Even though the banking Sector did collect all the required data from you online. It is still important to make a good looking resume to ma...
Even though the banking Sector did collect all the required data from you online. It is still important to make a good looking resume to make first impression to the recruiters after getting through the initial hurdles of Banking examinations. You are 90% completed when you go for an interview but it is important to finish the line as you never know what the HR people think.
Here are the common mistakes we make while making a resume and the simple solution to avoid them. Hope it will be helpful to you.
1. Spelling errors, typos and poor grammar
Tip: don’t just rely on spell check. Physically read and proof through your final document; then, have another person proof it as well. Your resume is a reflection of your potential work habits. It must be flawless and error free.
2. Too Duty-Oriented
Keep your description of duties succinct and focus more on the accomplishments of past employment.
3. Inaccurate dates or none at all
This is red flag to recruiters indicating the candidate is trying to hide something. Don’t be afraid to list training, formal education and volunteer service. This will explain any gaps in employment and put a recruiters mind at rest.
4. Inaccurate or missing contact information
If your phone number, email address etc. are listed wrong, a recruiter or screener will not take the trouble to look you up. They’ll just go to the next candidate.
5. Poor formatting
Different type faces, fonts, and graphic frills do not impress recruiters unless you’re applying to be a graphic artist. I suggest Times New Roman font. It’s easy to read and soft on the eyes. Keep the formatting simple and clean. If you know your resume will be scanned, use plain text without any bold face, underlined phrases, borders, bullets, italics or fancy graphics.
6. Functional resumes
A functional resume is one that does not list specific dates of employment or names of employers; it only lists your work experience in generic terms. While this format was once popular 20-25 years ago, it is now considered a major red flag to recruiters. Use a chronologically formatted resume whenever possible. List experience and education in reverse chronological order.
7. Long resumes and long paragraphs
The general rule regarding multiple page resumes: if you’re still in school or recently graduated with less than five years of related experience, you should limit your resume to no more than one page; as your professional experience grows, it is OK to go beyond one page, but no more than two pages unless you’re formatting a “curriculum vitae” which is teachers and academia use when applying for teaching positions.
8. Unqualified candidates
Make certain you meet the minimum requirements of positions for which you are applying and submitting resumes. Otherwise, you are wasting their time.
9. Personal information unrelated to the job
Personal information unrelated to the job, e.g., height, weight, age, or personal interests should be left off of your resume; only your marketable qualifications as they pertain to the job for which you are applying should be listed.
10. Incorrect title to the Resume
Titiling the Resume nowadays become as important as your contents of the resume as there are companies which filters based on your resume title. If there is specific instruction anoput how to title your Resume do follow that. For exampole a bank looking for a credit Specialist may ask for a title in the following format.
Name_Experience years_Special Skills_Qualification
Ex. Rajesh_3_Forex_BE
11. Employer or company info not included and/or not telling what industry or product-line in which candidate worked.
12. Lying or misleading information (especially in terms of education, dates and inflated job titles.
13. Meaningless objectives or introductions. Your objective should be listed as the exact title of the job for which you are applying.
14. Poor font choice either size or style. I start with 12 pt. Times New Roman and reduce as low as 10 pt. If I need extra space or lines. I never reduce below 10 pt. font. You don’t want to turn the resume screening process into an eye exam.
15. Resumes emailed as pdf or Zip attachments; use only Microsoft WORD attachments unless specifically requested by the employer to do otherwise.
16. Pictures, graphics or url links AND colored paper; use only plain white paper. You won’t receive any extra brownie points for fancy off-white or parchment style paper. Quality bonded paper with a watermark is available in plain white.
17. Hard to follow summary or format. Human resource and resume paper screeners often have to screen dozens or hundreds of resumes for one position. Hard to read resumes are simply cast aside.
18. Resumes written in the 1st or 3rd person.
19. Gaps in employment history. Example: If you have not employed with anyone for some period then it must be stated and the justifying reason along with it. Breaks within Past experience will make the Recruiter to think bad on you.
