Your resume is there to sell your skills and ability to do a job. The reaction you want from a potential employer is certainly not one of laughter but thatâs exactly what some people cause when their resume contains a blooper they will never live down.
The blooper might only be a typographical error, like the one from someone who claimed to be a ârabid typistâ or the candidate who insisted âIâm great with the pubicâ. Ahem, indeed you might be but unless youâre applying for a job with an OB-gyn, that might not be what an employer wants to read!
Proofreading what youâve written is absolutely essential â but then that might be a pointless exercise if you canât actually spell âproofreadâ as one unlucky resume writer did. And even re-reading what youâve done is no guarantee youâll spot the error, as in this line: âSkills: Strong Work Ethic, Attention to Detail, Team Player, Self Motivated, Attention to Detailâ. Thatâs a lot of attention to detail that rather misses the point of attention to detail.
Who hasnât considered a career on âthe Information Supper Highwayâ? And the job applicant who was âinstrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain storeâ will surely soon be snapped up by an enterprising, if apprehensive company.
But while the typos can be amusing, the inclusion on resumes of excruciating personal detail best left to the doctorâs surgery is what is most likely to see your CV in the bin â or on a top 10 list of resume bloopers to avoid.
For example, who â aside from the CIA â would want to employ the person who said this: âI have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothingâ?
Or the applicant who revealed this: âHobbies: getting drunk every night down by the water, playing my guitar and smoking potâ?
And while you have to admire someone as single-minded as this: âI limit important relationships to people who want to do what I want them to doâ, you wouldnât necessarily want them to work for you.
Even spellchecking wonât always reveal obvious bloopers, like in the case of the candidate who claimed to be an âexperienced supervisor, defective with both rookies and seasoned professionalsâ or the one experienced âin all faucets of accountingâ.
Of course, making outlandish claims on your own behalf wonât always stand up to close scrutiny. If your achievements include that your âtwin sister has accountancy degreeâ, prospective employers are unlikely to be impressed â unless the pair of you come as a job lot, earning one salary.
But surely nothing adds up about the candidate who claimed to have â28 dog years in sales (four in human)â. Now thereâs a resume blooper thatâs simply barking mad.