10 Resume Don’ts Resumes, oh resumes. It’s difficult to really pinpoint the perfect design for a professional resume. That is because there isn’t one. Resume style is all about personal preference. However, there are some general guidelines that you can follow and some common mistakes you can avoid to make sure that your resume stands out – no matter what style you go for. Here are 10 don’ts when it comes to resume writing.
Cramming Word on the street is that people take a whole six seconds to review a resume. Don’t even think about writing long paragraphs or including full blocks of text. It will not be read. Guaranteed.
Font For the most part, stick to common fonts. No one will respect a resume written in bubble-letters. This is not a middle school party invitation. This is a professional resume. On very rare occasions (creative industries), slightly unusual fonts may be acceptable. But be very careful about not crossing the line.
Irrelevant Information Most employers don’t need a full life’s history. Although you don’t want to omit past experiences (leaving holes in your resume), you don’t need to go into detail about irrelevant lines of work. Highlight only the jobs and skills that you have developed that are applicable to the job you are applying for.
Colors Don’t use colors. Stick to black and white.
Pictures Unless it is essential for a specific industry (like modeling or acting) don’t include photos. It distracts employers from the content of your resume. They will waste several of those precious six seconds on your picture and never get to the good stuff.
Middle School E-mails Be careful about what contact information you give. If you are still using your juvenile, middle school email, you might want to consider getting a new, more professional one. Being known as pinkunicornlover4evr will not lend much credibility to you professionally.
Headers Avoid putting information (especially contact information) in headers or footers. It could fly for hard copies, but if you send in electronic copies, headers are easy to overlook. Make sure all of your essential information is clear and unmistakable.
No Online Links These days, it is becoming imperative to include a URL for your online profiles. Especially if you have a common name, employers might end up looking at the wrong LinkedIn profile if you don’t provide the proper URL for them.
Being Inconsistent Be careful with your formatting when you include dates, descriptions, and chronologies. If you use months in one job history, include months in all your job descriptions. If you organize your work history in reverse chronological order, make sure your public service, education, and other categories are reverse order as well.
Excluding Non-professional Experiences Don’t underestimate the value of your free time. If you have hobbies, experiences, volunteer opportunities, etc., that have built character, skills, or perspectives that may be useful to the company/job you are applying for, include them on your resume! Employers are interested in you as a whole person, not just a pencil pusher. Visit your Nampa College Campus for even more help on designing your professional resume!
Photo Credit: Scott Kellum, Jesus Arpon ,