After landing on a job advert in the newspaper or social media, you can’t wait to start highlighting your qualifications and soft skills. With excitement, you update your resume, emphasising all your strengths and experiences, send it in then wait to be called for an interview. Unfortunately, the wait is longer than you anticipated. This may be an indication that your resume has slipups. Some of these blunders are; Spelling errors Emmanuel Mugabo, a business manager in Kigali, says regardless of how good your resume is, errors can get you excluded, whether it is poor spelling or improper punctuation. Therefore, you need to proofread your resume and even ask someone else to give it an eye as well. Long paragraphs Mugabo says long paragraphs are tiresome as the interviewer may have piles to pass through. Ease their work by keeping it neat and brief. “Nobody wants to read prolonged descriptions of what you’ve done at every job you have ever had.” Your expectations Mugabo clarifies that statements that focus on what you want to gain from the job should be left out as the main focus must be what the company can gain from you. “You’re actually supposed to sell yourself, which is why it is not about what you can gain from the company, but what you’re bringing to the table to enable it to grow,” he says. Personal information Mugabo suggests doing away with personal details such as height, weight, religion, political affiliations, and so forth, because they are not what recruiters look for—unless you are asked to do. Hobbies Mugabo also suggests limiting what your hobbies are, unless the hobbies are related to the position you’re applying for. For example, if applying for the position of a reporter in a news organisation, reading and writing are hobbies to include in your resume, or if applying for a position in an architectural firm, drawing is a hobby that can add value. But hobbies like swimming or watching movies, wouldn’t make sense professionally, he adds. Photos Mugabo notes that photos are not required because your physical appearance isn’t really an issue. “Photos can apply for a modelling company,” he says. Why you left your former job He adds that reasons for leaving your previous job may not be relevant, because it is likely the reason will only favour you, and not your former employer. The main focus should be to attract employers by pointing out your strengths. Hard to read fonts Though it seems like something minor, experts say that design-related issues can send your resume to a dustbin as the font style and size make it difficult to read. If the reviewer is straining their eyes when reading your resume, you’re not likely to get a call back. Also, forgetting contact details will leave the recruiter with no way of reaching you. Meaningless clichés Career Addict states that if your CV is full of meaningless clichés and overused phrases like ‘fast learner’ and ‘hard-working’, you will need to remove them and instead offer examples that show how much of a fast learner and hard worker you are. “These types of phrases are also much overused in general, so they’ve lost most of their meaning.”
