Experienced Professionals: Six Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Jan 30, 2019 / By Kennet Alphy.C

The million-dollar question is this: How can I make my resume attractive? can your resume get through automated and HR screeners so that you will get the all-important phone calls to set up an interview. When you are over 50, you eventually start worrying about these things. You definitely don’t want your resume to scream “I’m old”!

I have written over 1,000 resumes in my 5-year career. I’ve seen so many mistakes that highly experienced candidates need to avoid. For example, A 49-year-old manager who had a long career in the Oil and Gas industry, I saw some typical errors boomers make. His resume wasn’t producing interviews which prompted his call.

As I looked over my client’s resume, he was making SIX mistakes I’d like you to avoid so here is my analysis along with some comments from a Sr. Hiring Manager to help you create a better marketing tool that will help you get employers attention.

Mistake #1 Very Long

Boomers think that they need to tell their whole story when all employers really care about are the last 10 years. How do I describe my work experience on a resume? I recommend you leave off job descriptions you did prior to 2000 if you must bring attention to it only note the job title, company, and employment dates. How do you show experience on a resume? experience that is 20 years ago is so dated, employers find little value in it. Employers hire you for the ability you have now, not when you started out. So, edit the old experience out.

Mistake #2 Generic Content

Employers are worried that your best days may be behind you so the resume needs to be focused on how you still are a key contributor. Boomers tend to write very long, dull job descriptions. Employers are only interested in finding the results you have achieved on the job. You should outline the outcomes and accomplishments you have recently delivered to your current organizations. Show how you created new things, have been innovative and solved key problems

Mistake # 3 Left the College Graduation Year Off

Some job hunters removed the graduation date thinking employers can figure out their age. Employers may wonder if you had ever finished your degree if they saw no graduation date. Another worry is that most of the job applicants lie about their education. So, if you are lying about the year you earned a degree to appear younger, it will come out. And if you claimed to have a degree that you don’t, that will be in the background report too. The result of lying to this employer is they will reject your job offer.

Mistake # 4 Lack of Keywords

Many candidates do realize that they apply online but they fail to understand how applicant tracking software works. Companies may have sophisticated software installed and others may have a more basic tracking system that they use. And every employer is dependent on the human who thinks up and types in the keywords on the job surrounding that search. So, your best chance is to include the most important work tasks for your job into the resume and be sure that related job or specific field words involved in performing key functions are in the resume too.

Mistake #5 No Technology Skills

Older workers often don’t have a slew of computer skills. How do I describe my skills on a resume? This can be a place to shine if you have extra skills beyond the basics. How do I add project details to my resume for experienced? being an expert user in Excel or Project is worth noting. Mention fabulous creative skills using PowerPoint, or blogging skills using WordPress. Maybe you can utilize Adobe’s creative suite. Don’t forget to mention experience working with databases.

Mistake #6 Bad Formatting

Candidates wonder what is the best resume layout? Most of the candidates write their resume using an outdated style. Writing in only paragraphs is a very dated resume style that definitely screams you are very old-fashioned. Most of your work experience should be written in bullets as these are concise and can convey your message in the briefest way possible. Employers need to be able to clearly read the resume. Keep the font size to a 12. Don’t use tables in creating the resume content as some software cannot scan them leaving that section of your resume blank. Demonstrate your abilities inside your experience in the skills you used and the results you have achieved.

Making these changes are the key steps to helping boomers stay marketable in today’s workplace.

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