| Most frequent resume
mistakes |
| Please, be original.
Don't make these common mistakes. |
| |
| Mistake: |
Inventing a new name
for the university |
| Correct: |
Use the full name, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, or use the official
shortened name, Virginia Tech.
Or use the full name with the shortened name in parentheses for
future reference. |
| |
DO include the location as "Blacksburg,
Virginia" (or you may abbreviate state names). |
| |
DON'T include street addresses
and zip codes of school and work locations. |
| |
|
| Mistake: |
Listing a personal
web site that contains inappropriate content. |
| Correct: |
See listing
your personal web site URL on your resume. |
| |
|
| Mistake: |
Using really small
fonts |
| Correct: |
Employers are typically
reading many resumes, and are taking less than half a minute to
read one. |
| |
Really small fonts are hard to read
and don't photocopy as well. (That applies to your address block
as well.) |
| |
What's too small? Generally don't
go smaller than a 10 point, but notice that all font styles aren't
sized equally. For example, a 10 point Arial font is smaller than
a 10 point Antique Olive. |
| |
|
| Mistake: |
Really wide margins
with content squeezed in the middle. |
| Correct: |
Your margins should be
at least one half inch. You really don't need more than one inch. |
| |
Lots of students ask if their resumes
have "enough white space." An employer isn't reading white
space. |
| |
Employers are reading your content,
and you want it to be easy to see. |
| |
|
| Mistake: |
Long wordy descriptions
in your objective and elsewhere. |
| Correct: |
You don't need complete
sentences in your resume. |
| |
Concise, understandable phrases are
sufficient. |
| |
Look at the examples in resume
formats and samples. |
| |
Ask for a Career Services
advisor's assistance in editing your resume through walk-in
advising. |
| |
|
| Mistake: |
Typos. |
| Correct: |
You have one chance to
make a first impression. In many cases, your resume, or your resume
plus a cover letter, are the only things an employer has to base
an impression of you. |
| |
The resume is a critical document
for presenting yourself. The view is that if you would make a mistake
on your resume, you'll probably make a lot more mistakes on the
job. |
| |
It's easy to miss your own typos.
Use spellcheck, but remember it won't catch every error. Frightening
example: If you leave the first "l" out of "public
relations," spellcheck is not going to let you know. Get the
idea? Ask friends to proofread. |
| |
|
| Mistake: |
Using too complicated
a format; getting too creative. |
| Correct: |
The employer typically spends about
15 to 30 seconds reading your resume. |
| |
Keep the layout simple and clean (like the examples
in resume formats
and samples). |
| |
Avoid too many layers of indentation. |
| |
Use one font size for the document; only make your
name larger. |
| |
Don't mix font types. |
| |
|
| Mistake: |
Using a unique, creative
layout or style to stand out from the crowd. |
| Correct: |
The best way to stand
out from the crowd is with high quality content and a clearly written,
neat, error-free document. |
| |
Employers are looking for content,
not fancy or dangerously creative layout. |
| |
Don't stand out for the wrong reason. |
