I have read, reviewed and corrected countless Resumes/CV and I see these same mistakes. It seems job seekers have forgotten that a CV will be read by humans and not machines. When you submit your resume, it goes through a thorough review. Machines may have a part to play but the decision comes from recruiters.
Let’s take a quick look at these mistakes
Lying:
As long as there is a vacancy, Resumes will be submitted. But you don’t need to tell lies to make your Resume employable. Do you know what it takes to have an employable Resume? Write your Resume in good faith, and hope for a good outcome. Exaggeration in a Resume is a waste of time. Be plain and avoid the use of jargon. You’re your Resume in written form.
I knew a graduate (a family friend) who profess to have Computer Skills on his Resume, but in reality, he doesn’t know anything about the use of a computer. He lost a job during a computer test. Using the computer to browse the internet or play games is not a license that you a Computer Literate. If you don’t have the needed qualifications, then let it pass. And If you must submit, you don’t need to tell lies. If you get a job successfully through lies, you must lie to sustain it.
Copy and Paste Resume or CV:
Copy and pasting a Resume from the internet or from a friend is an error. I salute those who embrace this habit. I remember back then in NCCF when NYSC and Allowee (NYCS allowance) was coming to an end; everyone had to start preparing their Resume. 70% of the brothers copied the same Resume. We never knew that recruiters were aware of Resume samples on the Internet.
Softwares have been developed to scan and match up words from the Resume. That is, there are some keywords that the software will search for on your Resume. Applicant Tracking System is one of such that saves recruiters the time of going through thousands of Resume.
Aside from this, some organisations still make use of control F, which is used to search for specific skills or phrases. If the needed information is present, your Resume may get a review, else they skip and move on to the next available Resume.
One Resume for all Job Vacancies:
You saw a job vacancy in an Insurance Firm, and you quickly pick up your Resume to submit. The next day you saw an Administrative job vacancy in the Telecommunication Industry, you immediately send another copy of your Resume.
A resume meant an Insurance Firm should be different from the one sent to a Telecommunication Firm. A resume should be tailored to meet job requirements if specified. Most job vacancies do not give job specifications, but you can use the job title to get an idea and develop your Resume around it.
Spellings and Grammatical Errors
Resume mistakes cannot be forgiven. During a review, some personnel’s job is to point out wrong spellings, incorrect sentences or grammatical errors, paragraphs and the likes. You should always ask people to read and review for correction.
I recommend the use of Grammarly to correct grammar and spelling mistakes. Microsoft Word can detect spelling errors, but nothing compares to this app when it comes to proofreading. Built by linguists and language lovers, Grammarly writing app finds and corrects hundreds of complex writing errors so you don’t have to.
As you type, Grammarly premium checks your text against more than 400 advanced grammar rules. The checks include common grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement articles use, and modifier placement, in addition to contextual spelling mistakes, phonetic spelling mistakes and irregular verb conjugations. With Grammarly, you can write your resume or CV with confidence. Download here