By J. Mason
Online Career Tips Staff
If you want to get your foot in the door, you need to make sure your resume is on point. Being sloppy with your spelling, organization, or not bothering to customize it to the position you’re applying for can seriously hurt your chances. What you need are some simple tips to keep your experience in line with the job, and to get yourself noticed within the pile of applicants.
I recently sat with a Senior Recruiter from American Public University System, Beth Adams. She gave her top 5 resume mistakes, how to avoid them, and a few pet peeves from the HR side of things. Listen to her podcast below for advice on applying, functional vs. chronological resumes, and if a cover letter is necessary.
Common Resume Mistakes & How to Avoid Them by APUS
Nice that she lists all of the mistakes made, but I find the lack of actual tips frustrating. Also, if one should tailor their resume for each individual position being applied to, then how is it that a complete work history be listed on every resume? This seems contradictory. I would also suggest that instead of using automated key word search engines, recruiters spend some time actually reading the resumes they receive. I say this as someone that has been called by several recruiters over the last 6 months, many of whom seem to have almost no idea who they are speaking with. Perhaps the system is broken, not just the resumes.