Resume mistakes to avoid

Part of my responsibilities at work include screening job applications to ensure that applicants have a bachelor's degree in an appropriate field of study and that their overall GPA was 3.0 or above.

Here are some mistakes I find:

1) The resume does not include information that the employer wants to know. For instance, if the ad says U.S. citizenship is required and you are a U.S. citizen, add a line to your resume indicating your citizenship. If a certain GPA is required, add your GPA to your cover letter or resume so that the employer does not have to contact you for that information. If  you have  a skill or qualification mentioned in the ad, modify your resume to show that you have it. How else will the employer know that you qualify?

2) The resume highlights work experience that is not suitable to the desired job. If have the right schooling but your level of relevant work experience is low or non-existent, start your resume with your education rather than your work experience. Provide a lot of information about the relevant coursework you did at school. Instead of merely writing Bachelor of Science in Biology with the year of graduation, include the courses taken that are relevant to the job you desire. Mention the relevant projects that you completed at school since is the only experience you have.

3) The resume contains spelling or grammatical errors. Use the spell check feature of your word processing software. If writing is not your strongsuit let an English major review and edit your resume and cover letter before you submit them.

4) The resume mentions the wrong job. I work for a science company that does academic rather than laboratory research. Sometimes I hear from applicants who say they are looking for a laboratory job when our vacancy ads clearly say that we do not have a laboratory and do not do that type of work. Some of these applicants are qualified for the job but, by mentioning the wrong job, they show that they have either not read our ad or have not bothered to modify their resume.

I hope these tips help. I wish you the best in your job hunting.