Apart from the cardinal sin of clichés (“I’m a hard worker” or “I’m a team player”), there are a few general no-nos to resume-writing. Make sure not to let any of the following sneak into your resume and you’ll never be laughed out of the “maybe pile.”

1. Typos and mistakes

Check your spelling, punctuation, formatting, and especially grammar.

2. An overly casual tone

The time to be cool is at happy hour, once you have the job! Keep your resume 100% professional.

3. Clichés

We said it once. We’ll say it again. Find a new, fresh way to express that you’re a team player or a hard worker without resorting to tired, meaningless language.

4. Multiple pages

Stick to one. Clean and simple. Remember, hiring managers don’t have a lot of time. They’ll appreciate the effort you make to keep things short and sweet.

5. Fancy formatting

Just say no to background colors, borders, graphics, hearts, or happy faces. Keep it clean.

6. Third person

Keep things in the first person. “My responsibilities included…,” “I managed…,” etc.

7. Emojis

Seriously. Just don’t.

8. Saying stupid things about yourself

Don’t give a hiring manager any material to joke about in the coffee room. Make sure you have someone read through your resume before sending it out, just so you make sure you don’t say anything cringeworthy.

9. A juvenile email address

You might think it’s really cute to have hotdogbro@me.com, but no one else does. Some combination of your first and last names at a reputable service provider will do just fine.

10. A loony font

Don’t use comic sans just to be original. Don’t use script. Don’t use anything fun. Pick a totally boring and professional font if you want your resume to actually get read.









