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 It is an outdated practice which doesn’t add any value instead bulks up your resume.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.
Interested in more such articles? Subscribe here!
