1. Spelling mistakes

The absolute number one task to do is spell check. When I see spelling mistakes in a resume, I think that this applicant is either lazy or there’s a lack of attention to detail. Two personal qualities that can affect your application immediately.

Think about it from my perspective as the boss.

I’m having a busy day. I have 40 resumes to look through and I need shortcuts to work out who is in the YES pile, who is in the NO pile. I have no MAYBE pile. And I like a very small YES pile.

So a spelling mistake gets you straight to the NO pile. Thank you for making my day a bit easier.

Learning action item: Read your resume aloud and show your resume to someone else to check for grammar and spelling mistakes.

2. Padding

So what’s worse than having very little work experience? Someone with little work experience, but a looooong resume.

Padding a resume full of descriptive words and long, dense paragraphs waste time. In fact there is a negative correlation between resume length and the amount of time I spend reading it. I’m way more likely to read a short, punchy resume.

Keep it short and punchy and no spelling mistakes… that probably gets you into the top 50% of applicants already.

Learning action item: There is nothing wrong with a short resume.

3. Designed to death

Are you applying for a graphic design or other creative role?

If no, then the less “design” the better.

Sometimes people with very little work experience feel the need to compensate by having a stand-out design. This is a mistake.

The more time you spend on resume design and adding something you think makes your resume stand out, the more likely that I think you are missing the point of a resume and the skills I need for this job.

Learning action item: Focus on making your resume flow and keep the design simple and clean.