20. Burying important information in the resume. Make certain that your strongest marketable skills are listed in your SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS so they stand out and are easy to read.
Here are the common mistakes we make while making a resume and the simple solution to avoid them. Hope it will be helpful to you.
Top 10 resume mistakes to avoid
1. Spelling errors, typos and poor grammar
Tip: don’t just rely on spell check. Physically read and proof through your final document; then, have another person proof it as well. Your resume is a reflection of your potential work habits. It must be flawless and error free.
2. Too Duty-Oriented
Keep your description of duties succinct and focus more on the accomplishments of past employment.
3. Inaccurate dates or none at all
This is red flag to recruiters indicating the candidate is trying to hide something. Don’t be afraid to list training, formal education and volunteer service. This will explain any gaps in employment and put a recruiters mind at rest.
4. Inaccurate or missing contact information
If your phone number, email address etc. are listed wrong, a recruiter or screener will not take the trouble to look you up. They’ll just go to the next candidate.
5. Poor formatting
Different type faces, fonts, and graphic frills do not impress recruiters unless you’re applying to be a graphic artist. I suggest Times New Roman font. It’s easy to read and soft on the eyes. Keep the formatting simple and clean. If you know your resume will be scanned, use plain text without any bold face, underlined phrases, borders, bullets, italics or fancy graphics.
6. Functional resumes
A functional resume is one that does not list specific dates of employment or names of employers; it only lists your work experience in generic terms. While this format was once popular 20-25 years ago, it is now considered a major red flag to recruiters. Use a chronologically formatted resume whenever possible. List experience and education in reverse chronological order.
7. Long resumes and long paragraphs
The general rule regarding multiple page resumes: if you’re still in school or recently graduated with less than five years of related experience, you should limit your resume to no more than one page; as your professional experience grows, it is OK to go beyond one page, but no more than two pages unless you’re formatting a “curriculum vitae” which is teachers and academia use when applying for teaching positions.
8. Unqualified candidates
Make certain you meet the minimum requirements of positions for which you are applying and submitting resumes. Otherwise, you are wasting their time.
9. Personal information unrelated to the job
Personal information unrelated to the job, e.g., height, weight, age, or personal interests should be left off of your resume; only your marketable qualifications as they pertain to the job for which you are applying should be listed.
10. Incorrect title to the Resume
Titiling the Resume nowadays become as important as your contents of the resume as there are companies which filters based on your resume title. If there is specific instruction anoput how to title your Resume do follow that. For exampole a bank looking for a credit Specialist may ask for a title in the following format.
Name_Experience years_Special Skills_Qualification
Ex. Rajesh_3_Forex_BE
And, the next 10 mistakes to avoid:
11. Employer or company info not included and/or not telling what industry or product-line in which candidate worked.
12. Lying or misleading information (especially in terms of education, dates and inflated job titles.
13. Meaningless objectives or introductions. Your objective should be listed as the exact title of the job for which you are applying.
14. Poor font choice either size or style. I start with 12 pt. Times New Roman and reduce as low as 10 pt. If I need extra space or lines. I never reduce below 10 pt. font. You don’t want to turn the resume screening process into an eye exam.
15. Resumes emailed as pdf or Zip attachments; use only Microsoft WORD attachments unless specifically requested by the employer to do otherwise.
16. Pictures, graphics or url links AND colored paper; use only plain white paper. You won’t receive any extra brownie points for fancy off-white or parchment style paper. Quality bonded paper with a watermark is available in plain white.
17. Hard to follow summary or format. Human resource and resume paper screeners often have to screen dozens or hundreds of resumes for one position. Hard to read resumes are simply cast aside.
18. Resumes written in the 1st or 3rd person.
19. Gaps in employment history. Example: If you have not employed with anyone for some period then it must be stated and the justifying reason along with it. Breaks within Past experience will make the Recruiter to think bad on you.
20. Burying important information in the resume. Make certain that your strongest marketable skills are listed in your SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS so they stand out and are easy to read.