10 Resume Mistakes to Piss-off Hiring Managers

The following is an excerpt from the CareerBuilder article "10 Ways Your Résumé Irks Hiring Managers."

According to Mary Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com writer, "Job seekers do themselves a disservice when they send out résumés with more information than they need." Most employers don't have time to read through the puffery.

Here are 10 things she says your résumé could do without. I've added my commentary to each of these.

1. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
Oh, this is a big one! Especially if you consider yourself a communications professional. ALWAYS have SOMEONE ELSE proof read your work. Take a break from writing it, and come back and read it again, and again. Don't forget, your resume is your introduction to an interview. Their first impression is how you write. Get it straight. Send it to me if you want me to review it before sending it to hundreds of companies. If you don't get any callbacks, ask yourself, "Did I spell correctly?"

2. Opening objectives.
Many people are finding this to be out-dated. It's entirely up to you whether you want this or not. Some companies will ask for this, because of a thousand year tradition. If you are new to the industry, I would go ahead and specify what it is you're looking for. If you are more experienced, a hiring manager can look at your experience history and predict what it is you're looking for in your next job. Be specific. If you are an illustrator, say that you're an illustrator looking to work for a Houston-based company in the _____ industry. It creates a more targeted objective. Once you have it, it's not stuck in stone. I would highly highly recommend you customize this for each industry you send it to.

3. Personal attributes.
Listing personal information such as height, weight and age and even providing personal photos is taboo in the States. This type of information, I must add, may be necessary when applying overseas, as this is not an unusual practice. By all means, do not send someone your MySpace site address! What are you thinking!!? (by the way, a lot of hiring managers search on the Internet for your name. Guess what can really hurt your credibility? A photo of you standing on the table dancing drunk -- on MySpace. Be smart about your image.)

4. Interests and hobbies.
Gosh, why on earth would you put absolutely everything on a resume? Leave something to talk about during a job interview.

5. Details of every task you’ve ever performed in every job you’ve ever had.
If you absolutely have to put specific details, bullet them to make them easier to scan. Nobody reads paragraphs.

6. Excessive bragging.
Don't forget, the hiring manager wants to be "more experienced and knowledgeable than you" almost all the time. Don't sell yourself by lowering your standards of presentation. At the same time, don't be someone you're not.

7. Outdated information.
I mentioned this before. Don't put your high school information on there, or anything you did PRIOR to your continued education. This identifies your age and inexperience, which can hurt you during the decision making process.

8. False information.
This is mostly for education, job titles and dates. Be honest, or something will come back and bite you on the bum! Talk about ruining your credibility!

9. Unexplained gaps in work history.
Be prepared to answer this question: "Why did you leave that job?"

10. A lack of professionalism.
This of course depends on the industry, but you better watch the message it gives. Careful when using stylish fonts, childish e-mail addresses like cutiepie234@yahoo.com and unclean workmanship on your resume and portfolio. This is a major turn off to hiring managers and "screams" unprofessionalism -- especially as a graphic designer.

Source: MSN.CareerBuilder