Resume Blunders That Could Cost You
by Mohamed Bhimji on June 7, 2010
in Random Madness
Lets substantiate the numbers first.
Your current salary – $75,000.00/year
The job you’ve just applied for – $85,000.00/year that comes with:
- Flexible hours
- Ability to work from home
- Better benefits – on average, benefits can be worth up to 25% of your salary
- More impressive job title
You are the ideal candidate, you’ve got exactly what the company wants and needs plus you can offer more.
What is the “goodwill” of the new position worth? I won’t try and calculate that as it will vary from individual to individual. For one the ability to work from home is important, for someone else the flexible hours are a drawing point.
You’ve submitted your resume and think you’ve looked it over but as you’re reading it you spot some errors:
- Your name is spelled wrong! Aaaack – how did that get by! Note to self: spell checks are NOT accurate.
- I did E before I and just noticed that I turned my spell check OFF. Oh no…
| Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries and Changed Lives |
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Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: CDN$ 26.95 |
| Amazon Price: CDN$ 101.77 |
Spelling and grammar is just as important as how you’ve contributed to the organizations you’ve worked at. Some recruiters may overlook a spelling, or grammar mistake – some may not. They may think to themselves – if they can’t get their name right, what will they get wrong if I hire them? Doesn’t matter if you’re a stellar performer where you’re at right now.
What have you included on your resume? Should it be there? If you were fired or laid off – you don’t need to put that on your resume. If the question comes up during an interview, you can explain the circumstances. Don’t include information that will detract from getting an interview, and ultimately getting the job – at the same time, you don’t want to lie either.
If you will include your e-mail address, and you’re using a vanity address – DON’T use it! Why not create a professional looking e-mail address? If you can afford to get a professional address by purchasing a paid e-mail account so that your address looks like YOURNAME@PROFFESIONAL_COMPANY.COM instead of CUTIEPIE987@SOMEADDRESS.COM – not good, not professional.
It’s fine to use a free e-mail address but at minimum it should look professional.
Now lets go back to those numbers above. What did making those relatively small errors on your resume cost you? Forget the $$$ – look a the future potential that you lost.
I use these techniques ALL the time!
April 21 2004
By K. J. Gardner (Idaho)
This review is from: Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries and Changed Lives (Paperback)
I purchased the pdf version of this book online in 2000. It is not the complete version of the book this one is and has only 142 pages of text, but it may have been the wisest purchase I I’ve ever made! Unlike the last reviewer, I believe Proven Resumes is worth every single penny and much more!
I would like to note that I am in a career field that does, in fact, require a chronological resume, and yet I use the wonderful self-selling techniques Ms. Pontow shares on my own resumes consistently, and it has truly paid off, not only financially, but in my belief in my own abilities. In just the four years since applying this system, my income has increased by half, paying me back a thousand fold, yearly, of my initial purchase price!
I have also used Proven Resumes to help other people with their resumes, and MOST of them have used the skills-based format, and MOST of them have achieved their employment objectives with these resumes. For instance:
A part-time teacher aide with teaching credentials but no professional teaching experience is now a full-time kindergarten teacher. A grocery store cashier obtained a position as a paralegal secretary. Another grocery store cashier, who had worked at the same store for 20 years and had never written a resume before, is now happily settled in a full-time bank teller position. A veterinarian friend who was applying for a year-long leadership training project was rejected the first year she applied, but the second year, after I re-wrote her resume using Proven Resume techniques, she was accepted. Oh, yeah, and I helped my teenage son with his skills-based resume, and he is now working as a website technician / reporter… an incredibly amazing first job!
I would like to make one more plug: These techniques can be used for more than just job resumes. I write up a skills/project based “annual report,” if you will, for my annual reviews, so that I can prove to my boss that my skills are growing, and I’m consistenly making the workplace better (You don’t stop selling yourself just because you’ve landed a job). I’ve used the quantifying and qualifying techniques to write persuasive proposals. And I used a skills-based resume to apply for, and obtain, a position on a state-wide board of directors. It’s not just about GETTING a job!
For just a few dollars more, this book has nearly twice as much information as the still-available-online version. It’s a bargain!
Once I made the decision to move on I needed a little help in repacking my experience. This book not only helped me rethink my skill set but also expanded my horizons. I was able to make a substantial jump using some of Pontow’s recommendations. I passed the book onto others looking to make a move. Well worth the $ … and I’m happily on a new career path!