Are you faced with the challenge of not getting job interviews? “If I could get the interview, I know I could get the job.” What is missing? The market is tough during these unprecedented times, and competition is more significant than ever. Technology makes it even more challenging when trying to get in front of the hiring manager.

To ensure success in landing your next interview, you need to draft a clean, professional resume with optimized keywords. Interview preparation is critical. Your resume will need to make it through the resume scanning software and then to the hiring manager (where the real action occurs). Once you make it to the hiring manager, then you can work your magic in the interview!

Before optimizing your resume and sending it to the hiring manager, make sure that you scan it for misspelled words and grammatical errors. Sounds easy, but it’s common for resumes to be overlooked because of simple grammatical errors.

Here are a few helpful tips to help land your next interview.

Common Resume Mistakes 
1. Incorrect or vague dates of employment
2. Missing contact information and unprofessional contact email addresses
3. Inconsistencies across resume and social media platforms
4. Including every job – failing to delete irrelevant work experience
5. Bolding the wrong information — bold the position, not the company on your resume (unless it is a highly recognizable company like Google or Facebook)
6. Fluffy job descriptions
7. Including evident skills like Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These skills are expected and should not be called out on your resume. Replace these with Google Analytics, Salesforce, Adobe, etc.
8. Failing to explain a career change
9. Fluffy resume designs – resumes should be neat and straightforward to read
10. Weak verbs – do not use “helped” or “assisted”; instead, stick with the actual work you carried out
11. Failing to use proper white space
12. Copying and pasting job descriptions
13. Including personal hobbies
14. No strong or creative objective summary (what do you bring to the company vs. I want to work for the company)
15. Font size and type – must be legible and professional
16. Using an outdated format to save your resume
17. A bad file name for the resume – file name should be your first and last name
18. Including a photo
19. Lying on your resume
20. Not including certifications and community involvement/volunteering

Another important tip is to find someone to refer you to the hiring manager. Why a referral? Because ultimately, people still make the hiring decisions, and it’s human nature to trust your tribe. They can get you in the door for the interview, and it will be up to you to get the job.

Lastly, it is an excellent investment to have your resume written by a professional and tailored to the job you’re applying for using industry keywords when appropriate. A professional resume writer can help avoid many pitfalls and craft a clean, legible, relevant, and attention-grabbing resume. Not to push my company, but we do that. Whether you need a resume written, looking for interview tips, or career coaching, we can help.

A well-written, professional resume is critical in competing in today’s job market. Depending on your level, we can design the resume that best fits where you are in your career and your next career move. At Biz Advisory Consulting, we offer professional resume packages that range from a simple resume package to the executive level option that includes an expert-written and keyword-optimized resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile.