7 Resume Myths to Stop Believing ASAP
“I heard that resumes are only supposed to be one page.”
“I read that I need to have a different resume for each job I apply to.”
“Someone told me that my resume should be in all black and white.”
Do any of these statements sound familiar? There’s an abundance of information and career experts online. You may have heard these resume rumors and many others on LinkedIn, Instagram, and maybe even some blogs. Some pieces of resume advice are simply outdated, and others are flat-out wrong.
Because a resume is one of the most important assets you can have to upgrade, change, or level up your life, it’s important that this document is at its absolute best at all times to keep you ready for new career opportunities.
But writing your resume according to resume myths can put you in jeopardy.
HOW RESUME MYTHS HURT YOU
There are several reasons why your resume can get rejected by the Applicant Tracking System. But if your resume goes against best practices or includes unnecessary information and elements, it could also be the cause as to why you keep getting those dreaded “We regret to inform you emails.”.
Resume myths such as limiting your entire work history and career experience can result in not enough keywords being present in the document while listing all of your work history and responsibilities can make your resume too broad and not targeted or specific enough. All of these factors can make a recruiter, or the ATS, pass on your application and resume altogether.
The wrong or a bad resume can cost you thousands of dollars, life-changing career opportunities, and precious time in your job search. By the time most people realize that their resume is not up to par, they have already missed out on dozens of job openings they could have otherwise landed.
Do yourself a favor and reach out to a resume writer, recruiter, or career coach on resume best practices. Or better yet, hire an expert resume writer for added assurance and to take the task off your plate altogether – especially if writing is not your strength.
7 RESUME MYTHS TO STOP BELIEVING
These are the most common resume myths that hinder resume and job search effectiveness. If you see them listed in any article or social media post, don’t believe it!
1. YOUR RESUME SHOULD BE ONE PAGE
In a previous blog post, we dispelled the one-page resume myth and talked about when a multi-page resume is acceptable. Making your resume one page is fine for people with entry-level experience, but for experienced professionals with 5 years or more, you may be doing yourself a disservice by omitting information.
Multi-page resumes have many benefits including having more keywords, being more detailed and specific, and demonstrating the person’s skill set. To figure out if your resume should be one page or more, ask yourself these questions:
Is all of the information relevant?
Is all of the information necessary?
Is all the information on my resume valuable?
Does all of the information pitch me as the solution to the company’s problem?
2. YOU SHOULD INCLUDE YOUR ENTIRE WORK HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE
Listing every job you’ve ever had since the beginning of time is a no-no. You want to only list the jobs you’ve held in the past 7 to 10 years and the jobs that are directly related to the roles you’re applying to.
This won’t be a problem for you if you’ve been progressing in the same industry, field, or profession for years. But if you’ve recently made a career transition, if you tend to job hop around different industries and fields, or if the relevant experience you have is dated, you’ll need to choose what to list and what to get rid of.
If this limits your resume to one page, that’s totally okay.
3. KEYWORD STUFFING WILL HELP GET YOUR RESUME PAST ATS SYSTEMS
The Applicant Tracking System is widely hated for scanning resumes for certain keywords and phrases on resumes.
Resumes enriched and optimized with on-target keywords and terms are able to get past screening software, while resumes that have little to no keywords tend to get rejected.
This doesn’t mean that you should keyword stuff your resume with all the words recruiters want to see, though. Keyword stuffing includes copying and pasting the job description into your resume or putting as many relatable words as possible in your resume just to get them past the system.
This may get you past the ATS, but your resume will still get rejected by a recruiter if you’re not a good fit. Your resume should be keyword optimized, but the content included within it should flow and sound natural.
4. YOU SHOULD USE THE SAME RESUME TO APPLY TO ALL JOBS
Because each job you’re applying to is going to be different in terms of job title, tasks, responsibilities, and qualifications, you should have variations of your resume as opposed to having one master, catch-all resume.
Targeted resumes have been proven to yield more job interviews and callbacks overall, but many applicants still fail to effectively tailor their resumes.
It’s true that you should have a master copy of all of your job and experiences for record-keeping, but when job searching, they should be targeted and narrowed down to specific roles.
5. YOU SHOULD CHANGE YOUR RESUME FOR EACH JOB
Similar to the myth above yet opposite, if your resume is properly targeted for aspiring jobs you shouldn’t need to tweak it for every single post that you submit your resume for.
Before you begin writing your resume or request the help of a resume writer, you need to know what jobs you plan on applying to. You should have a list of 3 to 5 jobs that are somewhat related and target your resume for each.
Surprisingly, it’s not uncommon to have multiple resumes.
6. YOUR RESUME NEEDS TO BE SUPER FANCY TO STAND OUT
Your resume doesn’t have to have all the bells and whistles to stand out. Fancy templates and pre-set designs may look nice, but they could actually hurt your job search if it’s formatted incorrectly.
You don’t need a cursive, curly font, your picture included, or cute logos and graphics to make your resume stand out.
All you need to do is to make sure that your value and impact are communicated and that the document overall presents you as an experienced professional who can do the job. You don’t need to overboard with design and style to get recruiters’ attention.
7. YOU CAN’T USE COLOR
Plain black and white resumes are a thing of the past. You can certainly use color, in moderation, to give your resume a sleek and polished look. However, keep your body and paragraph text black, and don’t go overboard. Use color for your name, targeted headline, and section headers to keep it modest and subtle.
HIRE AN EXPERT IF YOU’RE UNSURE
When in doubt, it’s always best to hire a resume writer. Be sure the person or company that you select has adequate experience and has a firm understanding of today’s resume trends and dos and don’ts. Writing a resume can seem intimidating because there is a lot of pressure for it to be perfect.
If writing isn’t your strength, if you lack the time to really sit down and customize your resume, or if you aren’t sure how to write your resume at all, a professional resume writer can definitely take it off your plate. After all, they are the expert!