When writing your résumé, it is of  undeniable importance that you avoid common mistakes. This is important because you might otherwise not be invited to an interview. This article points out for common mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. FREELANCER TIPS
Four mistakes to absolutely
avoid in your résumé
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24.07.2013
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2. A well-written CV
A good, well-written résumé is a must have for anyone looking
to land a job in today’s business world. These few couple of
pages actually determine whether you get invited for an
interview or not. But what makes a good or a bad résumé?
A recruiter has to go through tenths, no, hundreds of résumés a
day. That’s why most of them get very little amount of attention
– sometimes as few as ten seconds. In order to get through the
majority of applications in a short amount of time, recruiters
tend to be quite harsh when it comes down to mistakes. This
article aims to help you avoid those errors that are instant dealbreakers, which will cause your résumé to land directly in the
paper bin.

3. 1) Listing “bare” strengths
This is probably the most common trap job seekers fall into.
Writing that you are a “motivated, hard-working team player”
who has “great communications skills” can be quite tempting.
However, it has exactly zero worth for your résumé – you can
write that you are Thor, God of Thunder for all you like, but the
recruiter isn’t really going to care unless you can prove it. So try
telling a story when listing your strengths. Think about an
example of how a certain skill helped you in your last job and try
to condense it in one or two sentences. Backing those
statements up increases their value immensely and reassures
the recruiter that you’re not just trying to make yourself look
better than you actually are.

4. 2) Not adapting a résumé to the job offer
If you’re looking for a job or a contract, it is very likely that
you’re sending out multiple résumés a day. It often seems easy
to put pretty much the same in all of them, but it’s definitely
going to be a deal-breaker. Job offers usually focus on certain
aspects or skills potential candidates should have. Every résumé
you write should be concentrated on the exact points the
employer is looking for. This also means cutting out irrelevant
information. You might be proud of a certain achievement, but if
it’s not really relevant for the job you’re currently applying for,
you might as well leave it out.

5. 3) Clichés
There are many overused phrases and sentences which are
included in most résumés. Such clichés either have little to no
meaning or just go without saying most of the time. “References
available upon request” is one of these phrases. You’re not
doing yourself a favour by wasting precious space in your
résumé to tell the recruiter something they already know – it’s
not like you’re going to deny sending them references if they do
get requested.

6. 3) Clichés (cont.)
Describing yourself as “motivated” is another good example of a
cliché that has little value. In order to avoid clichés just try to
think about whether a certain word or phrase actually has some
meaning that will help you get the job. If the answer is no, you
probably want to cut it out, a recruiter is unlikely to read your
whole résumé, so you better make every sentence count.

7. 4) Spelling errors
Last but not least, you should really mind your spelling. Make
sure to always proofread your résumés. There are so many ways
to check a written text for spelling mistakes nowadays that
making such mistakes just comes off as being plain lazy. Spelling
mistakes tell the recruiter that you didn’t put in those extra five
to ten minutes of effort to double-check what you actually
wrote. And if you’re not willing to do that you probably don’t
deserve a shot at getting the job or contract, at least from the
recruiter’s point of view.

8. Increasement of offers
Following these tips will increase the chances of your résumé
being taken into consideration. Avoiding the mistakes that most
make will distinguish you from the crowd. Still, with hundreds of
candidates, don’t expect to land a project or a job after the first
couple of applications you send. Avoiding mistakes is a key
element of a successful résumé, but persistence is definitely
another one.

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Contact
freelancermap.com
Contact person: Doreen Schollmeier - International Affairs
Mail: info@freelancermap.com
Skype: doreen.schollmeier
Phone: +49-911-37750286
facebook: www.facebook.com/freelancermapInternational
Twitter: freelancer_INT

10. Further freelancer tips available on http://www.freelancermap.com/channel/19-news.html
Contact
freelancermap.com
Contact person: Doreen Schollmeier - International Affairs
Mail: info@freelancermap.com
Skype: doreen.schollmeier
Phone: +49-911-37750286
facebook: www.facebook.com/freelancermapInternational
Twitter: freelancer_INT