As an Adelaide resume writer, I’ve provided lots of information on how to write a resume. Here’s a list of things to avoid like the plague:
If you can’t be bothered to spellcheck your own resume, who would trust you to handle the responsibilities of a full-time job? Employers notice.
If you’re a middle level or senior manager, don’t use AI. Recruiters can tell and your resume will hit the spike at the speed of light. Show authenticity and ethics.
Flashy graphics distract from your resume’s goal of clearly communicating your skills and accomplishments. That also includes putting your picture on the resume.
Graphics are a problem for companies that use software to scan through job applications, otherwise known as an applicant tracking system (ATS). Don’t go fancy. Keep the graphics to a minimum if at all.
Describing your previous work in vague terms like “responsible for” or “tasked with” without providing details about your accomplishments or doesn’t communicate much about your qualifications.
A good resume describes the specifics of your experience and uses a combination of hard numbers and verbs to highlight what you actually accomplished.
Unprofessional and hard to read fonts are guaranteed to turn any hiring manager off. Stylised fonts are difficult for application software to process, making it likely that your resume will get rejected. Keep it simple.
When filling out the skills or experience section, only include information that’s applicable to the job you’re applying for. Including anecdotes about your hobbies or personal interests is a waste of space. Who cares?
Recruiters don’t have much time to look at each resume. Making your resume four pages or more long and listing every job you’ve ever held is boring.
If you have fewer than 10 years of relevant work experience, stick to a one or two page resume. If you have over ten years’ experience, stick to two or three pages max.
“Go-getter”, “hungry for success”, “self-starter” – are meaningless buzzwords. Recruiters hate them and many employers think they’re pretentious. Leave them out.
Don’t include too many personal details on your resume as its unprofessional. Don’t include sensitive information such as your nationality, date of birth, or marital status. That’s no one’s business but your own.