In this day and age, resumes (and your LinkedIn profile) have become your best way to market yourself as a professional. Resumes are a snapshot of your professional brand, and we admit…it’s no easy task.

Resumes must be scannable and well-summarized to accommodate often overwhelmed employers and they must touch on certain keywords that your desired employer is looking for. Presenting a well-optimized resume will not only impress recruiters but it will get you hired in 2021.

So, what should you not include on your resume? Is there something that recruiters prefer not to see? Here are some resume tips to help you land the job.

The Top Resume Mistakes to Avoid 

• Getting Too Lengthy

Putting your job history on your resume is a must, but you must consider what information is most valuable to include on your resume as well. Our rule of thumb is that if you’re under 30, having a one-page resume is sufficient. For anybody else, two pages is ideal and three pages is the absolute max.

All in all, it’s critical to make sure that your resume has impact and will contain things pertinent to your next career move.

• Lacking Metrics

A resume should primarily demonstrate your greatest strengths and the unique experiences that you bring to the table. Highlighting this can be accomplished by  bulleting your achievements and results-based metrics. Employers tend to be most interested in quota performance, client growth, budget-savings, and other quantifiable results that prove you didn’t just do your job, but exceeded expectations.

• Bad Formatting

Formatting is everything. Here are a few things to watch for as you write/update your resume.

• Bullets – By adding bullets, you help recruiters get chunks of information quickly and easily. This will make their job a whole lot easier. (This also shows that you value their time!)
• Bold – Use bold subheads to allow employers to scan quickly and find what they’re looking for. Again, this is a time saver for the recruiter.
• Paragraphs – Check your paragraphs. Paragraphs are fine, but keep your paragraphs to five lines max.
• Layout – Finally, the traditional layout, which requires an employer to read the text all the way across the page is fading. Using a column resume layout prevents reader fatigue and showcases more of your specialties all at once.

• Spelling Mistakes

Spelling matters when it comes to your resume. There are no longer any excuses for having typos on your resume because of spell-check. Microsoft Word will update you on any misspellings, and Grammarly can also do the same.

By overlooking a spelling mistake, you communicate to the recruiter that you didn’t care to review your resume before sending it to the team.

• Career Objective

Having a career objective section on your resume is a thing of the past. Your resume is not a letter. It’s a marketing piece and should reflect that same spirit.

A career objective  “tells an employer what you want from them, when the focus should really be on the employer’s needs.” – Wendy Enelow, co-author of Modernize Your Resume: Get Noticed…Get Hired.

Are You Looking to Get Hired?

2020 was a crazy year for all of us. From missing out on planned events like weddings and graduations to experiencing changes in your career, we can all agree that it’s been a ride.

But if you are ready to put 2020 behind you and look towards 2021, we are here to help. Check out our job board with some of our latest job opportunities!