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professional resume writer

Typos on Your Resume: A Deal Genuine Breaker

You have probably told yourself that one little mistake on your resume will not hurt your chances at a job. Please think again. A 2018 survey by CareerBuilder asked hiring managers about the most common resume mistakes that cause them to toss out a resume. Number one, the choice of 77% of respondents, was “typos or bad grammar.”

As a professional resume writer, I have a keen eye for typos and bad grammar. I use online spell checkers and grammar checkers, but I also proofread, because even the best spell checker and grammar checker can make mistakes.

For example, a spell checker will accept this sentence: “Collaborated with the manger of the fiancé department.” Every word is spelled correctly, but the sentence should have read: “Collaborated with the manager of the finance department.”

A grammar checker will accept this sentence: “Lead a team of engineers that delivered a project under budget.” The sentence was part of a past job description and should have read: “Led a team of engineers who delivered a project under budget.”

When I proofread, I check for items that are easy to overlook and that grammar and spelling checkers will not catch:

  • Missing periods at the ends of sentences; a missing parenthesis or quotation mark in a pair; or a switch from serial comma (before “and”) to no comma.
  • Changes in spacing between bullets or headlines or between words.
  • Inconsistent dates. On the CareerBuilder survey, one human resource manager mentioned a resume where every job listed had the same employment dates.
  • Inconsistent spelling and capitalization. For example, “start-up” and “startup” are both correct spellings for the noun but you should stick with one. Most people now spell “cloud” with a lower-case c, but if you want to spell it “Cloud,” make sure you do that consistently.
  • Mistakes in acronyms or association names. For example, SHRM is the Society for Human Resource Management. If you call it SFHRM or Human Resource Managers Society (HRMS), you are making a mistake.

Make sure that you print and proofread your resume several times before you send it out. If you do not feel confident in your grammar and spelling skills, please contact me.

What to Do If Your Job Search Has Stalled

As a certified career coach, I can recommend many job hunting strategies that will complement your resume and increase your chances of finding that perfect job. I recommend a balanced set of job search techniques; if there is one you have not tried, now is your chance to charge up your job search.

  1. Search Online vs. Networking In-Person

Both online job searches and in-person networking are essential. Online, make sure your LinkedIn and other profiles and all your social media accounts are professional. For the time being, either make your social media accounts private or wash them clean of anything that might undermine your professional image.

At the same time, network in person: Get yourself out among people, spreading the word about your job hunt and letting them see what a great employee you would make. Talk to family, friends and former colleagues; attend business networking events and expos; and always remember to open a conversation by finding out about the other person first. You are not out to harangue people but to see if there they have (or know of) a business problem you can solve.

  1. Keep Working in Your Field vs. Broadening Your Skills When Unemployed

If you are out of work right now, you might want to take on freelance and consultant opportunities that could become job offers. But at least you are bringing in income and keeping your skills sharp and building contacts. However, if finding freelance work is not an option, you have the time now to also take professional courses or to volunteer for organizations that can use or expand your skills. The more value you bring to a company, the happier they will be to interview you.

  1. Stick with Your Current Resume vs. Building a New Resume

If your current resume is bringing you an invitation to interviews, there may be no need to re-write it. The problem may rest with your interviews. Make sure that your interview skills support your resume; if you flounder when describing previous accomplishments, the hiring manager or recruiter will begin to doubt you.

However, if you are not getting to the interview stage, you should consider hiring a professional resume writer to rewrite your resume. Maybe it is not targeted enough to your chosen position or industry. Maybe it is too repetitive, vague, long, short, quirky, or dull. The objective, informed opinion of a professional resume writer and career coach will help set you and your resume on track.

Do you need help upgrading your resume or with any other aspect of your job search? Contact Robin’s Resumes® and let a professional resume writer help.

Resume Q&A: I’m Not Getting Interviews

Q. I think I have a great resume, but clearly employers do not feel the same way. I cannot get an interview. Why would a resume fail over and over again? What can I do?

A. The reasons why a resume fails to gain interviews may be entirely out of your hands. For example, financial difficulties in the industry where you are applying may lead to cutbacks or employment freezes. Changes in industry regulations or qualifications for the position you want may mean that you need a new certification or additional training before you would be considered.

