The 3 Biggest Mistakes on Your Resume

MYA MENDOLA

A solid resume is a surefire way to put students ahead on the search for an internship, a full-time position, or even a side hustle. Resumes are often the job’s first impression of an applicant and are meant to summarize a person on paper. This makes every resume a little different, contingent on personal preference, industry preference, and situation. Because of this, it is tremendously important to be proud of how you are presenting yourself on that single sheet. While on the journey of creating a document you can be proud of, there are three elements to consider to bring your paper identity to the next level. These are three common mistakes that, once corrected, will set students on a path of success.

1. You aren’t using your resume enough because you underestimate your qualifications.

According to Rebecca Dordel, Carlson School Career Coach, “the job description is a treasure map.” It lays out what the employers are looking for entirely. However, it is not necessary to meet every single job description requirement to apply for the position. If you meet the majority of the requirements, Rebecca Dordel says, you are still a very strong candidate. This is important to recognize because studies have shown that younger applicants and women tend to shy away from applying to jobs

they meet every requirement. According to LinkedIn behavioral studies, women apply to 20% fewer jobs than men. This mindset is simply underestimating your qualifications, work ethic, and ability to do the job asked of you. Confidence is important, and using the job description as a treasure map, reflecting those requirements on your resume, and applying for jobs where you meet the majority of the requirements, will enhance your opportunities.

2. You do not prove your soft skills

In some industries, a skill section is commonly included in applicant’s resumes, and how you present your hard and soft skills affects the strength of your resume. According to career coach Rebecca Dordel, “there is a difference between showing and telling; showing is demonstrating your skills through evidence whereas telling is asking an employer to take your word for it.” With this in mind, Dordel recommends using evidence to support your soft skills in the bullet points underneath work or involvement experiences. Hard skills, such as languages, or software proficiency can just be listed. This is simply because the employer can ask you to prove your hard skills, but not necessarily your soft skills.

When possible, including any hard skills you learned from your job, no matter what job it is, works well to enhance soft skills. For example, if you waitressed at a pizza place, stating that you enhanced your communication skills in a high-stress environment is a good bullet point. However, a great bullet point would include how you did that: you collaborated with your coworkers by using a specific form of technology, and that caused a certain amount of customer satisfaction, and so on.

3. Your Formatting Doesn’t Include the “zingers”

You may have the best content, best experience, best qualifications for a job, but if you are missing the “zingers,” or keywords, on your resume, you may be facing the “no” pile right off the bat. Unfortunately, some companies do use ATS, or an applicant tracking system, that looks for keywords to sort resumes into a “yes” and “no” pile. There are a few ways to approach this problem. First of all, referring to the job description may help when trying to decide what language or phrasing to use to meet the keywords. Another way to negate the yes and no pile is to prioritize networking events. Rebecca Dordel states that the career fair and other events that focus on networking and real conversation between employers and possible employees don’t work like a “yes” and “no” pile. This is because, when students have the opportunity to have real interactions with employers, suddenly their resumes become 3-dimensional. Stressing about the “yes” and “no” pile has a few simple solutions: check the job description, attempt to make appearances, and prioritize having actual conversations.

There is no one formula to build the perfect resume. A resume is you on paper, and everybody’s situation, experience, and field are different. Although every resume is different, the three common mistakes you can make on your resume are all linked by the theme of not effectively explaining your strengths. Once you master describing yourself on one sheet of paper, you will notice that you’re proud of the document not because you “fixed mistakes” but rather because you highlighted what you have to offer as an employee. For further resources on resume building and career hunting, visit the University of Minnesota career services website.