Those who apply to companies like Google understand they need to stand out if they are going to land a coveted position. However, when what separates you from the crowd is the mistakes and errors in your resume, your chances of being offered the job diminish quickly.
Even if you have no intention of applying for a position at Google, designing your resume so it would impress their hiring managers, many of whom have seen thousands of resumes over the course of their career, increases your odds of making a positive impression on any hiring manager. To help you stand out for all of the right reasons, here are a few resume mistakes you need to avoid.
Typos
Spelling and grammar errors are usually considered red flags by hiring managers, leading them to question a candidate’s written communication skills, attention to detail, and more. While most job seekers understand typos can hurt their chances of being selected, a shocking number of resumes contain these kinds of errors.
Often, it’s hard to spot mistakes in your own writing, largely because you knew what you were trying to say, making it easier to gloss over the missteps. If you want to make sure your resume is error-free, consider having a trusted friend review your resume for typos. You can also review the document yourself, but make sure to change the font temporarily, as the slightly different look can make issues simpler to identify.
Length
When you want to craft a strong resume, brevity is your friend. Ideally, you don’t want to exceed two pages with this critical document, though one page is usually sufficient if you have less than 10 years of previous experience.
If you are having trouble managing the length, remember, you don’t have to chronicle every aspect of your career. Instead, pare down the content by truly targeting your resume to the role, eliminating any extra information that isn’t pertinent.
Formatting
Some job seekers think one way to stand out is to use creative or stylistic formatting choices when designing their resume. While making your resume attractive can be a good idea, you should never sacrifice readability in favor of design.
Instead, a well-formatted resume is going to reflect more positively on you than a creative one that is challenging to read or doesn’t flow logically. Unless you work in an artistic or design-oriented profession, focus on making your resume clean and legible by balancing text with white space and using proper headings to divide the content.
Then, before you submit your resume, try opening it with both Microsoft Word and Google Docs, two of the most commonly used options. This allows you to make sure the formatting doesn’t go haywire if it is opened with a different program.
By following the tips above, you can make sure your resume is set to impress any hiring manager, no matter where you intend to apply. If you’d like to learn more, the professionals at CPS Recruitment can help. Contact us to speak with a skilled member of our team today and see how our resume expertise can benefit you.