7 Ways to Ruin Your Resume ...

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A cover letter is extremely important when it comes to applying for a new job. It briefly summarises a lot of what is already in your resume, such as why you are applying for the job and what you think that you could offer.

A company does want to know about their employees' personal lives. This is why there is normally a hobbies or interests section at the end. However, they do not want to read a personal statement right at the beginning of your resume that rants on all about you, what you hope to achieve out of life and so on. Yes your goals are important but a potential employer wants you to think about the company and how you would have a positive effect on the company.

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The last thing that the potential employer wants to see is that you have not even taken the time to read through your own resume before sending it. This shows laziness to the company and in my opinion they are likely to assume that you do not care that much about whether you get the job.

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If you do not mention your previous employment skills and how you feel that this will help the business and so on, how do you expect the potential employer to know whether you are suitable for the role? It is very important to make links between all of your employment history because it shows how you have developed over time.

One thing that many employers really dislike is vague descriptions of your past experience or skills. Even though you are trying not to make your resume too long, make sure that what you are saying is clear and concise.

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It is important that when applying for a job you make your resume relate to it; do not send the exact same resume to every single company. In my opinion it is important to take the time to read the job description thoroughly, and then pick out key skills and as long as you posses these skills include them in your resume. Also in your personal statement section make a link to the role that you are applying for.

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Potential employers do not want to trawl through pages and pages of past experience plus employment; they do not want long sentences. Try to keep your resume to a maximum of three pages. This does not mean miss out vital pieces of information. What it means is to be succinct in what you say, do not be really descriptive but use very precise keywords.

There you have 7 ways to ruin your resume. These tips should help to show you what you should and should not do when you are applying for a job. Do you have any tips on how to make your resume more appealing? Do tell!

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