3 Horrible Resume Mistakes that Make You Look Bad!
by Catapult Leaders
Do you ever wonder why you are not getting a single call to interview after applying to hundreds of jobs? We here at Catapult Leaders have reviewed more than 10,000 resumes. We’ve learned that chances are, your resume is holding you back. Make sure you aren’t committing these 3 egregious resume mistakes.
1. Writing About Your Job Assignments Instead of What You Accomplished in Each Role
In order to stand out from the many other resumes that the hiring manager will evaluate, you must highlight how what you did led to higher sales, greater profit, increased efficiency, problems you solved, awards you received, more effective organization…better results of some type for your organization and/or better performance caused by you in comparison to a previous time period or competitor.
Results. Results. Results. You need to show that you are a winner in a very competitive marketplace. You must show how you made a positive difference. Use specific examples. Use numbers to quantify your accomplishments.
2. Typographical Errors and Grammar Mistakes
Do whatever you need to do such that you don’t have any misspellings or grammar foul-ups in your resume. Few things upset a hiring manager more than a resume with run-on sentences, sentence fragments, errors in apostrophe use, pronoun disagreement, or lack of subject/verb agreement. And typos should result in a firing squad! If your resume is not perfect, then you allow the hiring manager to question your education and intelligence. Enlist a friend who is an English nerd or pay a pro to review your resume for typos and grammatical errors. Your future is on the line.
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3. Not Using Action Words and Numbers
“It’s a sorry dog that won’t wag its own tail.” You must use powerful action words to describe what you do on the job. Action words – backed up by numbers – attract the attention and support of hiring managers. If you don’t use action words, you are asking to be ignored and to have your resume dumped in the circular file. Below are just a few examples of action words you should find a way to use in your resume. There are many more action words than shown on our list. However, this is a good place to start.
Accelerated
Accomplished
Achieved
Acquired
Acted As
Advanced
Amplified
Boosted
Built
Collaborated With
Compiled
Completed
Composed
Constructed
Created
Delivered
Designed
Developed
Devised
Directed
Drafted
Enabled
Enacted
Engaged In
Enhanced
Established
Executed
Expanded
Expedited
Facilitated
Finished
Fixed
Forged
Formulated
Fostered
Generated
Grew
Guided
Headed
Hosted
Improved
Initiated
Invented
Made
Managed
Maximized
Mentored
Mobilized
Navigated
Negotiated
Operated
Orchestrated
Organized
Outpaced
Overhauled
Oversaw
Perfected
Performed
Piloted
Pioneered
Produced
Put Together
Raised
Rebuilt
Resolved
Secured
Set Up
Spearheaded
Trained
Now that you know the 3 horrendous resume mistakes all recruiting managers find cringe-worthy, shape up your resume and go get the job of your dreams.
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Catapult Leaders is America’s leading executive search firm that matches outstanding Black Mid-to-Senior level managers, Early Career talent, and College Interns with Engineering, Supply Chain, Computer & Data Science, and Marketing roles – with top companies that value a diverse pipeline, equity, and inclusion.
