When looking at a resume, a hiring manager decides whether they like your resume within six to eight seconds: you must make an impression almost immediately! The resume’s goal is to stand out and hopefully land an interview, but not to stand out for all the wrong reasons.
Today, we’ll spotlight three common mistakes our recruiters have seen when analyzing resumes: bad grammar, unexplained gaps in employment, and generic and/or overdone resume filler. But rest easy! if you take these suggestions and opportunities to heart, you’ll be that much closer to crafting a resume worth reading and nailing that interview for your dream job.
1. Bad Grammar Dilutes Your Achievements
Bad grammar is one of the biggest signs of unprofessionalism to an employer.
Before you send out your resume, call up a friend or two and have them look at it with you. After reading something so many times, we may not even notice an error that other people would see.
The bottom line is that having people to bounce ideas off of will give you a chance to test out what a recruiter would read, so actively seeking out and getting that feedback from people you trust is important. There are also plenty of browser plugins that check your grammar in real time! Don’t always rely on this, though, because as good as a computer is, it may not pick up on words with double meanings or the correct word that is just in the wrong spot.
Grammar is a fundamental indicator of attention-to-detail, and your resume language is the first indicator of your professionalism; you want people to see your achievements, not be hung up on your grammar goofs.
2. Unexplained Employment Gaps Can Make Recruiters Pass You Over
Gaps in employment don’t have to be a deal breaker if they are addressed professionally and purposefully. Some common employment gaps might be because of:
- Prolonged sickness.
- Adjusting to having a family.
- Balancing class schedules.
- Military deployment or volunteer work.
When addressing a gap, letting a hiring manager know that you started a family or recovered from a period of sickness is so much better than leaving it blank and leaving it up to the recruiter to try and connect the dots.
It's been said that all assumptions are negative assumptions, so don't leave this gap open to chance! Talk about it. Many recruiters will see the unexplained gaps and simply pass over them, rather than implore the candidate because they have to get through so many resumes, which has the added effect of placing your application in a slightly disadvantageous light,... only without you knowing about it.
Don’t be ashamed of your reason for having a career gap, and just make sure you can answer that question confidently and professionally. Being upfront and honest shows your values and integrity, which is something recruiters look for outside of relevant work experience.
3. Generic and Filler Resume Information Doesn’t Show Off Your True Skills
Lastly, when filling out your resume, you should craft something that is unique and not the generic response that is so common in many resumes.
The mistake many people make when trying to improve their resume is padding it with generic filler information. Just a quick pro tip here - doing this doesn’t make you seem special, it just comes across as repetitive and uninspired.
No recruiter will look at your resume and see words like “hard-working” and “people person” and drop everything they are doing to call you. As an employee, being hard-working and pleasant to be around is expected, along with many other baseline behavioral norms.
Instead of saying you’re hard working, list your achievements that prove that these accomplishments came to life and were a direct result of your roles and duties. Presenting hard data and metrics work well, especially if the position you're applying for has significant 'proof of life' criteria when it comes to either creative work, marketing and sales results, or numerical quotas and criteria that were measurable and time-bound.
Recruiters want tangible examples of your work ethic; anyone can just say that they work hard, and it won’t mean anything unless they can back it up. By explaining your achievements through factual examples of your work, you stand out for the right reason.
Standing Out Is All in the Specifics & Skills
Writing a resume is a skill, and you won’t ever get it right the first time. Resumes are living and breathing documents, not static pieces of paper.
By using professional and correct grammar, explaining your employment gaps readily and with confidence, and by trimming the filler and proving your worth by mastering metrics, you can have a resume that will help you stand out in the eyes of a recruiter. A good resume is key to landing an interview and getting noticed,... just make sure they notice you for the right reasons.
What Are The 5 Top Tips For A Resume?
It probably won’t come as a surprise that there are a lot of things you need to factor into creating your resume. There will always be new advice and new top tips, but here are some basic things you can always consider:
- Tailor your resume to each job you apply for: we know this can be time-consuming! But when competition is high, you won’t stand out with a generic resume.
- Quantify your achievements: If you work in marketing, for example, quantify how much impact you made in a campaign, rather than simply saying “increased social media following”, tell the recruiter by what percentage!
- Proofread, proofread, and then proofread again: As we said before, it can be easy to miss a grammatical mistake when you’re so used to reading over the text. Come back to it again to proofread before sending it off to a friend or relative.
- Use active language: Action verbs can help make your statements more impactful while also shortening your resume.
- Ensure your resume is formatted correctly and easy to read: It’s worth doing some research on templates and the best way to format your resume for the industry you’re in. Our top tip is to try to keep it below two pages.
Interested in a Career in Travel And Hospitality With Westgate?
We’re always thrilled to meet inspired, hard-working, creative candidates who want to make a real impact in the hospitality landscape. Explore our open positions and discover the Westgate difference today!
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