| |  |  |  |  |  | < Back to Career Resources Top 10 Mistakes Reps Make on the Resume 1. Failure to include annual sales % to quota, ranking
It's important to quantify your success. Managers and recruiters need to get a sense of what you have been able to accomplish in terms of increasing revenues, etc. We want to see numbers in your resume, not just words.
- For example, "grew business from $500k to 1,000,000 in 2006".
- "Achieved 110% to quota."
This needs to be documented.
2. Accomplishments listed at the end of the resume
This is something we do see every now and then. A candidate lists all of their positions held and then at the end of their resume summarizes their accomplishments from all of their different positions. If someone loses interest part-way through your resume, they may not read to the end of it. In addition, because most resumes are quickly read through it can be difficult to determine where certain accomplishments are attained.
3. Use of personal pronouns within resume
Example of what NOT to do:
"I work for a Fortune 500 company and my company is a leader in their field. I've achieved great success here in my current position and believe I can contribute greatly to an organization."
4. Use of paragraph format vs. bullet (point by point) format
For hiring managers and recruiters a like, it is difficult to look at a resume that is in paragraph format, meaning there is literally one long paragraph under each position held.
Rather, list specific accomplishments and other relevant information point by point with maybe a brief description of the company or job.
5. Making resume too long
1 page is great, 2 pages is okay, but 3 + pages is too long...
6. Not including all relevant contact information
Make sure to include all relevant contact information (including email). Of course, if there is a number that you would prefer to not have someone call you at, do not include it on your resume.
7. No specific objective
If you are looking to stay in sales or are you determined to break into a specific industry or stay within your existing industry, specifically state that on your resume.
8. Failure to differentiate between experience prior to graduating college
No one wants to hire a job hopper. There are cases when a candidate appears to be more unstable in their employment history. In actuality, the candidate simply did not differentiate on their resume between those jobs that were during college and those that are after.
9. Failure to include progressions with current and previous positions
For example, a resume may state that a candidate is a Sales Manager at ABC Company, but what they do not show are the promotions received. List your promotions.
10. Employment Status Not Current
If you have just left the most current position listed on your resume, make sure your resume does not say "2005 to Present." Managers or recruiters may feel as if you were trying to mislead them about your current employment status if this information is not up-to-date.
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