You’d probably rather plant your face in your cereal than listen to a lecture on how to write the perfect resume.
Let’s face it, resume writing is SO. BORING. But it’s also SO. IMPORTANT.
So, instead of laboring through Business Writing 101 or The Rhetoric of the Resume, let’s get real about some common mistakes, and why, plain and simple, you’ve got to avoid them.
Keep your resume clean of these five mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to rocking your new business clothes on your first day in the office.
1. Teeny Tiny Font
As a military spouse, you have a billion previous homes and jobs, giving you a lot to list. But, the fastest way to alienate a potential employer is to cram it all into a one-paged resume with the smallest font possible.
Tiny font makes it hard on the reader. First, if someone has to squint and strain just to read your resume, it’s likely the entire document won’t get read. Second, if a potential employer sees a resume with practically zero white space on it, he or she will probably feel overwhelmed before reading a single word.
So, open it up a bit, and trust that it’s better to submit a clean, readable, multi-paged resume than it is to submit a one-paged prescription for bifocals and a migraine.
2. Confusing Formatting
If your potential employer has to do more than merely glance at your resume to understand how it’s organized, you’ve got a problem. Furthermore, if she takes a look at it and breaks out into hives because it’s so jumbled, don’t expect a call from her.
Formatting mistakes might include:
- Illogical Section Organization: Placing less important information above more important information or listing information out of chronological order makes it difficult for potential employers to process.
- Inconsistent Use of Boldface (or Lack Thereof): Boldfacing some headings, but not all, or avoiding boldface altogether makes it hard for the reader to follow easily.
- Inconsistent Spacing: Forgetting to design your resume with consistent margins, columns or other spatial patterns will make your reader’s eyes dart about the page, when they should be focusing on how wonderful you are. Follow the same pattern for indentations, boldfacing, margins, etc., for each heading, date, title and description.
- Distracting Design: Getting too cute with font size and style can annoy a potential employer. Stick to standard type, increase the size where it’s reasonable (like in your name or in section headings), and submit a professional-looking resume.
3. Vagueness
Being vague throughout your resume could make your potential employer wonder what the heck you’re talking about or put him right to sleep. Either situation doesn’t bode well for you, even if said employer was desperate for a nap.
Vague resume writing usually appears as a vague objective or vague descriptions of past positions. For example, a vague objective could be, “I wish to apply my excellent problem-solving skills to a rapidly growing company.” What does that really mean? How does this show your potential employer that you’re really interested in the job that he is offering? How does it show the ways you can benefit a particular niche?
Spoiler alert: it doesn’t! Into the trash it goes.
Vague writing also shows up in the bulleted lists that describe past employment. For example, to describe her position as a program director, an applicant might use these vague bullets:
- In charge of my own staff
- All programs were under my supervision
- Took care of the program budget and trimmed costs
- Helped executive director raise money
- Allowed organization to run more programs that helped more people
Yikes! How many staff, how many programs, how much money did the applicant save and raise? Quantifying your impact and adding strong action verbs, such as, “Supervised a staff of 50” or “Trimmed and redistributed program budget, which increased beneficiary impact by 75%,” will paint a clear picture of just how valuable you are.
4. Proofreading Errors
This can’t come as a surprise, so I won’t go into too much detail. With all the technology available to check spelling, grammar and punctuation, plus our good old-fashioned brains and eyeballs, it’s astonishing how many un-proofread resumes end up in front of potential employers.
In fact, proofreading is so important that many employers will immediately trash disastrous resumes. A 2018 survey conducted by TopResume found that 79% of employers considered spelling and/or grammatical errors as a deal-breaker. Plus, 52% said that missing or erroneous contact information, which could be corrected with proofreading, was also a deal-breaker.
The key takeaway here? Avoid disaster and proofread!
5. Failure to Sell Yourself
When employers write job descriptions, they’re not simply telling you what they expect you to do if you’re hired. They’re also asking you to tell them how your skills and past experiences will add value to the position. Basically, resumes that clearly aren’t tailored to the job description are usually tossed into the circular file.
Thirty-two percent of TopResume’s surveyed employers said that resumes that are “too generalized/not customized to match job listing” are deal-breakers. Although it’s tempting to maintain a blanket resume, which can easily be used to apply to numerous places, it will ultimately cost you time – and a possible job.
Potential employers might first scan your resume for key words and phrases from the job description, and then search for skills and qualifications that match their needs. Resumes that ignore this content often don’t get a second look. Resumes that are customized, without sounding fake or overdone, are usually carefully considered.
Now Go Nail Your Interview!
When your resume is clearly up to snuff, and you’ve gotten the call to discuss the position, brush up on strategies to ace your interview. Practice with a friend, a coach (or even the mirror – we won’t tell), and you’ll be a working military spouse in no time!
