By Pascal Oparada
Employers have just about ten seconds to look at your resume, experts say. If you wish to be an instant with any employer, you need to rid your resume of some dreadful sins that could cost you a great deal.
Don’t add the word Resume
Employers know that is what it is, resume. So why add it in the first place? We know in the days of yore, we used to write CV or Resume at the very top. But these days, experts believe it is awkward to write ‘Resume’ or ‘CV’ on your resume when in fact that is what it actually is.
Be careful what you say your hobbies are
After going through a trove of resumes, an employer saw one that stood out. Or so he thought. The candidate ruined a golden opportunity by saying her hobbies are ‘praying, singing praises and fasting and prayer’. That put a nail in the coffin of her ambition to land a good job.
You have to be careful not to include things that employers may consider inappropriate for the job or position you are applying for. Don’t include unrelated hobbies on your resume.
Grammar School or High School.
In Nigeria, we call it secondary school. Unless you are still in high school, you have no reason to include it on your resume. Employers look out for your highest level of education before considering you for any position in their companies. So, including your high school is considered a waste of employers’ precious time.
Physical characteristics
Things like height, weight, eye colour, hair colour or such inane things should never find their way into your resume. By including your characteristics, you may be de-marketing yourself or employers may see you as being pushy.
Low GPA
Don’t give your employers the impression that you were dumb in school. By including your scores in a resume, you have already brought down your value before the employer.
Unrelated work experience
Say you are applying for the position of a marketer in an organization, but your resume says you have an experience as a receptionist. You have just killed your chance of landing the job. Employers want to know that you have been consistent with your career for the position you are applying for. This gives them some kind of confidence that you have the requisite experience to handle the job.
Obsolete skills
Are your skills up to date? Do you still tell employers you can type an average of 100 words per minute or that you can use MS office documents? Get rid of these obsolete skills from your resume. This is a digital age. Employers want to know you are up to date with relevant digital experiences. If you lack any, maybe you should spend the time to acquire new ones while searching for a job.
Reference available on request
We are all guilty this sin. It is better you don’t put any reference at all than telling employers you would provide them referees when they request for them. You come off as arrogant to them. If you have referees, list them, but ensure you have their consent before doing so.
An objective that states what you want.
Instead of saying what you want from a job, why not write a career summary. You can do a little personal branding on your resume that highlights what you can offer an employer.
In view
Do not state what you have not yet accomplished in your resume. If you are acquiring a new skill or undergoing any job, it is best you keep that to your chest until you are done. Employers may see that as a negative or unrealistic word.
Personal data beyond your contact information
In these days of social media, it is not of your employers business to know anything about your social media acclivities. Keep them out of your resume, unless requested for by the employer.
Go ahead and rewrite your resume and land that dream job. Good luck.
