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  • 5 Great Resume and Cover Letter Tips

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    December 20th, 2010patt6211Uncategorized

    Any time I review a big stack of resumes, I notice a couple of mistakes that badly effect an applicant’s chances of being called for an interview. In some instances, the mistake is minor and will not significantly decrease an applicant’s chances of being contacted by the employer. Nevertheless, some mistakes are to big to ignore and trigger the applicant’s resume to be placed within the “no” pile. In this article, I have compiled a list of five major and minor mistakes I notice a significant number of applicants make in their resumes and cover letters:

    1. Ensure your cover letter and resume are error totally free. This is a major mistake you want to avoid. This tip is self-explanatory. An employer will perceive an error as carelessness on your part. A resume and cover letter is supposed to sell you to a possible employer, so don’t sell yourself short by making easy errors in spelling and grammar. Make sure you review your resume and cover letter, and if required, have someone you trust review your documents.
       
    2. Do not list your personal interests and hobbies. This is really a minor mistake that will not cost you a job, but it doesn’t help either. I’ve read many resumes which contain a section about an applicant’s favourite activities. This section isn’t needed on a resume. An employer is interested in matching your knowledge, abilities, and abilities to the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a vacant position. Unless your hobbies give you a skill that is relevant to the vacant position, do not list them.
       
    3. Stating you can provide references upon request is not required. This mistake does not assist or harm your chances of gaining an interview. If you have your references chosen, then place them in your resume. Should you have not selected your references yet, then just omit mentioning references inside your resume. This tip can save you a couple of lines on your resume which can be better utilized discussing your skills and abilities. Nevertheless, when you are contacted for an interview, ensure that you bring a list of references with you to the interview.
       
    4. Match up your language to the language of the potential employer. This tip can help make your resume easier to read for the employer. When I say match your language, I’m not talking about writing in English, I’m talking about using the same terminology used within the job posting. For example, if your resume discusses your “sales” experience and the job posting is searching for “selling” experience, then change your resume to discuss your “selling” experience. I know this sounds ridiculous, but a subtle detail like this might be the detail that breaks the tie between you and an additional applicant.
       
    5. Ensure your contact info is correct, and present. This is obviously a main mistake which will make certain you don’t get known as for an interview. You may be thinking, “well, duh!” However, you’d be surprised to know this common sense detail is not always typical sense. If I had been to guess, I’d say at least ten times I’ve tried to contact an applicant only to get, “This number is no longer in service, please try again” or “Sorry, there’s no 1 at this number by that name.” I’ve even had 1 resume that didn’t have any contact info at all! So when you’re reviewing your resume and cover letter for spelling and grammar mistakes, take a second to make certain your phone number is correct also.

    I trust these tips can help you get that dream job you are after. As time goes by, I’m certain I’ll think of some much more tips to help perfect your resume and cover letter. So check back from time to time and get some free guidance which I’m sure will assist you within the future.

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