EMPLOYERS' RESUME PET PEEVES:
 1. Busy paper or paper with pictures in the background.
Resumes printed on busy paper are difficult to read. Professional resumes should always be printed on plain white paper. Most resumes are faxed and scanned multiple times. White paper ensures that your resume is legible at all times.
2. Resumes written in paragraph form.
Resumes written in essay style take too much effort to read and are more likely to be passed over. Skills and responsibilities should be well spaced on the page and presented in bullet form. This will increase the chances of your resume being read.
3. Resumes that are too long or too wordy.
Do not include all experiences since high school (unless you are a student) or irrelevant experience. Keep your resume short and to the point. Highlight those transferable skills and experiences that are relevant to the particular position you are applying for.
4. Decorative lettering or hand-written resumes.
Resumes should always be typed in plain, easy-to-read fonts (e.g. Times New Roman or Arial). Decorative fonts or hand-written resumes are difficult to read.
5. No dates.
Employers use dates to gauge experience levels. The omission of dates immediately creates the impression that you have something to hide. Be honest and up front about your employment history.
6. Too much information crammed into one page.
Do not use a smaller font size or write in essay style in order to get more information on a page. Employers are more likely to read your resume and find the required information when it is well spaced on the page.
7. No need for references.
There is no need to send your references with your resume unless it is specifically asked for in the job advertisement. Be sure to bring a printed list of your references to the interview.
8. Photocopied resumes.
Some photocopiers leave black lines or other marks on the copy. This looks unprofessional to the prospective employer. Make sure your resume is printed on clean white paper and that there are no marks and/or stains on the paper.
9. Education not stated.
Education should be stated especially if the employer requires a specific level of education (e.g. bachelor's degree).
10. Copies sent daily or weekly.
Do not send more than one copy of your resume unless important information has been added. Employers only need one copy of your resume .
11. Spelling or grammar errors.
Errors on your resume look unprofessional and indicate a careless attitude. It tells the employer that you do not pay attention to detail.
12. Resumes addressed to "Dear Sirs".
Please address your cover letter or resume to the contact person indicated on the job posting. If no contact name is listed, research the company and find the name of the person responsible for hiring. Remember to indicate the position you are applying for clearly on your cover letter.
13. Dates not in reverse chronological order.
Employers are most interested in the work experiences of the last 5-10 years. Make it easier for the employer by listing your work experience starting with your current or most recent position. List your other positions in reverse order from this point.
14. No cover letter.
Cover letters are important tools to get the attention of employers. Resumes are formal, structured communication tools. Cover letters gives you the opportunity to express what type of person you are, the skills you have to offer and your interest in the position.
15. General resume with no clear job objective or with no indication of job sought.
Specify which position you are applying for in your cover letter or indicate a general field e.g. adminstrative. Employers do not have the time to guess which position you are applying for especially when they are hiring for multiple positions.
16. Messy, unorganized - having to search for information, slapped together.
Use headings, dates and concise sentences to organize your information. Resumes are a reflection of your thought process and are your only chance to get an interview. Make sure that the employer does not miss any information.
17. Addressed to the wrong person, especially when information is given in ad.
Details are very important when applying for a position. You want to make a good impression and stand apart from the rest of the applicants. If you address your resume to the wrong person you immediately put yourself at a disadvantage.
18. Over or under applying for a position.
Don't apply for a position if you know that you do not have the skills required i.e. a landscaper applying for senior administrative position.
19. Personal information and everyday hobbies.
Employers are not always interested in your extracurricular activities. They are looking for your paid employment experiences. You may add volunteer work experiences if it is relevant to the position.
20. No experience noted.
Employers need to know about your skills and experiences in order to consider you for an interview. If you do not state your experiences you will most likely not be considered for an interview.
21. Inappropriate application to a company (i.e. no idea what the company does - no need for the person's skills.
It is important to do research on a company before sending your resume. You need to make sure that the company would require someone with your skills, i.e. an electrical company would not necessarily hire someone with a medical background.
22. People who state in the cover letter that they will follow up but do not.
An employer would doubt your commitment if you fail to follow up on your resume after stating in your cover letter that you would be in contact.
23. Late applications.
Employers won't trust you to complete assignments on time if you could not be bothered to submit your resume for the position at the appointed time.
24. Small font size.
Resumes that are printed in a small font are difficult to read and the employer might skip over important information. It is recommended that you print your resume in size 11.
25. Form letter for the cover letter.
Cover letters should be short and to the point. No more than 3 paragraphs of about 2-4 sentences each.
26. Cover letter unsigned.
Always sign your cover letter when faxing, mailing or dropping off a resume. If you send your resume via e-mail be sure to create an electronic signature.
| WINNING RESUME TIPS AND HINTS: |
1. List your technical knowledge first in an itemized fashion.
Use as many buzz words as you can conjure up which reflect your work and school experience. This will satisfy the visual curiosities of hiring managers and OCR scanners conducting key word searches. (at Stellar, every resume is thoroughly reviewed by a real live human being)
2. List your qualifications in order of relevance, from most to least.
Only list your degree and educational qualifications first if they are truly relevant to the job for which you are applying. If you've already done what you want to do in a new job, by all means, list first, even if it wasn't your most recent job. Abandon any strict adherence to a chronological ordering of your experience.
3. Quantify your experience wherever possible.
Cite numerical figures, such as monetary budgets/funds saved, time periods/efficiency improved, number of machines administered/fixed, etc. which demonstrate progress or accomplishments due directly to your work.
4. Begin sentences with action verbs.
Portray yourself as someone who is active, uses their brain, and gets things done. Stick with the past tense, even for descriptions of currently held positions, to avoid confusion.
5. Don't sell yourself short.
This is by far the biggest mistake of all resumes, technical and otherwise. Your experiences are worthy for review by hiring managers. Treat your resume as an advertisement for you. Be sure to thoroughly "sell" yourself by highlighting all of your strengths. If you have a valuable asset which doesn't seem to fit into any existing components of your resume, list it anyway as its own resume segment.
6. Be concise.
As a rule of thumb, resumes reflecting five years experience should fit on one page. More extensive experience can justify usage of a second page. Consider three pages (about 15 years of experience) an absolute limit. Avoid lengthy descriptions of whole projects of which you were only a part. Consolidate action verbs where one task or responsibility encompasses other tasks or duties. Minimize usage of articles (the, an, a) and never use "I" or other pronouns to identify yourself.
7. Omit needless items.
Leave all these things off of your resume: social security number, marital status, health, citizenship, age, scholarships, irrelevant awards, irrelevant associations and memberships, irrelevant publications, irrelevant recreational activities, a second mailing address ("permanent address" is confusing and never used), references, reference of references ("available upon request"), travel history, previous pay rates, previous supervisor names, reasons for leaving previous jobs, and components of your name which you really never use (i.e. middle names)
8. Have a trusted friend review your resume.
Be sure to pick someone who is attentive to details, can effectively critique your writing, and will give an honest and objective opinion. Seriously consider their advice. Get a third and fourth opinion if you can.
9. Proofread, proofread, proofread.
Be sure to catch all spelling errors, grammatical weaknesses, unusual punctuation, and inconsistent capitalization's. Proofread it numerous times over at least two days to allow a fresh eye to catch any hidden mistakes.
10. Laser print it on plain, white paper.
Handwriting, typing, dot matrix printing, and even ink jet printing look pretty cheesy. Stick with laser prints. Don't waste your money on special bond paper, matching envelopes, or any color deviance's away from plain white. Your resume will be photocopied, faxed, and scanned numerous times, defeating any special paper efforts, assuming your original resume doesn't first end up in the circular file.
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