Résumé

We all know how lying to your potential employer can create problems, but there are also a couple of résumé missteps you need to be aware of. Here are some red flags to avoid on your CV:

• Spelling mistakes and other typos: If a recruiter spots typos on your résumé, she will assume that you don't pay attention to detail and you can possibly be careless, which isn't a very attractive trait for a job candidate. Keep reviewing your résumé for errors and ask at least three people to review it and give you feedback.
• The wrong file name: Your recruiter will pay attention to this simple detail so include your name when you're naming the file. This helps hiring managers better sort through the mountain of résumés. Just imagine trying to find a file named résumé among dozens of similarly named files.
• Tacky email: Make sure you're using an email address that's professional. If you don't have one that's appropriate, create one. Also if you're still at your current job, don't list your work email.
• Résumé gaps: Gaps in employment are obviously noticeable, but don't fret too much about it because it's almost the norm in this economy. List what you've been doing on your time off if the activities are relevant to the position. Here are more ideas on how to fill the résumé gaps.
• Irrelevant information: Having unnecessary information that's not related to the job is a waste of time for your hiring manager. Don't overshare — pick the right succinct sentences to showcase the skills that will be valuable in the position.
• Being vague: It's always good to be specific and quantify your achievements so your story will be more convincing and believable. "Increased quarter one revenue by nine percent year over year" sounds a lot better than "increased revenue for the company." A résumé is always more compelling if you can back your achievements up with quantitative data.
• Job hopping: Going through too many jobs in a short period can be a red flag for an employer. You may want to consider taking off jobs that you've only been at for a month or two if it doesn't pertain to the position or if you already have a pretty full résumé. If you're going to include the short-term positions, be very clear about the big contributions you have made toward the company, so the recruiter will see that you have added value to all your previous jobs even if they were of varying lengths.

Job hunting seemed a lot simpler way back when. Redditor Ezeeeek shared his grandfather's résumé from the 1950s, which the Reddit user claims garnered his grandpa 12 jobs before he even graduated from college. "Apparently just the fact that it was typed made it enough to stand out," says Ezeeeek. Handwritten résumés? How quaint!

It's interesting to see how job search has evolved over the decades. For example, the vintage résumé offered up information that we would never see in the modern CV, such as height and weight, which we leave out today to avoid discrimination.

It almost puts our overly padded résumés stuffed with tired phrases like "self-starter" and "team player" to shame, doesn't it?

One of the most important things to have when you're job hunting is a killer résumé. After all, if your CV doesn't pass muster, you won't even get a chance to meet face-to-face and let potential employers know why you're the right person for the job. Here are some details you should remove from your résumé:

• Middle and high school information. If you've gone through college, you usually don't need to add your high school information, particularly if you're way past the graduation date. Middle school references are also best taken out.
• Average or poor GPA. If the company doesn't ask for it, there's no reason to insert in your GPA, especially if your college days are far behind. Including a low GPA won't help your case.
• Passive language. Use action verbs and don't make weak references to your achievements. For example, saying things like "familiar with [insert skill]" or "learned how to [insert skill]" is unnecessary. You should cut to the chase and immediately address the skill so you seem like you have the experience, instead of looking like a trainee.
• Photos. Unless requested or depending on the industry, leave your photo out. You are not being judged on how you look, so including a photo will make you look unprofessional.

Read on for more.

A redditor posted a picture of a friend's outside-the-box résumé chocolate bar.

"Nick," the job applicant, designed the label of a crunch bar to reflect his job history in a creative way. The bar's tagline reads, "Credentials that will satisfy any organization's appetite." The back of the treat label has information like the skills he possesses, depicted in the form of ingredients.

This unique résumé apparently scored Nick the job, but I wonder if eating the chocolate influenced the hiring manager in any way.

Source: Imgur user elilanger

In this digital job-searcher's day and age, where everything is pretty much done online, there are a couple of etiquette steps we often forget about.

One of the most important steps to take when turning in your résumé and cover letter via email or an online submission is to give it a proper name. Too often, people's résumés and cover letters are given the generic name "résumé.doc" or "coverletter.doc." Step it up a notch and personalize the files by adding your name and renaming them to "JaneSmithRésumé" and "JaneSmithCoverLetter.doc."

Remember, the hiring manager receives many submissions. If they're saving the files to their computer, you're saving them the extra step of renaming the documents.

If you're job hunting, the Google Doc Templates gallery will be your BFF. You can download relevant templates and customize them to use for your application or your prep process. Here are a couple templates you might find helpful:

• Modern Resume: A very modern and clean looking resume that has a simple design. It doesn't look too cluttered up and has just the right professional touch.
• To Do List: When you're job hunting, you're going to have a neverending to do list for things like reaching out to contacts, going to events, sending resumes to a certain company. Keep your job search tasks organized in this Google template.
• Job Interview One-Sheeter: This is a great, great interview tool that will help you prepare. It's nice to have all your points located on a single sheet of paper so you can make sure you're covering all your bases. It's also handy because you can print it out and quickly look over for a refresher before an interview.
• Networking Tracker: To keep track of the many people you'll come in contact with while networking for a job, use this sheet to stay on top of things. Note: Although the preview doesn't seem to be working, the template still downloads and works fine.

Before you turn in a résumé, you should always have someone do a quick look over to catch any mistakes you might have missed. The reviewer can act as a filter to make sure that nothing inappropriate is left on your résumé. Hopefully, you haven't been making blatant mistakes similar to the ones CareerBuilder recently found in a study involving 2,298 hiring managers. Here are some of the most outrageous mistakes cited in the survey:

• "Candidate called himself a genius and invited the hiring manager to interview him at his apartment."
• "Candidate’s cover letter talked about her family being in the mob."
• "Candidate applying for a management job listed 'gator hunting' as a skill."
• "Candidate’s resume included phishing as a hobby."
• "Candidate specified that her resume was set up to be sung to the tune of “The Brady Bunch.”
• "Candidate highlighted the fact that he was “Homecoming Prom Prince” in 1984."
• "Candidate claimed to be able to speak “Antartican” when applying for a job to work in Antarctica."
• "Candidate’s resume had a photo of the applicant reclining in a hammock under the headline 'Hi, I'm _____ and I'm looking for a job.'"
• "Candidate’s resume was decorated with pink rabbits."
• "Candidate listed “to make dough” as the objective on the resume."
• "Candidate applying for an accounting job said he was “deetail-oriented” and spelled the company’s name incorrectly."
• "Candidate’s cover letter contained 'LOL.'"