Guide for Students: The Worst Resume Mistakes That Could Cost You The Job

Zoi Kotsou -

The US tuition fees are notoriously high. For this reason, many students work and study at the same time. The average workweek of a US student is around 20 hours long, giving them the flexibility to balance their work and their studies. However, the application process for any workplace is not a piece of cake, and writing a good resume is a must.

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Who Needs a Good Resume?

As students need to find both a job to do during their studies and a workplace for after the studies, knowing how to write a good resume is probably the best thing that you can do to ensure you get the job you want.

Regardless of whether you want to find a part-time job and increase the pocket money you have at your disposal or are preparing to start for your first grad positions, there are things to consider when writing any resume.

Needless to say, a good resume is not a resume that can be mass-written or produced. Taking into consideration the specificities of each work position, the history of a company, as well as their expectations of you are simply necessary to ensure that your resume is taken into consideration. There is more to it, however.

How to Get Used to Being Declined?

As you start seeking jobs, you realize there are so many of them. If you are looking for jobs for students, you should know that for every job position that opens up, there will be at least a dozen applicants.

If you get declined and do not land a job on the first try, do not even hesitate to send out more resumes than you first hoped you would need to send. Getting declined is inevitable and is a part of growing up in a professional sense.

How to Write a Good Resume?

Writing a good resume is the first thing to consider when beginning to apply for any job position. Doing so is not difficult, and this can be a very rewarding skill to have. In fact, writing a good resume entails the following:

  • Concise language,
  • Short sentences that are easy to read,
  • Short-form - no longer than two pages,
  • Proofreading your resume and using solutions such as Grammarly to ensure grammatical accuracy,
  • Staying on the topic,
  • Providing only the most relevant information for the interviewers,
  • Quantifying your results - make it clear what you have managed to do and ensure that you can present numbers and stats. The interviewer wants to see the value you bring to the table, not abstract terms and made-up positions, and
  • Be honest and frank - there is nothing worse than stating that you speak a language that you do not, simply to see that one of the interviewers speaks that same language and wants to use it for a portion of the interview. Never forget there is such a thing as being OVERqualified for a position.

What Are Common Resume Mistakes?

Regardless of how many resumes you have written and how much you think you know about resume writing, it is still a good practice to revise them from time to time. The thing is that many people make mistakes when writing their resumes and are likely to get refused for these reasons alone.

Here are some common mistakes people make when writing resumes:

  • Insisting on positions and detailed explanations rather than showing results and how they have contributed to a position and the workflow,
  • Not being focused on the relevant information, presenting too many irrelevant positions in an attempt to secure an actual interview,
  • Not being honest and overdoing their skills. If you have just a few skills, present them as they are rather than focusing on expanding the list by force,
  • Not checking and double-checking their final resume for mistakes. Bad grammar and spelling are likely to cost you a job position,
  • Using keywords is also a big no-no. Keywords belong in blog posts and copies, not on a resume which is usually submitted in printed form, and
  • Placing too much information in a resume is also a common mistake. It goes without saying that you should be detailed, but using bullet points and lists is much better than elaborate sentences.

Not Showing Results

Not showing results is the most common mistake you can make when writing a resume. Remember, the only question interviewers have is how YOU can contribute to THEIR company.

This may be a problem for some, while you can never know exactly what their company needs at that particular moment. On the other hand, some people can see this as an opportunity.

If you belong to the second group, you should be able to see this as a chance to answer the question instead of them. You can use NLP to even suggest what they should look for in you, as well as use the opportunity to showcase your results rather than simply name and describe your previous positions.

This way, you are sure to stand out from a sea of resumes sent by your competitors for a workplace.

Straying from the Topic

Straying from the topic is another common mistake when writing resumes. In fact, it is also one of the most common mistakes to make. Many people tend to over-explain instead of focusing on what is being asked of them. Always remember the rule:

  • Job title NAME / Short Description (1 sentence) / results that you’ve achieved.

Not Being Honest

When faced with applying to a company, you:

  1. Do not know who else is applying,
  2. How many job applicants are there,
  3. What the profile of other job applicants is,
  4. What the company is looking for, and
  5. Who will be evaluating you.

For this reason, many applicants try to overdo their resumes and send in a chunk of text that is only remotely related to the skills, education, and experience you may have. Never forget that your work position will actually test you for what you have stated you knew to do, and you will be in deep trouble if anyone discovers a lie or a misguidance on your resume.

For this reason, it is better to stay safe than sorry.

Leaving Spelling and Grammar Mistakes in the Resume

Leaving spelling and grammar mistakes in the resume is another big issue. The fact is, most interviewers make these mistakes themselves. However, it takes diligence and discipline to avoid them and/or correct them. The mistake itself is not a problem; the lack of time or foresight to correct them is what may negatively reflect on your ability to score the job.

This is the reason why some students choose to delegate writing their resumes to third parties. With enough details and a modest deadline, you can contact Pro Essays Service and have them write a resume for you. You should be able to communicate with your writer clearly and state what you need, as well as show patience and let professionals do the work for you.

Using Keywords

Using keywords in a resume may be frowned upon. Keywords are to be searched by search engines. In fact, as resumes are given in the printed form, there is no need for any keywords to be included. Use concise and detailed language and focus on what is important to the job position rather than finding ways to trick people.

Placing too Much Information in the Resume

Being detailed with the language is necessary, but overdoing it and placing too much info on the resume will look bad one way or the other. The thing is that clear communication should entail all necessary information, such as all previous work positions, but expanding on all of them may be too much.

How to Avoid Common Resume Mistakes?

How to avoid all these mistakes? There are two answers to it: you can either delegate the work of writing your resume or write it yourself. In the latter case, you will need a lot of practice and an additional pair of friendly eyes to help you catch mistakes if there are any.

In any case, even if you choose to have professionals write it for you, you should be able to check and double-check with your friends to ensure that the tone is right.

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Final Considerations

Writing a resume seems to be a forgotten skill that is so necessary when applying for any job. Regardless of whether you are a college student looking for a side-kick, a part-time job, or a recently graduated student going on a real job hunt for the first time in his life, you should follow our advice. Cheers to landing your first job!

Author bio

Andrew Mazur loves traveling and hopes to have enough money to simply have the liberty to go wherever he would love to. He is an avid reader and loves spending his time in the library and reading his favorite blogs. He would love to have a coding agency of his own and to be able to retire early.