Five Resume Blunders you should absolutely avoid
There is a great deal of freedom when it comes to how you want to style your resume. But do not take this freedom for granted. Hiring managers have to go through a huge stack of resumes in a very short duration of time. You could be an ideal candidate for a given position but one small mistake is enough for hiring managers to discard your resume.
There are some tacit rules that you MUST follow when it comes to what information you are presenting on your resume and how you are presenting it.
Here are some of the most common blunders that students make on their resume. These are some unpardonable sins – enough for your recruiter to reject your application. You should absolutely avoid them.
Declaration statement
Times have changed and so should your resume. But for some mysterious reasons, people still continue to follow some Stone Age trends. Declaration statement is one such annoying practice.
Does your resume contain something along the lines of “I hereby declare that information given above is true and correct….”
This is your resume and not a court affidavit. Delete it. Right now!
You are expected to give true information. You don’t have to state the obvious. In few cases, the boner just doesn’t end here. Few people write their name just below declaration statement and leave additional space for signature. And then they don’t sign it. Why on earth would someone do that!
It is a clear indication to your recruiter that you have merely copied this section from someone else without paying ANY attention to details. Who would like to hire such an employee!
Photograph
There are few professions where your physical appearance matters e.g. Jobs in Hospitality, Media, Aviation, Modelling industry.
Unless you are applying for these jobs, you DON’T have to attach your photograph on your resume. It is an outdated practice which doesn’t add any value instead bulks up your resume. Get rid of that photo from your resume and save yourself from a resume sin.
Personal details
Any personal information beyond your contact details is insignificant to your recruiter.
Your age, father’s name, gender, religion, marital status and political affiliation is not something your employer is interested in.
This irrelevant information could eat a lot of valued space on your resume. Remove it and save yourself from a resume crime.
Clichéd Career Objective
Here is one example of what one could term as a pretentious career objective.
Career Objective
‘To seek challenging assignment and responsibility, with an opportunity for growth and career advancement, enabling to extract the best out of me which is conducive to learn and grow as professional, thereby directing my future endeavors as an asset to the organization’
Yes, students do write such banal 3-4 lines only to waste precious space on their resume. Why they do it is beyond my grasp. Stop writing such phony an objective! It serves no purpose. Contrary, it tells your recruiter that you have no idea of what you want to do in your life.
Your objective should be relevant and concise. There is no room for ambiguity. Be crystal clear and precise.
Poor Formatting
Many students make this grave mistake of leaving their resume poorly formatted. It is difficult to read your resume if you keep changing font type, font color, and font size. Poor formatting is a good indicator to your interviewer that you do not take your assignments seriously.
The key is to be consistent with the way you want to style your resume.
How to avoid these mistakes?
Most of the resume errors arise due to lack of knowledge about resume writing. Another significant reason for such poorly written resumes is that students blindly follow resume templates of their friends or seniors assuming that they are perfect.
All these mistakes could easily be avoided by taking few precautionary measures.
Read as much as you can about resume writing. Go through multiple resume templates. Keep your eyes open when you draft your resume. Run your resume through spell checker and grammar checker. Lastly and most importantly, get your resume reviewed by experts.
We, at Internshala, provide regular free tips on resume writing. You can read them here. If you’ve already made a resume no employer can resist, register here and apply to some cool internships.
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Provided data is good for students…
then what should we write in carrier objective?
i m in b.tech. 6 sem, then what should i write as a fresher?
Hi Moniya,
Since you are a fresher, you may not have a work experience. So, you may mention your area of interest which you could relate to any project/internship you may have done till now.
All the best!
Helpful, to freshers
Dear Team,
This is very helpful to fresher who is building resume on their own. I am MBA fresher searching for job so i want to clear certain things as do we have to write”Resume” on top of resume, Do we have to give references? if yes them who should be our references (summer internship mentor, Director of college etc.) please specify. Can we make separate document for References and present when interviewer ask for it. Do we have to write “Name” and have signature at last of resume?.
Hi Khushbu,
It’s not necessary to write ‘Resume’ on the top. It’s generally a good practice to give references, and it depends on what position you are applying for.
You may like to read this article for further information:
http://blog.internshala.com/2015/01/nitty-gritty-of-resume-writing/
Regards,
Team Internshala
the information given is very useful for making good resume ,
This was really helpful. Thankyou
after reading your post I realise I did so many mistakes while making the resume. now I understand how to make the good resume. thank for the useful blog.
Thanks for the list of the most common mistakes that resume writers always make. I know how hard it is to write the resume. I have also read that as little as one can drive the hirer away from your resume or any other working document. That’s why, I think it is wise to let the professional writers do their job and let them write the resume for you.
I know most of the freshers make mistakes at start of their career but Some extent of mistakes are okay, but be careful about terrible blunders at the start of your career and you have provided us some wiser tips to avoid these mistakes, so thanks a lot for this wonderful article, going to save this for sure.
Great article!
I have been looking for the same as i am fresher job seeker and looking for my dream job. So these resume writing tips will be helpful for me to craft a perfect resume that will led me to get a right job. Thanks a lot for sharing this valuable article!
I have a 2 year gap after my 12th to BTECH..
My details:
2013: 10th : CBSE : 9.4 CGPA
2015 : 12 the : CBSE : 90./.
2017 – 2021 : BTECH : NIT Meghalaya
A 2 year gap is a threatening thing during interview how should I mention my resume these thing ..
After 1 year in 2016 I selected in IIIT Bhubaneshwar .. But I gave jee once again in 2017 and selected in nit Meghalaya …
Hi Divyesh,
I don’t think you need to mention this on your resume. You can talk about this if the interviewer asks you about this gap. Also, it’s perfectly okay that you took a gap of two years because you wanted to get into a good college. :)
Thanks~ Unnatti
it is very helpful.
I have a doubt, how to conclude or end up the cv?
Hi Preena,
Please go through https://blog.internshala.com/2018/05/how-to-make-a-resume-for-internships-the-complete-beginners-guide/ to understand how to write an effective resume.
Thanks~ Unnatti
A good resume is still standard to go along with any employment application. But I’m going to argue that in addition to a LinkedIn profile, you should also register your own domain name and create a dynamic site.
I have a doubt on where to mention the marks of the NPTEL examinations that i have given and the certificates which i have received in my resume?
Hi Nirmalya,
Thanks for writing in.
You can mention about them in ‘Achievements’ section of your resume.
Thanks~ Neha