| From the moment an ad is posted to fill an open position, resumes from eager job seekers flood the inbox and fax machine of the employer. Human Resources managers who oversee hiring for multiple positions can spend entire days doing nothing but reviewing resumes and putting them into two stacks – "call" and "no." Not surprisingly, a resume stands a better chance of landing in the right pile if it's free of the sloppy mistakes seasoned HR managers complain about seeing time and time again.
Most people need to take a good long look at their resume. Chances are great that it could be improved by doing some simple things. The following suggestions are basic. But sometimes - in a potential employee's rush to have a newer, hipper resume that shows they can do newer, cooler things - the basics are overlooked. They are rarely overlooked by potential employers.
Every Word on a Great Resume is Spelled Correctly
In these days of instant spell check, it's important to make sure that's not the only spelling tool reviewing a resume. Spell check doesn't know what to do with every word it encounters – particularly technical terms or industry specific language. A resume should be checked by at least one other set of human eyes – preferably eyes attached to a person knowledgeable in the industry of the resume maker.
Grammar Matters on Every Resume (Not Just a Teacher's Resume)
That easy-to-use grammar check function for Word documents? By all means, use it, but don't rely on it. Despite claims to the contrary, it won't always catch misusages of "their," "there," and "they're" or "it's" and "its" or "whose" and "who's." "Grammar nazis" are everywhere. Every resume needs one of its own before it is potentially sent to another.
Consistency of tenses also falls under this tip. If there's a bullet list following the words "Duties included," make certain the action verbs in the bullet list make tense sense. For example "optimizing sales performance across multiple channels" makes tense sense, whereas "optimized sales performance across multiple channels" does not make tense sense. Worse still is mixing up the tenses, so that some verbs in the bulleted list end in "ing" and some end in "ed."
Punctuation Please: A Resume's Best Friend
Punctuation is important. Periods, commas, semi-colons, colons and dashes play a part in every great resume. Make sure they play the right part. Scattershot punctuation is more than merely distracting – it can turn a well-crafted phrase about an important accomplishment into a mess of nonsense. Here too, an extra set of human eyes is needed to make certain that the punctuation of a resume is correct and consistent throughout.
Today's job market is competitive in almost every industry. Even a strong candidate with the right education and skill set can get lost in the crowd. Finding a positive way to stand apart is key. Applying these tips to a resume is a sure way to move it ahead of the pack.
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