5 Mistakes on Your Resume You Should Fix Now

1) Education Placement: Many resume templates put education at the very top of the page, just below your name and contact info. This is a mistake. Here's why:

Because people read from top to bottom, there is a good chance that hiring managers/recruiters will in fact read whatever is in the top-most position (even if they skim or skip the rest). If they find your school, major or GPA irrelevant they may write you off immediately.

2) Tasks over results: Describing your past work experience in terms of tasks you performed regularly may be difficult to understand, irrelevant and frankly just not very impressive. Especially if the person reading your resume isn't familiar with the tasks.

Instead, focus describing your past roles in terms of results or the value that you brough to the company. It's the difference between "helped with project research" versus "analyzed and presented on a Harvard Business Review Case Study".

3) Ommitting Meaningful Metrics: If you fail to include numbers, statistics and quantifiable achievements it will be difficult to communicate the value you brought to your past jobs and the benefit of hiring you.

Do your best to find the most meaningful metrics you can by starting with the tasks you performed and then asking "why does that matter?" until you get to the result. Any metrics at all communicate that you care about the results, not simply the tasks. That matters to hirers.

4) One Resume for All: One generic resume that you use when applying to all jobs - regardless of the industry, position and requirements is too generic to be relevant. A resume shouldn't be an overview of who you are, but a list of relevant experience and positions you've held.

It's critical to tailor your resume according to the position, company and industry you're applying for. Pay close attention to the specific requirements they're looking for and be sure to mention them by name on your resume.

Overlooking Small Details: Formatting, spelling, spacing, grammar - mistakes like these can unnecessarily cost you a job. They may be easy to overlook, but avoidable errors can be a red flag to hiring managers.

Run your resume through Grammarly (or similar error-checking software) or better yet run it by a group of friends. As many eyes and tools on your resume as possible will help ensure it is mistake-free.