Myths are just one of the trickiest parts of applying for a job. They are being constantly repeated by almost everybody until you believe it. The worst part is that it gives you false security. It makes you think that you’re doing perfectly fine in job hunting, until you wonder why it’s been many months since your last interview. In this article, www.resumeprime.com shares the most deadly (and probably the most rampant) beliefs that may be sabotaging your career:
1. “The more achievements I write, the more impressive I am.”
Never get this wrong: writing important and relevant accomplishments may boost you in the eyes of prospective employers. However, writing all of them until there’s no space left for other details is just plain nauseating. This case is most typical among overachievers. Have the common sense to stop enumerating when you think that the reader will already get the idea of how good you are. Believe this — hiring managers have the radar to detect top performers by only reading their best and most relevant accomplishments.
2. “Reading my hobbies is a breath of fresh air to them.”
The sad news is no, they won’t. The hiring office is already jaded to deal with another starry-eyed applicant who thinks they can have the post for being a unicycler. And even if by great luck, you and the hiring manager happen to share the same interest in unicycling, you won’t get an interview for that. Remember that your resume is not an autograph — you’re not a celebrity and people are not interested with what they can do with you. They care for what you can do for them.
3. “Patterning to a resume template is the best way to get started.”
Maybe you’ve already spent long hours of staring at a blank word document, so you decided to find a template you can copy. That could be helpful if you’re really clueless on how to start the application paper, but if it happens that you’re just feeling sluggish and got tempted to copy-paste, you’ve fallen into the trap. You’re being warned here in www.resumeprime.com that most hiring personnel have already memorized the clichés of application. Don’t be surprised if the contents of your copied resume have pretty good clumps of it.
4. “Anything I’ve done more than 10 years ago is not worth mentioning.”
Even if you’re already a veteran in what you’re doing, it is always a best practice to include your educational background and the notable achievements you got during your glory days. Employers do look at it, and will get suspicious if you don’t include them. Here at www.resumeprime.com, we highly stress that stating your educational background still adds up to your credibility.
