1. Too long
Undergraduates and most new graduates should restrict their resumes to one page. If you have trouble condensing, get help from a career counselor.
2. Typographical, grammatical, or spelling errors
For a reader who has never met you, these errors suggest carelessness, or worse, lack of intelligence. Have at least two people proofread your resume. Don't rely on spell check to catch errors.
3. Hard to read
Use a plain, easy-to-read font and at least a 10 pt font size. Underlining, boldface type and italics should be used sparingly.
4. Too sparse
Give more than the bare essentials, especially when describing work experience, skills, accomplishments, and activities that employers will find relevant.
5. Too verbose
While scarcity of information can be a problem, so can too much detail. Readers aren't looking for 4-line bullets! Think about how you want to describe your experiences. What information will be most important to your reader? How can you convey this information in a succinct way - eliminating extra "fluff?"
6. Irrelevant information
Customize your resume to each position you seek (when possible). You'll always include education and work experience, but you may emphasize different experiences, skills, accomplishments and activities for a different reader.
7. Boring
Make your resume dynamic. Begin every bulleted statement with an action verb, not "Responsible for..." Describe both tasks and notable achievements, and quantify your accomplishments when appropriate. For example, "Raised $1500 for..." "Created a 30-page report..." "Organized an event for 200 people..."
Interested in seeing a sample of how we can turn a lackluster resume into a compelling document? Check out this Extreme Makeover: Resume Edition.
