5 unusual resume mistakes that you may not realize you are making

You said goodbye to your plans of having a relaxing Sunday and started writing a resume at 9 am. By 11 in the morning, you had the sections all filled out. By noon, you had figured out the best resume formatting tricks that suit your personality. Half an hour later, you were done. No matter how many times you proofread your resume, something seemed to be off, but you couldn’t exactly put your finger on it.

You’ve already read a ton of articles on the worst resume mistakes you could ever make and are sure that you didn’t commit any of those heinous resume crimes. Then what could be wrong with your resume? Maybe the resume mistakes you made are not the ones that are commonly known. Here’s a list to help you figure out what needs to change on your resume.

The email address you used on the resume is unprofessional

Although your email address occupies less than a square inch of space on your resume, it has a big impact on how the recruiter views you. Listing cheese.lover.4.lyfe@hotmail.com under your contact details is a surefire way of getting rejected for a job application. Perception and reputation matter for certain job roles, and you certainly do not want to tarnish yours with an unprofessional email. Create a new email address for yourself using your first and last names for your job applications. Also, remember to never use work emails when applying for jobs.

Saving your resume using the worst file name ever

Many job applications are done online these days, either via email or through a company website. Before you hit “Submit,” or “Send,” you should review the file name of your resume carefully. “fchtckjhvhcm” does not look as appealing to a recruiter as “Mia Jones – Resume.” Saving your resume with a clear file name that includes your name makes it easier for employers to search for you in databases. A good file name also makes you look more professional.

Not backing up your facts with data

You have written over 20 bullet points for the work experience section of your resume, but none of them include numbers. Employers are not easily swayed by unproven claims on candidate resumes. Anyone can brag that they helped raise the profit margins of their previous employer. But only a person who was really involved will be able to say that they, “Initiated new marketing strategies that increased the profit margin of the company’s energy drink product line by 15% in 6 months.”

Mentioning your salary expectations on the resume

Everyone wants to get paid their worth when applying for a new job. However, if you jumpstart the salary talk before receiving an offer from the employer, it has a higher chance to end up being disadvantageous for you. You lose the power to negotiate for a bigger paycheck down the road and may end up even turning off an interested employer who thinks your price is too high. Wait until you’ve had a chance to meet them and wow them in a job interview before you start talking about salary expectations.

Making those keywords spill everywhere on your resume

Keyword optimization of your resume is necessary when you want to stand out among your competition. But you need to hit the brakes when you realize that you’re overstuffing the resume with keywords. While a keyword-rich resume will look near-perfect for the ATS, a human reader would not like it very much. Unlike bots, human readers prefer to have a natural reading flow on a resume. Too many keywords can easily affect the readability and appeal of your resume.

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