How to Ruin Your Resume
Posted in Resume Basics
Writing a job resume can take some careful planning to prepare if you really consider it to become very effective. Although there are challenges that come with preparing it, there are also many other ways that some people can also ruin it. Wrecking your job resume proves to be easier to do than writing it effectively.
Hiring managers as well as employers have spent quite a considerable amount of time reading job resumes from many applicants. You can be sure that they really know how to determine which ones are the good ones and which ones are not. They also have knowledge on what to look for and consider if a certain job resume does not work to serve its purpose, that is to land a job applicant the job. Here are some of the things that they look for.
Use Of Empty Phrases
A common problem among job applicants in preparing their job resumes is that they are trying to impress hiring managers the wrong way. And one of the wrong ways is by trying to use impressive but fairly empty phrases.
Although the serve their purpose to impress, most hiring managers know better than to be led in to them. They would sure impress the one who would write it, but hiring managers are experienced enough that they means absolutely nothing. Finding them gives managers the idea that job applicants are seeking to impress rather than showing what he or she is really capable of.
Empty phrases are essentially words that may sound grandiose but would prove nothing when it comes to showing a job applicant's achievements and capabilities. One such example is the phrase "proficient in identifying problems".
Although at first glance, such a phrase would somehow look impressive and be associated with a person's skills, it does not actually mean anything. Companies look for people who know how to find solutions and not merely identify the problems. A more effective method would be citing certain instances that demonstrate problem solving skills rather than just using empty phrases.
Using Certain Buzzwords
Just like using empty phrases, many job applicants also are keen on using certain buzzwords that seem to impress but actually does the opposite. These buzzwords usually come and go with what's considered the latest. But all in all, they just seek to put some color into a job resume and nothing else.
The main reason why hiring managers are turned off by certain colorful jargon and buzzwords is that they are quite hard to prove. "Creative", "Innovative", "Dynamic" and ""Pro-active" are just some of the more common buzzwords found in many job resumes. They do set a certain level of impression when read.
But job applicants should try to use them as sparingly as possible. Again, a better alternative is to "show" your capabilities to hiring managers by citing achievements at work and not just merely "telling" them.
