It Takes a Great Résumé to Get an Interview

Before we begin, let’s look at a few things that take a résumé down a peg or two.

• Spelling mistakes. This may be the number one reason why résumés go into the trash, and yet they’re so easy to fix. A quick run with a spellchecker will resolve it.
• Misused words. If spelling mistakes are number one, misused words aren’t far behind. Both send “laziness” and “sloppiness” signals to the people screening your résumé. Misused words can usually be found quite easily with good proofreading by a competent person.

• A plethora of responsibilities. Listing too many responsibilities bores people. Keep it to a bare minimum and list accomplishments instead. Besides, no one wants to see what you’ve been responsible for; they want to see what you’ve done.
• Not showing the months you worked at each job. Even if listing the months shows a gap in employment, it should be done. Read this post to get more insight as to why.
• Years of experience. There’s nothing you can do if you don’t possess the required years of experience—except write a good persuasive cover letter that sells them on you as a candidate. This post shows some of the reasons why you should write a cover letter. If you go to my site and search for “cover letters” you’ll find plenty more.
• Education. Same as “years of experience.” The only thing that will stop your résumé from going in the trash is a good cover letter.

This is far from a comprehensive list of why it takes a great résumé to get an interview, but it is a good start. Work on getting this straight, then you can move on to other mistakes. I list them all in my book, No Mistakes Resumes.

It Takes a Great Résumé to Get an Interview

I know we already said that, but I want you to remember that it takes a great résumé to get an interview, not just a good one. When you’re putting your résumé together, keep that in mind. There’s a difference—usually a huge stack of differences. Many “good” résumés end up in the “not to be considered” pile not because the résumé didn’t meet the job requirements, but because the résumé did not present the person as good as the résumés in the “to be read further” pile or the “invite for an interview” pile.

If you’re content being placed in the “not to be considered” pile fine; if you prefer to be chosen for the “invite for an interview” pile, read more on the subject.

Great Résumés Need to Have…

Great résumés need to have a lot of things. Below are a few.

• accomplishments, not responsibilities
• a good match for the job description (in other words, a listing of accomplishments that show you can do the job)
• Stability (or a cover letter which explains why you haven’t enjoyed a stable work history and why you can with them)
• No mistakes (this may be the most important of all) Mistakes indicate laziness and sloppiness. Two traits most companies loathe in an employee.

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Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar, publishing., and children’s fiction and nonfiction.

When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count, they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who used to take walks with Giacomo every day.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with forty-five loving “friends.”