Even if you’ve double-checked your resume for spelling errors and grammatical errors, it still may not be enough. There is much more to an excellent CV than just precise grammar and an extensive list of tasks. The following indicators show that you may be submitting a terrible CV that will not receive results. But don’t worry! We’ll show you how to make a lousy resume into an excellent one in a matter of minutes.
Signs of a Bad Resume
Uses a Variety of Generalizations
A bad CV is vague about your education and experience. Even if you’ve worked in e-commerce before, this does not tell a recruiting manager what experience you have in the field. You can make a terrible CV stand out by clarifying your expertise in B2C (business-to-consumer) or B2B (business-to-business) transactions.
In the same way, while describing your abilities, you should add keywords from the job description. Use specific examples instead of broad phrases like “team player” in your cover letter.
A weak CV lacks both quantifiable and personalized results. Don’t just talk about your job duties or the company’s successes; instead, show how you put your abilities to work to produce tangible outcomes for your employer. Here are a few instances:
- They hired five people to help with sales and marketing.
- The first year’s revenue was up by 25%.
- Directed the redesign and launch of the company’s intranet.
You may want to remove dates from your CV to hide job hopping or avoid ageism in your job hunt, but this is a bad idea.
It’s essential to provide the month and year in which you worked. It gives the recruiting manager a better idea of how long you worked in the position. Assuming that you were employed at XYZ from January 2021 to December 2022, it’s unclear whether you were used for nearly two years or only a month.
A resume format can help you deal as honestly as possible with fears that a recruiter would reject you for reasons such as job-hopping or resume gaps.
An Uninspiring Resume Highlights.
Your resume summary needs to be succinct, but it should also have a lot of impact. Because this part is at the top of your resume, the recruiter is likely to notice it first, so make use of that. While describing yourself as a “talented, self-driven leader with a track record of success”, it doesn’t go far enough in portraying your abilities.
Your summary statement should include action verbs and be explicit about why you do so that the hiring manager can quickly grasp how your abilities will benefit the company and how you can help them.
It’s possible to ruin a perfect resume by adding columns or graphics.
First, if the employer employs an applicant tracking system (ATS), columns and graphics are difcult for these machines to understand, reducing the likelihood that a human will examine your application. Unfortunately, even when an applicant tracking system (ATS) isn’t in use, poorly structured resumes might be challenging to read on mobile devices or fail to open at all when received.
With some careful structuring, you can improve a bad resume. To help you start, here are some essential tips:
Your resume should not exceed two pages.
To prevent a wall of unwieldy text, use bullet points to list your qualications and accomplishments.
Verify that your resume can be opened and read in a variety of formats (.docx, .png, .pdf, for example)
Use a typeface that is readable by both people and computers. From Bad to the Best
To boost your chances of an interview, avoid these mistakes when writing your CV. And a well-written CV can help you stand out from the crowd!
If you need advice on making your CV stand out, contact a career counselor at Roamingdesk. Personalized advice from our in-house specialists can help you improve your CV to its fullest potential.
Tips and tricks on how to build an effective resume
Your resume must strategically portray your qualications to get a recruiter interested in speaking with you. It should demonstrate your abilities and achievements, as well as your strengths and weaknesses. An effective CV shows an employer what you can do for them and how you can help them succeed. It’s possible to get a job at the last minute. The most important part of a successful job search has a contemporary, updated resume. If you want to land a job, you’ll need a well-written CV that follows these guidelines:
Easy to read and concise is the best resume.
It takes an average of 30 seconds for an employer to glance over a résumé. You want them to immediately tell whether or not you are the ideal person for the job.
Always double-check your resume for errors.
Make that there are no errors in punctuation or spelling. Have a second set of eyes go over it. A minor misspelling on a resume might hurt an employer’s perception of the applicant. Even if you obtain the job, it might be because of this.
Your resume should be no more than two pages long.
Your resume should focus on your most recent work history. More than 15 years old employment and experience should be eliminated or drastically reduced. The employer will be able to focus on more relevant information.
Customize your resume based on the position for which you’re applying.
Include relevant job experience and accomplishments relevant to the position you’re seeking. Reading the job description or company website is an excellent place to start.
Focus on the achievements you have made.
Identifying the most outstanding examples of where you displayed your abilities is essential. These examples should show what you accomplished in your position and what sort of person you are as an employee. “Work experience” should be the place to provide this information.
It’s never a brilliant idea to lie on your CV. To avoid misleading the employer, you don’t want to exaggerate your abilities or achievements. Be condent in your abilities.
Make a list of your accomplishments.
Employers are more likely to be impressed if you use words they can grasp. For example, how many employees you had, how many things you sold, how much you improved sales, etc.
Use simple phrases and action verbs to convey your message.
A potential employer may not always be the person reviewing your CV. When they check your resume, recruiters and HR professionals may not be familiar with your unique field. It’s essential to use straightforward and clear language and convincing verbs like managed, lead, developed, increased, achieved, and so on.
Final Thoughts
Some of these CV blunders may be obvious to you. However, because recruiters continue to voice their concerns, you can assume that these blunders are still common. There’s a good chance you’ve made some of these mistakes on your CV.
Use this resume writing guide as a checklist and go through your CV right now. Make sure your resume doesn’t include any of these blunders by comparing it to our list of excellent and terrible samples. If you don’t take the time to double-check your application, you can miss out on an interview opportunity because of errors you might have fixed.
