Apart from the cardinal sin of clichés (“I’m a hard worker” or “I’m a team player”), there are a few general no-nos to resume-writing. Make sure not to let any of the following sneak into your resume and you’ll never be laughed out of the “maybe pile.”
1. Typos and mistakes
Check your spelling, punctuation, formatting, and especially grammar.
2. An overly casual tone
The time to be cool is at happy hour, once you have the job! Keep your resume 100% professional.
3. Clichés
We said it once. We’ll say it again. Find a new, fresh way to express that you’re a team player or a hard worker without resorting to tired, meaningless language.
4. Multiple pages
Stick to one. Clean and simple. Remember, hiring managers don’t have a lot of time. They’ll appreciate the effort you make to keep things short and sweet.
5. Fancy formatting
Just say no to background colors, borders, graphics, hearts, or happy faces. Keep it clean.
6. Third person
Keep things in the first person. “My responsibilities included…,” “I managed…,” etc.
7. Emojis
Seriously. Just don’t.
8. Saying stupid things about yourself
Don’t give a hiring manager any material to joke about in the coffee room. Make sure you have someone read through your resume before sending it out, just so you make sure you don’t say anything cringeworthy.
9. A juvenile email address
You might think it’s really cute to have hotdogbro@me.com, but no one else does. Some combination of your first and last names at a reputable service provider will do just fine.
10. A loony font
Don’t use comic sans just to be original. Don’t use script. Don’t use anything fun. Pick a totally boring and professional font if you want your resume to actually get read.
