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Resume Mistakes


This article lists some examples of bad resume writing that we have found on the web. These are all excerpts from real resumes and should provide very good examples of what not to include on your resume.

#1) Sell Yourself
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Unlike the examples that follow, this is not a portion of a resume - this is the entire thing. Notice that resume writing was not listed as one of his interests. There are so many obvious problems with this resume, that we couldn't possibly list them all in under 200 pages, so we aren't going to list any.

#2) Holy Application
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If this person were applying for a job at a church, then there wouldn't be much to talk about. Incedentally, there were 3 more of these on the resume. Getting a job is hard enough - why decrease your chances by displaying irrelevant information?

#3) Busy Man
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Notice next to the 2 red arrows that this person's resume says that he is currently working 2 full-time jobs. A minor mistake for sure. What you can't see from this image is that this person has had 9 jobs in 15 years and they were all listed on the resume. As an employer, this tells me that if I hire this person, I will get about 20 months out of them before they move on. Unless I am looking for a contractor, I am probably going to pass on this one. It is a good idea to only list the last 2 or 3 employers that you have worked for.

#4) SWM Needs a Job
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Is this a resume or a personal ad? It is good to see that this person is into knives and has learned from example #2 that it is very important to include your religious affiliation on your resume. DO NOT ever include a "Personal" section on your resume. Your resume is for getting a job, not for getting a date or making friends.

#5) Thanks for the Lesson
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This nice tutorial with source code included is actually part of the "work experience" section of someone's resume. Excellent reading for an HR department. There is a fine line between promoting your technical abilities and knowing who the target audience of your resume is.