Resume writing can be a stressful time in one’s life. How can resume writing cause much stress? Well, just imagine trying to capture your entire life in a single page job resume. A professional job resume is a very important first step to any job search. It is a professional job resume that can help you get one foot inside the door of your dream job as a professional job resume is the first thing an employer will take notice of from the hundreds of applicants out on a job search. Considering the major value a professional job resume, it’s important that you know what has to be included in your job resume writing and what are the pitfalls of job resume writing that you should avoid in order to prevent your job resume from going straight into the dumpster?

Here are some job resume writing mistakes to avoid:

Job Resume Writing Mistake #1: Job Resume lacks focus
Given that employers look through numerous job resumes in a day, the average time they screen a job search applicant’s job resume is between 2.5 and 20 seconds so a professional job resume is one that has a sharp focus to it. This means that at a glance, the professional job resume of a job search applicant will already tell the employer what you want to do and what you are good at. According to recent studies, employers prefer a job resume to be customized in a way that it matches the open position in the company. A general job resume is seen as not focused and therefore not competitive.
So how do you sharpen your job resume? One effective way of doing so is to include an objective statement in your job resume writing. Your job resume can state a straightforward and brief objective such as simply stating the title of the position you are applying for or you can also choose to embellish your Objective Statement a bit during your job resume writing with language telling how you’ll benefit the employer.
Something like:
Objective: To contribute strong ________ skills and experience to your organization in a _________ capacity.

Another way to sharpen your job resume’s focus is to add a section referred to as a summary of qualifications. Having a section like this in your job resume can transform it into a powerful professional job resume that draws the reader in. You can use this section in your job resume to position yourself for each job you target by tweaking the wording to fit each type of position you are applying for.

Job Resume Writing Mistake #2: Job Resume is Duties Driven instead of Accomplishments Driven
In job resume writing, keep in mind that a professional job resume should primarily consist of high-impact accomplishment statements that sell the job searcher’s qualifications as the best candidate.
In job resume writing, never use expressions such as “Duties include”, “Responsibilities include” or “Responsible for”. These expressions should be avoided in job resume writing as they are job-description language, not accomplishments-oriented job resume language that sells. To stand out from the rest of the job searchers, highlight your accomplishments in your job resume to show potential employers why you are the right candidate for the job.

Job Resume Writing Mistake #3: Job Resume Items are Listed in an Order that Doesn’t Consider the Reader’s Interest.
According to Donald Asher, author of numerous resume books such as “The Resume Ingredients Rule”, the information contained in your job resume should be listed in order of importance to the reader. This means in job resume writing in terms of job experiences, this is the preferred order: Title/position, name of employer, city/state of employer, dates of employment.
And in terms education in job resume writing, the preferred order of listing is as follows: Name of degree, name of university, city/state   of university, graduation year and peripheral information such as GPA and minor.
It’s also important that you take into consideration when you do your job resume writing which may be your best selling point: is it your education or your job experiences?  Your best selling point naturally should be reflected first in your job resume.

Job Resume Writing Mistake #4: Job Resume Buries Important Skills at the Bottom
This is the day and age of computer and technology so there are only a few jobs left today that does not consider computer skills important. Yet a lot of job searchers tend to commit this job resume writing mistake over and over again by putting their computer skills at the end of their job resumes. To transform your job resume into a professional job resume, make sure to list your skills at the front of your job resume especially when they are skills related to the job you are applying for.
Keep these job resume writing mistakes in mind the next time you’re drafting your job resume and you’ll be sure to develop a job resume that will definitely make you stand out from the rest of the job searchers resume and not have your job resume thrown straight in the garbage can along with other unprofessional and uncompetitive looking job resumes.