Setting yourself apart from other candidates in a highly competitive job market remains problematic, especially when you try to craft a document unlike anyone else's document. You might consider an alternative format for your resume, such as a video submission or an infographic. However, despite a lot of advice from many sources, avoid these eight resume trends for 2017.
1. Focusing Too Much on Fit
Employers seek the perfect cultural fit, but that is meaningless if you don't have skills to back it up. Avoid subjective phrasing on your resume that builds up a cultural fit with your potential co-workers. A future employer ascertains your cultural fit in an interview, while a resume should contain a ton of facts about your skills, previous work and qualifications.
2. Less Is More
A readable and scannable resume that is easy on the eyes has blocks of text set apart by white space. But that does not mean skimp on the details of your work and put less information in your resume. Learn to be concise when it comes to listing accomplishments, skills and past employers in each section.
3. Social Media
Keep your personal social media off your resume unless it's filled with nothing but posts about your professional career. Employers may not want to see posts about your favorite movies, celebrities, vacations or partying with friends. Facebook and Twitter are great ways for employers to connect with future workers, but your online presence must be absolutely polished and perfect. Rather than build up your personal accounts, create a dynamic LinkedIn profile.
4. Professional Resume Builder
Paying a professional resume builder may seem like a good idea, but the person cannot put your personality into your resume. He might not understand the nuances of the position or your career. Seeking help is a great way to polish your document, but you must put your own stamp on it.
5. Infographics
Although visual resumes and infographics offer a way to stand out from the crowd, most people don't know how to make an effective one. The wrong design may make the infographic hard to understand and difficult to follow. Plus, applicant trackers may not pick up on the keywords within an infographic.
6. Too Many Keywords
Some people try to get around applicant trackers by adding extra keywords in a white font so automated systems discover it while human eyes can't see it against a white background. Applicant tracking software contains enough sophistication to black out all words in a resume, so this strategy is now backfiring.
7. Video Resumes
Video resumes require a lot of skill to produce a high-quality submission. These types of resumes work well if you apply for a customer-facing role. However, recruiters and employers may not have enough time to sit through an entire video, and they could discard your submission automatically.
8. Functional Resumes
Functional resumes group your job skills together by position rather than in chronological order. The problem here is that it raises a concern about gaps in an employment record. Most online applications require you to input jobs in chronological order anyway.
Your resume can still look professional and rise above others. The key is to use facts about your previous positions, while gauging your personality comes later during an interview.
Photo courtesy of phasinphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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