10 Common Resume/Cover Letter Mistakes

Get your resume and cover letter out and check it against this list! I've compiled a list of mistakes from feedback on my own resume/cover letter, notes from various professors, and things I saw on the web!

Your resume and cover letter are the first impression. I know for a fact that mine is not strong experience wise so I need to make sure I compensate for that and avoid common mistakes that could land your resume straight to the "Absolutely Not" pile.


1. ME, ME, ME attitude: Avoid focus all about YOU and YOUR needs. The hiring manager isn't sitting around thinking about what they can do for YOU. They need someone to do a job and to add value to their company. You need to make them aware of what YOU can do for THEM. Avoid telling them how much this job would help your career and your skills but rather show them how your skills and career goals could help them to achieve their goals and objectives. Show how you would indeed be helping them out. It makes perfect sense and is completely logical but it seems like it is a big trap for those of us writing resumes. I fell into it until a kind mentor told me the mistake.

2. Spelling/Punctuation Errors: It's kind of like when I'm reading a review from an author about their own book and they have horrible grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I find myself passing on their book if they are writing at a second grade level. It's an eyesore to hiring managers when there are run on sentences, obvious spelling mistakes, and punctuation running amok. I've found when I'm rushing to get a resume out I make dumb little mistakes like missing a word in the middle of a sentence or using "hear" instead of "here" because my brain is faster than my typing. Just slow down and write it. Check it. Get someone else to read it through. Check it again before you send it off.

3. Responsibilities over results: I got this tip somewhere online and I wrote it down but can't remember where it came from! Avoid focusing entirely on your responsibilities from your previous jobs and not taking enough time to focus on the results. Telling your responsibilities is a good thing as it gives the hiring manager an idea of what you did at your previous jobs. However, don't let it overshadow the results & the things you accomplished. This shows how valuable you were to your previous employers. Tell them about how you increased profits in your region or how you won an award or increased your subscription base by %2. This one is hard for me because I don't have alot of accomplishments that can be tracked on my resume. Make sure you keep track of these things whenever you are employed.

4. No objective/summary on your resume: I never thought this was a big deal until I started looking at other resumes from my peers. Having a clear objective or summary can tell the hiring manager what you want to do and are suited for. This clearly requires some tailoring to your resume for each job you are looking for if they are different industries or are in different fields but it will be worth it to make the extra effort. It makes you looked focus even if you really are willing to accept any job.

5. Incorrect contact info: Seems silly and obvious but make sure your email address is current and spelled right. Make sure your current number is on there.

6. Going overboard on the format: Keep it simple and don't be more concerned with how it looks over what it says! Don't use tiny fonts or different colors or a few different fonts. Make it easy on the eyes. Don't include a picture of yourself unless it's for a modeling gig. Clearly there are some jobs in industries looking for some creativity so use your discretion. Make it crisp and concise. Utilize bullets. It needs to be easy to read.

7. Don't get too personal: Do not litter your cover letter with the sob story of your life or revealing too much about your personal life. Make sure any websites or blogs you give them do not have anything inappropriate on them.

8. Forgetting those keywords: All hiring managers are looking for certain key words based on the position and industry. They are easily able to scan your resume for keywords on the computer by using databases that are searchable by key words. Welcome to technology, kiddies. The internet has made it so that the number of resumes being sent for a particular job is astronomical. More resumes means more time to read through them all. Therefore, why not weed out the ones that don't have keywords they are looking for? So, use those keywords. Here is a good article to get you thinking about those keywords.

9. Improper format: Make sure you have it saved in the proper format so that it can be opened. It depends on what they ask for but make sure it can be opened. Recently I forgot to save it to an older version of Word and sent a resume off and it couldn't be opened with my newer version of Word. Luckily, she emailed me back and told me to send it again via email or another format but you won't always be that lucky.

10. LYING: I shouldn't even have to say this but I do. DON'T LIE on your resume or cover letter! Don't exaggerate too much. You will get caught. It might not be right away or even formally but it will end up biting you in the butt at some point. Don't do it. Just don't.

I've heard it said that most employers only look at each resume for about 30 seconds so make those 30 seconds count!

Any other feedback you have gotten about resume mistakes you've made? Did I forget any?