If you want your resume to be distinctive in its professional appearance, make sure you pay attention to the list below.

Everything on this list is common sense. So, why do so many people make these resume mistakes every day? One reason is that some job candidates have no idea how to create a professional document, nor are they willing to take the time to learn. Along the same lines, many people are simply lazy. They do not want to spend the time to compose attention-getting, easy-to-read copy, much less proofread their material once it is written. Employers have no time to waste on people who are unwilling to make the effort to ensure their resume is free of errors. Those are not the kind of people they are looking to hire.

Take the time to create a professional document that stands out because it is exactly what employers are looking for and you will be far ahead of your competitors for the position you want.

Are you ready?

Here, in no particular order, are the most-cited reasons that resumes end up in the reject pile without being given more than a cursory glance.

Typos

Proofread your material. Proofread it again. Spell check it. Have your neighbors, friends, family and anyone else you can find to review your resume for you. Ask them to look for typos and grammar errors. Have them read it for “tense consistency” (make sure everything is presented in the same tense).

Font Faults

Do not use small fonts. Do not use too many different fonts. An employer is going to scan your resume, not fully read it. If the type is hard to read or is difficult to follow, no one is going to spend any time on it at all. Keep the type at least at a 10 point and use one font. Make it easy on the person who is going to be reading it.

Buried Skills

If your resume highlights job duties but omits the actual skills you have mastered or the accomplishments you have made, the person who reads it – ahem…scans it - will not recognize your special talents and abilities. Make sure you focus your attention on what you have to offer as opposed to what your responsibilities were in your past jobs. Whenever possible, quantify your statements with numbers. Instead of saying you helped the distribution center organize its processes, state "HOW" you helped them do this. Be specific and use numbers whenever possible. Vague assertions have no value.

Format focus vs Content focus

Do not get so wrapped up in the way the resume is supposed to LOOK that you forget to respond to what it is supposed to SAY. You can use the fanciest font in a creative new format, but if you do not concentrate your efforts on the words you use, the employer will not care how the resume looks. You don’t get an interview based on a cute resume. You get an interview based on whether or not the employer believes you can do the job well.

Wordy, Verbose, Lengthy, Effusive, Protracted, Loquacious, Rambling, Long-Winded…

Make your statements clear and concise.

Incorrect Information

Proofreading is not just for the body of the resume, it is also for your heading, your objective statement and so on. Proofread everything. Are your dates accurate? Look for continuity throughout the text. Does everything flow nicely. Read your resume aloud and listen for statements that don't roll off the tongue easily. It might be a clue that something should be revised.

Cheap or Colored Paper

You can have the most amazing resume ever, but if you print it on lavender paper hoping it will get noticed, you will waste a lot of pretty paper that could be better used for writing your aunt or grandmother. The colors you should use for your paper are: White, off-white, off-off-white. Do you see a trend? Also, spend a few extra dollars and buy GOOD, QUALITY paper. Forget the floppy, wimpy copy paper. Get some 24 lb paper with a watermark. It will make a much better impression – and that is what this whole process is all about, right?

If you want to get an interview, you're going to have to present yourself as a professional with a strong attention to detail and willing to go the extra mile to ensure success.

Doesn't it make sense to present your credentials in the most amazing way possible so that the employer can't help but call you for an interview?

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