters: during an interview, you reveal a lot to candidates..
-
Oct 20, 20174 Secrets to Making…
No one grows up being completely comfortable with speaking highly of themselves. Even still, it is up to you to..
-
Sep 23, 20175 Ways to Boost…
You want your resume to make an impact on the reader. You want the recruiter to read it and be..