If the problem is a mismatch between your skills and employer expectations, then now is the time for you to brush up on your skills or take additional courses. You should be reading job advertisements and postings carefully to make sure you understand what each company is looking for—and customizing your resume each time to make sure the company understands how qualified you are.

Make sure you have explored every avenue for finding a new job. Simply searching the internet for help wanted is not enough. You need to network in person—attend meetings of professional organizations; talk to former employers and peers who might recommend you for new openings; and become more active in the community, perhaps by volunteering, so that your name and talents are better known.

You might also want to send your resume to a professional resume writer. A truly professional resume writer will interview you and work with you one-on-one to see if there is anything that can be added to or better emphasized in your current resume.

As a certified career coach, I can also offer you suggestions for reframing your resume for careers, positions, or industries you might not have considered. You probably have many transferable skills and achievements that would land you a job on a career path slightly different from your current path.

Please contact me if I can be of further help to prepare your resume for the next great interview.

What Every Mother Knows Best about Resumes

On this Mother’s Day, we honor our mothers for many reasons, but being able to write a great resume is usually not at the top of the list. Even though resumes and job searches have changed greatly in a single generation, there are some lessons from our mothers that are always valid.

  • Mothers want you to be continually learning and trying new things. Today’s hiring managers and recruiters want to see that you have kept your skills current skills and have the ability to adapt to change. They are interested in language skills, volunteer work, and awards.
  • Mothers want you to get off the computer and be social. In person networking is vital to a job hunt. Of course, online research into companies is also important; and you must make sure your LinkedIn, online portfolio, or other computer accounts are running, professional, and consistent with your resume. But take the time to attend networking and professional events and talk to real people.
  • Mothers want the world to know how wonderful you are. Recruiters and hiring managers want to know what you have accomplished and what skills, education, and talents you would bring to their organization. Give yourself full credit for all you have achieved. If that feels uncomfortable (mothers also tell us not to brag about ourselves), reach out to a professional resume writer.
  • Mothers want you take care of yourself. A job search can get you down. Writing a resume can tax your ability to accurately describe what you do and how you do it so that hiring managers and recruiters will consider you for a position. If you need help, get help. A professional career coach can make all the difference.
  • Mothers want you to be neat and presentable. That is true for both your interview and your resume. Check your resume carefully for typos, misspellings, inconsistencies, formatting errors, and grammatical mistakes.

Mothers truly do know best!

Would you benefit from the help of a professional resume writer and coach? Please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

The Worst Resume Advice

A couple of years ago, I wrote The 10 Worst Resume Suggestions You Ever Received. It is time to update that list with a few more examples of the world’s worst resume advice for job hunters.

  1. Do not say anything that sounds like bragging. Then hope that companies will be awed by your lack of success, progress, and confidence.
  2. Fill your resume with acronyms so that hiring managers and recruiters are struck dumb with admiration. They will also feel dumb—hiring managers and recruiters do not actually understand every acronym used by every specialty in every company in the world.
  3. Do not tie yourself down to a specific job title. Leave it to hiring managers to figure out where you might fit in their company; they have nothing better to do.
  4. Do not read job postings or advertisements to get a handle on what companies are looking for. If you pile on enough achievements and skills, you are bound to be qualified for something somewhere, right?
  5. Be sure to fill social media with your complaints and rants about your current job. Hold on to your belief that constant complainers are high on everyone’s list of best employees or that hiring managers never consult social media.
  6. Never network; ignore your friends, coworkers, family, and peers when you are job hunting. Stick to the computer and hope that the perfect job finds you.
  7. Do not proofread. Trust your online grammar and spelling checkers, which never make mistakes, like accepting fiancé when you meant to write finance.
  8. Lather on the adjectives. Who cares what you actually have accomplished as long as it was “best in class” or “unparalleled” or “state of the art” or “exceptional”?
  9. Do not check your contact information. Trust that you will never transpose a number, write different email addresses on different pages, or abbreviate your state the wrong way.
  10. Refuse to talk with a professional resume writer. What do professionals know anyway?

At Robin’s Resumes®, I am dedicated as always to steering job hunters away from bad advice.

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