Continued…
- Unwanted hobbies: Strictly avoid adding unwanted hobbies or interests like chatting, surfing, or making friends in the list of hobbies. It is very suggestive as to what you may do at work—chat, surf, and gossip with friends. Who would want to have such people in their organization?
- Avoid non-relevant hobbies, interests, or responsibilities in favor of more relevant and meaningful information. During the personal interviews, you may talk about your hobbies or interests in detail.
- You may add hobbies that is related to the position you are applying for. For example, gardening (as a hobby) makes sense to the recruiter if the position you are applying for has something to do with horticulture or agriculture. Reading and writing adds value if you applying for the position of a technical communicator. In any case, these days written communication is a basic requirement for any job.
- An unprofessional email address. Do not use your fun email account for professional correspondence. For example, sexy_girl@gmail.com or greatguy@yahoo.com. Recruiters are not interested in recruiting a sexy girl or a great guy. Email accounts are free from Gmail, Yahoo, etc. So you can create another account for professional correspondence.
- Fabrication, Lies, Exaggerations: All through this article, you are told that you have to grab the attention of the readers. True, but do not use gimmicks to grab their attention. Exaggerating or lying about experiences, designations, achievements, employment gaps, or educational qualifications help you in job search. But, fabricating professional history and achievements will have dire consequence.
These days employers verify facts on the resumes. So the lie(s) and exaggeration(s) will be caught. You may get hired by giving false experiences and skills, but it will also give false hopes to the employers. Your performance will speak about your real skills and expertise. You may not be able to sustain in you new position, display your potential, and enjoy professional growth. Your employer will not take much time to find out that you lied on your resume. Suddenly, you will find that they are critical about your performance because their expectations don’t match your performance and they may look at you with sudden suspicion.
- Negativity: Avoid saying what you did not do or have not yet accomplished. Instead focus on what you have done or are in the process of achieving. For example:
- If you are still in college, do not mention that you have not yet graduated. Instead list the year in which you will graduate.
- Instead of saying that you have limited experience in xyz area, mention that you have used xyz for 4 months.
- Your photograph. Avoid attaching your photo. Remember, your appearance has nothing to do with your ability to do the job. You will be hired based on your experience, skills, and abilities. Including a photo comes across as either naïve, or unprofessional, or a narcissist. You need to add you photograph(s) only if you are applying for a job as a model or actor.
- Incorrect contact information. The ultimate goal of the résumé is to get you the interview, and if your email address or phone number is incorrect, the employer won’t be able to contact you. Minor typos in this section of the résumé have major consequences. Always list your telephone number that is easily assessable.
Most companies prefer the convenience of contacting applicants by phone during day time. If you are not in a position to take calls during the day time, mention why. If possible, mention a small duration (10-15 minutes) in the day time when they can call you.
- Self-assessments: Avoid subjective descriptions about self like hard worker, great leadership skills, ethical, creative innovator, team player, detail-oriented, etc. These are things that others should be saying about you or that you can illustrate through examples during your interview. They have no meaning when you say it yourself. Instead, give examples and evidence of these assertions for each position listed on your résumé. In short, highlight your achievements—prove how you did a good job instead of mentioning that you are good at work.
- Any mention of high school. If you’re more than a few years past your high school graduation date, employers don’t care which high school you attended or how accomplished you were there. Keep any mention of high school off your resume.
- Your salary. As a rule, do not include your present salary or the salary history in the resume. By giving a number that’s too high, you will probably lose the opportunity. By giving a number that’s low, you will end up compromising your negotiating power. You should keep it out of your resume.
- References. Avoid any mention of references, including the statement, references are available upon request. It goes without saying that if asked for, you will have to provide references— that goes without saying.
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