Common Online Resume Errors

Having the right resume can go a long way in securing that coveted interview and position. There are a plethora of websites, books and self-help materials that seek to assist you in this area and many of them are loaded with examples and ideas to help streamline your current resume. In past postings, I have written on many of these aspects, gleaned from all kinds of these sources, and again I would like to share some with you now.  Hopefully these will give you some other ideas to help make your resume stand out more than it currently does.

In previous posts, a lot of the tips were more focused on the printed and handed in type of physical resume. One of the biggest suggestions that I had, one that was culminated from so many sources and  stood out as one of the keys tips being promoted, was that of avoiding the “cookie cutter” resume technique; where you have a single resume format for any and all positions you apply for.

The suggestion was to tweak each resume to specifically focus on aspects of the job being applied for. Each resume should be highlighting aspects of your skills and experience that focus on the job requirements and company’s needs. This type of tip is a bit more difficult to apply to the online resume aspect, which is what I wish to discuss at this time.

One common mistake that is most likely to happen when producing an online resume is that since there is no restriction on the page length, the resume can become very long and filled with too much information. Too much information can be as detrimental as having bad information.  Most people want to put everything they have ever done out there, hoping something in it will catch the eye of someone. You first need to understand what the resume is for. It is not written to land a job, but to land an interview that will then hopefully land that job. Keep the resume short and concise and focused on the key position you are best suited for.

Instead of filling it with long and boring details, use qualities (e.g., creative, disciplines, problem solver) that can be connected with real life instances and work experiences. Back up these strengths with real life experiences you have had, so as to make them more than just filler material.

Many companies currently use sophisticated digital databases to search for candidates, and with it the HR departments can run various queries looking for specific keywords. It is important that your resume contains those types of keywords that might be looked for. These keywords are often nouns, and you should look at many different job ads to get a good feel for which keywords would be best for your skills and career field.

The cold hard truth is, most companies scan through resume files quickly, and each one is skimmed for key information. So the goal is to use titles and keywords that catch the eye of the hiring agent. The section titles on your resume should be descriptive of your past experience, and not just generic. For instance, instead of just listing the experience as “accounting” – make it more descripted, such as “Management of A/R and A/P and Recordkeeping.” Another related aspect to making the quick perusal by the hiring agent more fruitful, use bullet points instead of paragraphs. Bullets can be scanned quickly; paragraphs require the eyes to slow down and read in more detail; something that companies may not do depending on the size of the company and amount of resume files to process.

Proofread, proofread, and pass it to others to proofread. Posting resumes online does not always give you the benefit of a spell/grammar checker, and posting information with typos can hurt you more than you might expect. It is important that you proofread, and proofread again and even better to have others read through it.

These are some of the more common issues with online resumes that need to be considered and can be the first step to a more productive job search. If you have experiences that you’d like to share on this topic, we’d love to hear them.

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