Dumb mistakes smart people make on resumes

(MoneyWatch) Finding a job these days is obviously no picnic, so why make it harder than it needs to be? There are a lot of simple,commonsensical things you can do to ensure you're putting your best foot forward when searching for a job. 

Recently, former employment recruiter Tisha Tolar rounded up a number of easily correctable mistakes she has seen on resumes in the budgeting blog Wisebread. Here are the highlights:

Spell check. Tolar recounts having seen many a resume that claims the candidate has "great communication skills," yet typos abound. Make sure your resume is squeaky clean -- that means a spelling and grammar check, and have someone else review it to be sure you didn't miss anything. As a hiring manager myself, I can assure you that I've personally passed on resumes with typos. Why should I waste my time with someone who doesn't spell check his or her own resume, with so many outstanding candidates to choose from?

• Your resume: Emphasize how you add value
• 5 reasons you didn't get hired
• 4 ways to make your resume more marketable

Don't stick with a template. There's nothing wrong with building your resume from a template. But if you just fill in the blanks and leave it at that, your resume will look the part. Especially if you're hunting for a more senior position, take the time to personalize your resume. Make sure it captures your career and your capabilities, and dress it up so it doesn't look like every single entry-level resume in HR's stack.

Target yourself. Whenever I have a job opening, I get a slew of applications from people who have absolutely no qualification for the role whatsoever. I have resigned myself to that, and I filter them out quickly (or, if I'm lucky, HR does that for me). But more frustrating are the resumes I get that have potential, but the candidate made no effort to align their generic resume and cover letter with the specific requirements and responsibilities with the job description. If you really want my attention, make it clear how you are a great fit for this specific role.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Tax Credits

[Dr_Dalton]

Spell check: What a trivially evil statement to make - what about those that can't see their errors? Are you saying its OK to discriminate against them? It's known that dyslexic's earn nearly 40% of their equivalently qualified co-workers and I can now see why this happens.

While dyslexics make up 3-15% of the population and they only represent < 1% of middle management positions and your statement shows why. You may think that sounds like the impact of the inability to do the job but there are a number of studies showing that they (dyslexics) make up 40-60% of entrepreneurs
( http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dys.388/abstract )( https://openair.rgu.ac.uk/handle/10059/710).

So If I got a badly spelt resume I would check the errors against the classic symptoms of dyslexia and re-merge into the 'to keep' pile. That is if I wanted to employ someone who was likely to have above average creative skills ( 60+%of top art school students are dyslexics) abilities to innovate and think 'out of the box' and have ability to get a good 'overview' of problems.

For many dyslexics putting dyslexia upfront on their resume is a good way to get a door slammed in their face, so don't expect to see it on the resume in bold. Most potential employers ( and obviously you) don't understand the up and down sides of these kinds of learning difficulties. There are many places where admitting to dyslexia is such a no-no that admitting to it is the kiss of death for their chosen career.

So come on, I would start by asking my self why, in these days of spell checkers and other tools, did someone have enough nerve to send me a badly spelt resume? Perhaps they are a risk taker.

[Conuly]

If you know you cannot spell, then get a friend to edit your resume for you. Everybody should have another person check over their work, but that goes double for dyslexics. Handing in a resume that is full of errors is like showing up for the interview in dirty jeans and a torn shirt. It shows a complete lack of respect for yourself and the other person.

[____-_____]

I'm all about "tailoring" your resume for a specific position. But please, do it with knowledge that you actually have or know you can quickly get on the job. I'm on the IT industry and have worked and still do with many incompetent people that got hired because they "tailored" their resumes with a bunch of lies. This not only affects the team morale but puts unnecessary stress on other team members.

[patric627]

...and maybe these robotic hr morons (many of whom should themselves be out of work for lack of real ability) should stop behaving with such knee-jerk reactions as described above re:discarding many resumes because the candidate(s) are 'not qualified' based on their resume.
here's a newsflash... for most people looking for a job, it's not some silly game. they have a resume which accurately reflects their work histories, and the idea of manufacturing some document which is more like a creative writing assignment just to 'tailor the resume to the position' is absurd. the fact is that the person is the person. period. they have specific histories. period. more often than not (perhaps most often) if a person is applying for a position, then that person knows he/she IS qualified to do the job, and has a real interest in the position.
if the automaton who works in hr can get by the superficial conclusion that the resume 'doesn't fit' then maybe they would find people who have abilities and qualifications due to their experiences that can work exceptionally well in a new job/field. just because something isn't obvious upon a quick scan of a resume, the person shouldn't be overlooked.
as a former member of the nyse/trader, i speak from experience when i find myself being excluded from consideration just because my experience doesn't directly address a new area i am considering, despite the fact that the attributes i have as a result of my prior career would easily allow me to function well and transition to a variety of new settings.
unfortunately corporate hiring behavior is stuck in this moronic mindset.

[careersRus]

Good advice. Personally, I don't believe in templates. You want to be different from and better than the other candidates. Hire a professional to interview you and make you stand out.