I've been teaching business writing at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC for the past 5 years. During that time, I've taught hundreds of students how to write effective resumes. Their resume drafts are often filled with mistakes that would cause potential employers to throw them straight into the trash.

Here is a list of the top ten common resume mistakes made by novice resume writers:

1. Spelling and Typing Errors. This simple mistake makes you look careless and/or ignorant, both are resume killers.

2. Using Long Sentences and Paragraphs. Potential employers don't want to read a wall of words, they'll just toss your resume into the recycle bin. To get your resume read, divide it into sections and use bulleted lists instead of paragraphs.

3. Making your Resume too Busy. Your resume should be easy to read. Use no more than 2 fonts. Use 10, 11, or 12 point Times New Roman or Arial. Those are the easiest fonts and sizes to read. Bold and underline only to highlight a new section or very important information. Keep margins at 1 inch.

4. Using Complete Sentences. Again, your resume must be easy to read, skim, and scan. Only the "objective" should contain a complete sentence. Otherwise, do not use articles like "a", "an", or "the". Also avoid pronouns like "I", "me", "my", "our", and "mine". They take up space that could be used to make your accomplishments shine!

5. Saying "Was responsible for...". Avoid passive statements like this one. Instead, use active verbs whenever possible. For example, instead of saying "was responsible for writing department web page" write "created and maintained department web page": and provide the web address!

6. Writing Vague Statements. Your resume is the place to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Pick specific achievements to highlight. Use statistics when possible and appropriate. Say "increased production by 35%" or "sold 5.7 million dollars in real estate during the month of May".

7. Excessive Length. Most resumes should be one page. If you've had a long career, you may need two pages. But, remember that the point of the resume is to get you an interview, not to get you the job! Leave some details to discuss during the interview.

8. Too much Information. Employers don't need to know your social security number, height, weight, marital status, religious affiliation, or political beliefs. In fact, some employers may discriminate against you if they know these details. Check your volunteer or service information to be sure it's not personally revealing.

9. Using Graphics and Pictures. Do not include any graphics or pictures that might distract the reader.

10. Inappropriate Contact Information. Your e-mail address must be business appropriate. It also should not include your birth year in case of age discrimination. If your address is "sexy114@yahoo.com" that's fine for your friends, but not for your resume. Your voice mail message must be business appropriate. Now is not the time to let your child leave a message or to let callers hear your favorite song!

I hope these tips will help you write a resume that will get you noticed. But, if it seems too complicated to write a quality resume, I would be happy to help!

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