Make Your Résumé Flawless

When sending your résumé out to potential employers, you need to make sure that it is as good as it can get. Go over everything you've written with a fine toothed comb to make sure there aren't any mistakes. Any résumé mistakes that may seem potentially small to you can land your résumé right in the trash.

First things first, you don't want to send a résumé out with any spelling or grammar mistakes. Spell check might not always work so read what you've written and make sure everything is spelled correctly. It's also a good idea to have others read it over a couple of times just to be sure you didn't overlook any mistakes. An otherwise good résumé can be ruined if it's full of spelling and grammar mistakes. The same applies to attached cover letters. Be sure you spell everything correctly and have correct grammar. If the first thing an employer notices are spelling and grammar mistakes, they're more than likely not going to bother to call you back.

Don't send the same résumé out to each potential employer. You should change your résumé to fit your prospective job prospects. Be sure to highlight your experiences, skills, and accomplishments. This is a part where some people put a lot of irrelevant information. It doesn't matter if your desserts won a prize at the church bake sale. While that may be an accomplishment for you on a personal level, unless you're applying for a job in a bakery, a potential employer isn't going to want to hear that. It's not relevant to the job. Only put the skills that are relevant to the job for which you are seeking. This is also important for people who may have made a career change. While your skills were relevant at your old job, they might not be as relevant in a new position so double check to see what skills and experience new employers are seeking.

Set up a professional email address. Many companies don't respond well to personal email addresses suck as sexy_back4u@yahoo.com. This may get your résumé overlooked as well. A professional email address can be as simple as your last name and first initial. Don't add any extra fancy symbols to an email address you're going to be sending potential employers. You want them to take you seriously and look at you like a potential employee, not as Boo Boo from down the street. Yahoo and Gmail offer free email accounts so you can create a professional account through either of them.

Don't try to spice up your résumé with lies. Be honest about your education, work experience, and skills. If you can only type 50 words per minute, don't try to increase your chances for getting hired by saying you type 90 words per minute. Most jobs with a typing requirement will give you a typing test anyway and you don't want to look like a fool being caught in your lie. Don't say you were the head chef at a restaurant when you were the busboy. If you did not graduate from college, don't lie and say you did. A simple thing called a background check can reveal the truth about your past education and experiences so lying will get you nowhere. If you're required to fill out an application in addition to submitting a résumé and cover letter, be honest about any past arrests or convictions. You may think telling the truth upfront about certain things will automatically eliminate you from getting the job. While this may be true in some cases, if you're hired under false pretenses, you can expect to be fired once your employer finds out.

If you're honest and upfront about your information and experiences and be sure you don't have any simple mistakes like spelling and grammatical errors, you have a better chance of a potential employee calling you back for a position. Employers want honest and hard working employees. A flawless résumé can show them that you are potentially the person they are looking for so be sure to put time and effort into creating it. Consider your résumé your first interview with the company. Like any other interview, you want to represent yourself as best you can.