Whether you are unemployed and seeking for job vacancies in Trinidad or else you want to change companies or careers, a high-quality resume is crucial to help you stand out. Your application is one of the dozens received by recruitment managers for each role, and they are looking for any excuse to put a resume in the rejection pile.
Resume mistakes to avoid when looking for a job in Trinidad and Tobago
Resume readers spend a matter of seconds analyzing applications and will bin any that fail to meet their ‘first impression’ standards. Even if you make it past the initial ‘scanning’ process, you have to impress them or face elimination from the hiring process. Hiring managers are amazed to witness the same mistakes made time and again so below; we look at 10 of the most common resume blunders.
1. Spelling & Grammatical Errors
This remains the #1 resume mistake in Trinidad and Tobago (and all over the world). Always ask someone to look over your document because a writer is the last person to spot their mistakes. Spellcheck is inefficient at catching errors so don’t rely on it.
2. Dodgy Formatting & Crazy Fonts
You want your resume to stand out in a good way! Best practices include using a maximum of two fonts with careful use of font size. We have been aghast to see applications with five different fonts in a variety of sizes and even colors! Arial and Times New Roman are safe bets although the latter is perhaps overused.
Keep paragraphs short with plenty of white space on the page. Bullet points are an excellent way to attract the reader’s eye, and we can’t emphasize the importance of keeping everything neatly aligned. Follow the tried and true resume structure as going ‘leftfield’ won’t do you any favors.
3. Too Long or Short
The classic resume length is two x A4 pages, no more and no less. If you’re having trouble filling a couple of pages, including educational achievements, extracurricular activities and volunteer work relevant to the job opening. As your career develops, the most difficult task is to condense everything into two pages. This requires a little more planning but only including your most recent work, and educational history is a good start.
4. False Information
If there is one thing hiring managers in Trinidad and Tobago are good at, it is exposing lies told by job applicants. Lying on your resume is a terrible idea because new and improved background checking procedures and reference checks will probably catch you out long before the interview process.
If you get lucky, make it through the interview and get hired without being caught, your good fortune could still run out. It isn’t unusual for fraudulent candidates to be found out several months into a new job; they always get fired even if they are performing superbly. Common lies include pretending to speak several languages and graduating from college.
5. Hiding Resume Gaps
While this isn’t technically a case of providing false information, it is still considered a lie by employers which means no job for you! Employers focus on how long you remained in previous jobs because the hiring process is expensive and they want candidates likely to stay for a long time. Include the month and year of each job and be prepared to explain why you left and what you did during your downtime in the interview.
6. Old/Inappropriate Contact Information
This is yet another classic resume mistake. A surprising number of people forget to update their contact information, so employers end up with outdated telephone numbers, email addresses, and postal addresses. Imagine if an employer wants to interview you only to ring the wrong number! Update your contact information as and when necessary.
Another faux-pas is to include an unprofessional email address. Although the email address drunkpartygurl77@gmail.com was undoubtedly hilarious when you created it in 2009, it doesn’t send out a professional signal to employers. Keep your email address sensible; your best bet is to use your name or a variation such as janedoe87@gmail.com.
7. Generic Objective Statement
The golden rule of resume writing is to tailor each application to the job you’re applying for. As a result, beginning your resume with “Seeking to apply my skills in a fast-paced, challenging environment” is a surefire fail. Your objective statement should clearly match the job description and immediately tell the reader that your resume is worth reading. A simple example is: “Looking for an executive marketing position at an internationally renowned marketing firm.”
8. Lack of Specifics
The best resumes in Trinidad and Tobago are concise, focused and clearly outline the skills and achievements necessary for the job opening. For example, if you are applying for a sales position, write about the targets you achieved in previous roles and include figures if possible: “Increased sales of product Z by 17% or reduced operating overheads by 24% for the financial year in 2016.”
9. Including Information That Could Exclude You from Consideration
Your goal is to show that you’re the ideal candidate for the job so don’t sabotage your chances by including information that shows you in a bad light. For example, don’t say you “left a previous job because of internal politics” or “want this job as it is a short commute.” Discuss your reasons for leaving a role or any other issues during the interview.
10. Information Overload
Although you want the prospective employer to know what you did in previous jobs, you don’t need to bombard them with details. Only list your most recent roles and describe your responsibilities in a way that gives the reader a decent overview of what you did. Leave out minute details and highlight job achievements. You must focus on your individual contributions more than bland job details.
Get everything right
Your resume (and cover letter) is your method of introducing yourself to a possible employer. Even thou you might not have previous job experience, it is crucial to writing your resume in the best way possible. Remember, they don’t know who you are, so use your resume to show them why you’re the right person for the job. The common mistakes mentioned above have ruined the chances of countless applicants. Don’t join their number, get everything right and increase the likelihood of getting an interview.
