This Domain For Sale. Contact us for more information.

Five Biggest Resume Mistakes You Can Fix Yourself

A career consultant can diagnose and overhaul a troubledresume. But you can check off the basics yourself.

Mistake #1. "The mystery applicant." No contactinformation.

Fix: List a daytime phone number and email address, right atthe top of the page. Create a professional-sounding messagefor your answering device.

Mistake #2. "The scrunchie." Loads of detail crammedtogether in eight-point type.

Fix: Add lots of white space, avoid tiny type and use bulletpoints instead of long paragraphs. If you've got a story totell, most reviewers will happily turn to a second page.

Mistake #3: "List of tasks and duties." Obituary of a boringemployee.

Fix: Sell yourself by focusing on accomplishments.Demonstrate the impact of your achievements. Describeactions, not obligations.

Mistake #4: "The expressionist." Sets off alarm bells.

Fix: Choose chronological rather than functional form,especially if you use traditional job-hunting sources: HRdepartments, recruiters, and advertisements. Off the beatenpath, use a sales letter or network your way to in-personpresentations.

Mistake #5: "Creative language." Spelling, grammar andpunctuation errors.

Proof-read and ask a friend to help. Computerized spellingand grammar checks won't catch everything. Acarefully-prepared resume will stand out more than you canimagine.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

"Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Careers & Employment Information:

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Group 11 Group 12 Group 13 Group 14 Group 15 Group 16 Group 17 Group 18 Group 19 Group 20 Group 21 Group 22 Group 23 Group 24 Group 25 Group 26 Group 27 Group 28 Group 29 Group 30 Group 31 Group 32 Group 33 Group 34 Group 35 Group 36 Group 37 Group 38 Group 39 Group 40 Group 41 Group 42 Group 43 Group 44 Group 45 Group 46 Group 47 Group 48 Group 49 Group 50 Group 51 Group 52 Group 53 Group 54 Group 55 Group 56 Group 57 Group 58 Group 59 Group 60 Group 61 Group 62 Group 63 Group 64 Group 65 Group 66 Group 67 Group 68 Group 69 Group 70 Group 71 Group 72 Group 73 Group 74 Group 75 Group 76 Group 77 Group 78 Group 79

Related Articles

Turning Their Loss Into Your Job Gain
It isn't the end of the world, even if it seems like it. Losing your job can be a heart-breaking experience.
Big Job Sites Vs The Small Ones
There is much to say about posting resumes on the big job sites online. There are many positives and also negatives to doing this as well.
What Your Guidance Counselor, Career Counselor, and Own Mother Probably Never Told You...
The alarm clock jars you awake at some insanely early hour. As you hit the snooze button you think, "there's gotta be a better way to make a living.
2 Job-Search Success Stories
Here are two success stories from my readers who found great new jobs last week. As you read each story, ask yourself, "How could I apply this to my job hunt?"1) Job-search goal cards workHere's a story sent in by Fred, from Chanhassen, Minn.
What A Former Stay At Home Mom Knows About Creating A Stunning Resume That You Dont
Recently I was asked to touch up a friend's resume. Her challenge was simple.
Speak Up: Your Job Is At Stake!
How good are you at standing up for yourself?Do you run the other way when done an injustice or when someone steps on your proverbial toes?How do you react?Now's the time to speak up and stand your ground! If you've never done this, you need to master this skill.How many of you watched the "The Apprentice?" While the show is not the ultimate mirror of corporate life or a guide on how to be promoted, my clients have cited specific show episodes to highlight weaknesses they'd like to improve.
Rev-Up Your Network!
Whether you are looking for a job, new clients or feel the need to expand your list of professional contacts, networking is the answer.So what are you saying to yourself right now? "Yuck, I hate networking.
Look in the Mirror
Take a moment to step outside yourself. Now, be honest with me here? If you could be your own boss, how would you rate your own performance in the last three months? Would you get a raise, a day off as a treat, or would a big and brawny security guy kindly escort you to the parking lot?In order to be an effective marketer and a progressive human being for that matter, you have to take a breather and look in the mirror.
Using Keywords to Find Legitimate Telecommuting Job Leads
Many people are choosing telecommuting as an option to bring in an income while being at home. Whatever the reasons that we choose to work at home, the one thing we all have in common is the problem of locating legitimate jobs online.
Recruiting Excellent Job Candidates
An independent recruiter, recruiting agency or executive search firm is charged with tracking down excellent potential candidates for available job positions. Despite the fact that there are innumerable people seeking positions of employment in the 21st century, it often seems to a typical recruiting agency that qualified men and women are few and far between.
The Springtime of Your Career
Rick Jarow, author of Creating the Work You Love, introduced many of us to the notion of career seasons. When we're struggling with a career, we're most likely to think of winter.
How To Get a Job Offer From Every Interview
About four years ago a friend told me one night that she had an interview the next week and was looking for some comfort as she was extremely nervous, as most people are about interviews. I thought back on my my carreer and realized that in the nine year of my career I had been to thirteen interviews and, more importantly, that I had received a job offer from every one of those interviews.
Job Search: The End of the Line
There is an end to the job search tunnel!It has been a long, hard road: layoff, unemployment, fear, depression, and occasionally panic or despair. Beyond the trauma of losing your job stretches the uncomfortable, stress filled nightmare of looking for work.
Writing Powerful Resumes - 10 Golden Rules
Your resume is your sales letter. It may not get you the job.
How You Can Find Opportunities For Foreign Language Proof Reading Work
For those who are fluent in another language, foreign language (ie non-English) proof reading can be a great source of income. It is a difficult area for those who are not fluent to get into though.
Resumes Arent Important - They are Everything When it Comes to Getting an Interview
Employers and recruiters receive hundreds of resumes for every position they are trying to fill. To select their shortlist of candidates to interview, they look for the most common resume mistakes most applicants make and eliminate them first.
Confidence Is Critical to YOUR Success....
Make EYE contact when you look at another person. Look at them!! Don't look down at your shoes or away from the other person.
Mystery Shopping - An Excellent Part Time Job Or Additional Income Source
Though the name itself may seem a bit mysterious, the concept of mystery shopping is actually straightforward. Also referred to as secret shopping, performance evaluations, service checks and frontline evaluations to name a few, mystery shopping allows companies to obtain a "snapshot in time" by trained researchers who know in advance what they are to evaluate.
Master Responding to Selection Criteria and Win Your Next Job!
As a human resources specialist for many years, I've seen it all when it comes to job applications. Most disheartening were those applications in which applicants had not addressed the specified selection criteria .
From Bumbling Bosses to Cranky Co-Workers - How to Overcome What Makes You Hate Your Job
I'll be the first to admit that I hated my job. It took many years for me to come to this realization since I kept accepting promotions in the hopes that the awful ache inside of my chest would go away.



/html>