15 Best Do’s and Don’ts of Resume Writing

Introduction

Your resume provides the initial information about your experience and skills to your potential employer. It includes a summary of your education, professional experience, and other details related to your intended job. You can distinguish yourself from other candidates by including the most relevant features and avoiding unnecessary things that may ruin your impression. These do’s and don’ts of resume writing are significant for the success of your job search. We have collected 15 Do’s and Don’ts of resumes that assist you in writing an impressive resume and enhance your chances of getting your desired job. 

Do Include Relevant Skills

The first rule to write a perfect resume is to include all skills relevant to your new job. You must also include any experience or skill that seems trivial if it is relevant. Any extra experience can distinguish you from your competitors and increase your selection prospects. 

Don’t Include Confidential Information

Like most other places, a resume is also not the right place to share your confidential info. Your resume can become public property after you share it on the internet. The confidential information includes any information that you do not want to publish in a major newspaper in front of your name. 

Do Optimize for ATS

Many large and small organizations use ATS (applicant tracking system) to remove unwanted candidates in the initial stages. This system checks the relevancy of a resume through pre-determined keywords and phrases related to the job. After its scan, only the most suited resume moves ahead for a human review. 

This system can block your resume even if you are a fit candidate for the job but your resume lacks those specific keywords required to pass ATS. You can take some common steps to optimize your resume for ATS. These include using a simple format, including the right keywords (without repeating them unnecessarily), and avoiding spelling mistakes. 

Don’t Include Obvious Skills

An unnecessary way to ruin your resume is by including obvious or common skills. Using the internet, MS Word, and other such skills are now very common. This only takes space and develops a bad impression on the employer. Understanding this point is part of the do’s and don’ts of resume writing. 

Do Use Simple Language

Using big and difficult words does not make your resume stand out from others. Instead, it can conceal the most relevant skills on your resume that matter for your job. Therefore, it is advisable to use simple and easily understandable language in your resume and focus on highlighting your relevant skills and experience. It is part of resume writing do’s and don’ts. 

Don’t Include Your Photo

Do not include your photo or any other details that may result in discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, marital status, etc. Discrimination on any base is prohibited but it can happen subconsciously. Therefore, remember this major point about do’s and don’ts of resume writing and do not give any chance to recruiters to reject you for these specifics. 

Do Keep it to a Single Page

Recruiters usually have to read numerous resumes for a single job and they cannot spend a lot of time on any resume. Keeping this factor in mind is an important part of do’s and don’ts of resume writing. Don’t include unnecessary details and limit your resume to one page. This is handy if you have up to 10 years of experience. If you have additional experience in multiple roles, you can extend it to two pages. 

Don’t Use Multiple Fonts or Text Effects

One of several resume writing tips is to stick with a single font throughout your resume. However, you can try using distracting texts if you are a designer and know how they work. Your resume can also become annoying if you use text effects extensively. Limit bold, italics, and all caps to major features that should be highlighted. 

Do Focus on the Content

Traditional companies prefer traditional resumes where the focus is on highlighting relevant skills and experience. It is also part of major do’s and don’ts of resume writing. Additionally, present the information in a summarized way that is easy to digest for the recruiter. Resumes with videos or multimedia are only suited to creative companies.  

Don’t Use Infographics

Infographic resumes or data visualizations look nice and engaging. However, they usually focus more on design and less on relevancy. Therefore, they are not ideal for traditional jobs as they generally lack the necessary content, specific to your desired job. They are among Common resume mistakes to avoid. 

Do Use Numbers and Bullets Intelligently

Using numbers and bullets is a good strategy to distinguish between your educational qualifications and various positions in a company. However, do not load these numbers and bullets with unnecessary detailed information. Each bulleted point should not be more than two lines long. Otherwise, it will eradicate the purpose of the resume and it becomes indigestible for recruiters who usually take less than a minute on each CV. 

Don’t Send a Word Document

You need careful formatting to deliver the best resume for the job. However, the entire formatting can be squashed if you send your file in .doc format. It is another thing to note while identifying do’s and don’ts of resume writing. Therefore, the better option is to save your final version as a PDF document so that it remains unchanged when the recruiter opens it on the desktop. 

Do Take Assistance from Friends

A good idea to improve your resume is to get assistance from your friends. It is possible in two ways. First, show them your resume and ask if it is inspiring or boring. They can also guide you about points that you need to add to delete for improvement. Another way you can get assistance is by viewing their resumes and making corrections on your own with inspiration from their CVs. 

Don’t Include Unrelated Hobbies

Like unrelated skills, there is also no need to mention unrelated hobbies in your resume. Hiring managers are not interested if you play soccer or read fantasy books. These hobbies only clutter your CV with irrelevant content that can even reduce your hiring potential. However, hobbies related to your job or skills can become part of your resume and may increase your chances of hiring. 

Do Include a Summary Statement

The summary statement consists of a few lines at the beginning of a resume, which summarize your experience and relevant skills. It is an important part of your CV if you have years of experience in various fields and several skills. The summary statement will encourage the recruiter to read your resume in full, increasing your chances of hiring. 

Conclusion

Writing an impressive and convincing resume is a difficult task and many new and jobseekers fail to do so due to committing avoidable mistakes. It reduces hiring chances for candidates. However, you can write your best CV by adding some necessary points and avoiding others that may harm your CV. The above 15 do’s and don’ts of resume writing can assist you in achieving this function. `