Do’s and Don’ts of Resume Writing

Resume writing is not an easy task as it seems. It is much more than listing your work experience, educational details and all that stuff. One needs to follow certain rules while writing a resume. There is no place for mistakes in the form of typos and grammatical errors during resume writing work. Let us go through some do’s and don’ts of resume writing that will help you draft a perfect resume that will help you land your dream job.

Do’s of Resume writing

• Shape your resume as per the job you are applying for. Read the job description and fill your resume with the relevant job-related keywords.
• Before writing a resume, make an outline of the resume to have an idea about which sections to include and content in those sections.
• There are different types of resume formats. Choose the format that best suits your work experience, education, and skills.
• Make your resume easy to read with the right font size, font color, and font size. Keep equal margin all four sides. Use headings to highlight different sections.
• Write a resume summary that makes you stand out of the crowd. It is an elevator statement that lets hiring managers know about you briefly.
• Make use of bullet points in a resume. Include power verbs and action words like ‘analyzed’, ‘achieved’ in a resume.
• Talk in numbers when you are listing your achievements. Numbers instantly catch the attention of the hiring managers.
• Use past tense for your past job and present tense to describe your current job position. Keep this consistent throughout your resume.
• Mention the skills that the company is looking for in a candidate. Read the job description thoroughly to find the relevant skills to be listed in a resume.
• Use a professional email address that essentially has your name. Mention your correct phone number to let recruiting managers to call you.
• Proofread your resume before sending it out to hiring managers. Use tools like Grammarly to proofread your resume. You can use an online resume maker if you are not confident enough to create resume by yourself.

Don’ts of Resume Writing  

• Don’t spam your resume with irrelevant details. Resume with spammy content is instantly rejected.
• Don’t extend your resume beyond two pages. Making it longer than two pages is a huge mistake that many candidates often make.
• Don’t get too creative by using colorful and cursive fonts. It is a professional document and not a piece of art.
• Don’t start resume writing without going through the job description. Read it two three times to find the relevant keywords to be included in a resume.
• First-person pronouns like ‘I’, ‘my’ should be largely avoided.
• Don’t use passive voice in a resume. Always use active voice.
• Don’t write a lengthy resume summary or career objective. Make sure these are not more than four sentences in length.
• Don’t list every work experience you ever had. Mention the best and the most relevant work experience.
• Don’t ever mention any false information in a resume. It can put you in trouble later on and even cost you your job.
• Don’t mention your percentage or GPA score if it is low. This can hurt your chances of getting selected.
• Don’t list every single thing that you know in the name of skill. List the skills that recruiters are looking for. Also, don’t list the obsolete skills.
• Don’t use a funny or unprofessional email address in a resume. It is really important to use a professional email address.
• Don’t include a photo in a resume unless you are applying for a position where appearance matters.

So, next time, while writing a resume, keep these do’s and don’ts in mind. These will help you in writing a perfect resume.

Related reading: Hire the Right Candidates with the help of Recruitment Agencies & Placements Services..

For additional background, see Wikipedia.

You may also find useful information from USA.gov.