What is the Worst Mistake You Can Make On Your Resume?

What's the worst thing someone can put on their resume? To be honest, it is a good question since it made me think long and hard about anything other than the exam I was about to have. What was the most common mistake on a resume? The personal pronoun "I" was employed by a few of them. Some were written in such small type that they would have required a microscope to read. Others claimed work failures, one (no lie!) named his mother as a reference, and yet another blamed her boss for every job loss.

As you can see, it was a lengthy procedure

But one term that I see on a lot of applications is "responsible for." Alternatively, "forced to." When I see any of those on a CV, I instantly recognize why it isn't working for the person. Because "responsible for" does not imply that you completed the work; rather, it implies that you were expected to do so. You may take responsibility for whatever you want; it doesn't matter what it is. "Responsible for" necessitates no proof, no evidence, and no outcomes.

Without lifting a finger, you may sit at your desk all day and be "responsible" for the day's productivity, the conduct of a group of employees, or ensuring that a particular number of people are employed.

And "required to" is similar, but with one additional flaw: "required to" indicates that you were not only compelled to do the duty, but that you didn't want to do it in the first place. "Required to supervise six workers engaged in the manufacturing of widgets" indicates you had better things to accomplish if only your obnoxious boss hadn't assigned you this useless chore.

In the minds of the reader, either of these sentences will kill your resume before it has a chance to be read the rest of the way through. Please don't let this happen! Rather than informing the reader that you were "responsible for" creating 100 widgets every day, tell them that you did (as long as you did so, of course). You weren't "obliged to supervise those six workers," but you did supervise and help them to achieve their objectives.

Show you are positive and confident. Give yourself permission to be the one who "initiated" the action in your CV, not merely "responsible for" it. Your resume will benefit as a result.