Three Ways Your Resume Looks Like the Rest

Today's job market is packed with seekers looking for employment in a variety of fields. A solid resume can be your key to success, but resume mistakes can just as easily derail your hopes and ambitions. Learning to spot resume mistakes that cause your resume to get lost in the pile or discarded out of hand can give you an edge in a crowded market.

A resume that looks too much like others in the field can be one of the most costly resume errors. One of the biggest resume mistakes that leads to this problem is failure to keep up with the latest trends in layout. Employers who see classic lines, like objectives, on resumes that are missing more modern elements are likely to remain unimpressed. Modern resumes should avoid the tried-and-neglected objective field and include areas for skill sets. Listings of developed skills are far more important to hiring managers, and they show that you keep your resume, and likely your knowledge of the field, up to date.

Another issue that can derail your otherwise excellent resume and make it look too much like others is a failure to customize the information. This means departing from standard templates commonly found in word processing programs as well as tailoring the information to the job for which you are applying. Few jobs are created equal, even if they have the same title, and you should customize your resume to meet the needs and expectations of your desired role. This means reorganizing the information and ensuring that every line is pertinent to the job requested and the company where you seek to work.

Certain resume phrases can also make your resume fail to stand out from the others. Many applicants are beginning to understand the importance of keywords, but they may fail to recognize the difference between legitimate keywords and generic buzzwords. If your resume is full of buzzwords that mean little and sound more like an ego boost than a list of accomplishments, it is likely to be buried under tens or hundreds of resumes with similar phrases. An excellent resume needs to focus on the successes that brought you to where you are today. To avoid this set of resume mistakes, replace instances of self-aggrandizing promotion on your submission with lists of things you have accomplished in former roles.

These three major types of resume mistakes can quickly get your submission filed away with other all-too-similar applications. Customizing the information in your resume and using modern formats can go a long way towards getting your submission noticed. Avoiding self-aggrandizing speech and focusing on your accomplishments can be the most important step away from resume mistakes and towards the opportunity to shine in your desired role.

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