The value of a UWA degree

 

If job hunting wasn’t difficult enough before COVID-19, it’s now a bloodbath out there. Where a job previously might have attracted 100 applicants, there are now 1,500 of them, and things don’t look like they are getting better anytime soon.

Being complacent when applying for jobs is no longer an option; nor is relying on one’s contacts to land a role. Never before has it been more crucial to have a resume that impresses recruiters within moments, and never before has a tiny mistake in a resume meant the difference between getting the interview and being thrown in the rejection pile alongside thousands of others.

Here are some top tips to avoid making fatal resume errors that could ultimately cost you the job.

Missing or out-of-date contact information

If your resume is missing the key information required for potential employers to contact you to request an interview, you sure won’t land the job. But you are also demonstrating directly to the recruiter that you don’t take the time to check that important professional documents contain critical information - and for this recruiters will put you into the ‘no thanks’ pile. They typically receive hundreds of resumes from applicants for every job, and the easier it is for them to follow up with you for an interview, the better.

While we’re focused on this, also consider the format you use to display your contact details on your resume. If you embed your contact information in the Header section of the Word document, paste it as an image or display it outside the normal confines of a Word document, applicant tracking systems that are commonly used by recruiters today will not be able to read that information.

Including irrelevant or outdated information

So you may have had a friend whip you up a dazzling resume a decade ago when you were at the peak of your career, but I’m sorry - including the information and accreditations that were relevant back then in your resume today is a major mistake. In fact, it will have the opposite effect on recruiters. That First Aid Course you did back in ‘07 is not only irrelevant to your career as a digital communications expert, but the accreditation has also probably expired. Spend a serious amount of time familiarising yourself with the role you are applying for, and the skills and experience the recruiter is seeking in applicants, and then look at your resume with all this in consideration. Be brutal and cut anything from your resume that doesn’t paint a picture of you being an expert in the relevant field and the best fit for the job. This could mean removing entire roles from your resume and not being able to use a brilliant reference in favour of a more relevant one, but trust me it will be worth it when you land the role.

Listing every brief role you ever had

You don’t necessarily need to include every minor role or summer job you ever had in your resume. Especially if any of those roles were held for less than three months, and even more so if you left because things just didn’t work out.

Recruiters want to see that you have experience that is relevant to the role you are applying for, so while you should certainly include any previous roles that fit the criteria, you shouldn’t simply include roles to prove that you are able to hold down a job. In fact, if you've been working for several years, many recruiters and career experts advise listing only your most recent and relevant jobs.

Making your resume novel-length

Resumes should never be more than one to two pages, unless you are applying for a highly specialised role or the recruiter requests it of applicants.

Why? You may have held some very cool roles in the past and feel inclined to show off these impressive feats, but the recruiter will never know as they will hardly bother sifting through an eight-page document to find that information. According to The Muse, recruiters scan resumes for a mere six seconds, on average, and if the interesting information is tucked away on page 6, they will most certainly never get to it. Which brings me to my next point...

Failing to recognise the importance of layout and design

Studies have shown that in the very short amount of time that recruiters look at a person’s resume, the layout and design of the document can have a huge impact in getting their attention. Generally, those with simple layouts, clearly defined sections, bold heading titles and bulleted accomplishments tend to fare better with recruiters, while resumes with cluttered layouts, multiple columns, lengthy sentences and a lack of white space tend to be a turn-off.

Failing to follow simple application instructions

This one is simple but often overlooked. If the recruiter asks you to include three references, include three references. If the recruiter asks you to submit a resume that demonstrates why your experience is aligned with the role, change your resume accordingly. Don’t just not do it and hope that the recruiter won’t notice - they will.

Conclusion

If I can leave you with one parting note, it is this: read and re-read your resume before submitting it to a recruiter. If the recruiter spots any signs of laziness or inconsistency in your resume, you won’t be given a second thought and it will most definitely cost you the job. Identify and delete irrelevant work experience, clarify any vague employment dates, check for spelling and grammar, remove any fluff and provide solid evidence for any claims you make. Put some effort into building a strong resume and you will surely stick out from the crowd - in a good way.