Your resume is the key to getting into those great interviews and, ultimately, getting the job. So what types of things do we all need to look out for when preparing or reviewing our resume? Included in this article are some of the most important tips a person can receive according to a few acquaintances in corporate human resources departments.

The first thing an individual should do once they begin the resume review process is to make sure there are no spelling errors! Yes, this seems obvious, but have you really looked it over thoroughly with your naked eye and not just the word processor’s spell check? You would be surprised how many things the spell check option will miss when solely depending on it as your ‘editor’. This is one of the most important things as it says a lot if a person does not spell correctly and/or tends to overlook the typos. Would you like to hire that person if you had 100 prospects for one job?

After the spell check has been completed and any errors have been corrected, start getting rid of the extra words such as “I” or “me” and just give the prospective what they want: a solid resume that is to the point. All the extra stuff does nothing but aggravate as this, too, is a sign that a person is not thinking about the potential employer or reader, but only about themselves. The employers just want the resume to get to the point as they are quite busy and do not have much time to look into each specific detail about your past history.

Speaking of history, one thing that is surprisingly common is for resumes to be in chronological order. The first job the interviewee ever had is, you got it, on the very top of the resume. Why? The only reason I am told is for a more functional resume for when a person is going into a completely different field and wants to show their consolidated experience in blocks. So the most recent employer/job should almost always be at the very top. The next tip I have received is, again, simplifying the resume for the reader. Only this time it is about getting rid of those extra statements that only the interviewee believes makes a difference at all. Rather than putting out a resume that looks a lot like this article with a lot of words jumbled together, shorten sentences and create bullet points in order to get to the point. Bold, italics and underlining should all be used sparingly and mainly for headings as too much can rally create a sense of ‘overdoing’ it and it can also aggravate the employer. Yes, they are aware that you really want this job, so show them what you have done to deserve it.

Finally, read your resume to yourself as if you were reading it to the potential employers themselves. Does all of this sound like something you would love to listen to if you were the employer? Does it keep you on the edge of your seat or just kind of leave you in a slightly lethargic state? If it is going to be simply about your past jobs and you know there are others waiting for the same interview, be the considerate one. Get to the point and let them decide based on your resume and who you are in person. They will already be able to tell a lot about you in the room during the interview just through your actions, so you won’t need to describe any of this in your resume. I hope these tips I have received were a little helpful if not more in giving you some helpful ideas on how to improve your resume today.

Image taken on 2009-09-29 15:08:25. Image Source. (Used with permission)