5 Resume and Cover Letter Mistakes Costing You Interviews

5 Resume and Cover Letter Mistakes Costing You Interviews5 Resume and Cover Letter Mistakes Costing You InterviewsWhen prospective employers arent calling back, job hunters often assume they should make sweeping changes to their application materials. But sometimes tweaking the little things can have a huge payoff.Consider these rsum and cover letter mistakes that may be keeping you from landing in the coveted interview chair.5 Resume and Cover Letter Mistakes Costing You Interviews1. A Juvenile AppearanceHelloKitty1998XYZ.com is a perfectly fine email address- for a 10-year-old girl. You might see it as cute and catchy employers view it as unprofessional. Other actions that can be interpreted as immature includeWriting in all lowercase, all uppercase, or in text style (I MUST GRAB YOUR ATTENTION THIS WAY cuz i dont have anything u will find impressive.)Using emojis, unless you want them to send back (Choosing a nonstandard color or font (Is Broadway pink and Comic Sans the best you can do to show creativity?)2. CarelessnessAll documents must be spell-checked, period. Also, watch out for other errors that could be giving hiring managers the impression that you dont pay close attention to detail, such asMisusing commonly confused words (there vs. their, your vs. youre, advise vs. advice, to vs. too)Failing to include requested attachmentsInconsistent columns or spacing3. Technical ProblemsWhat looks great on your end might not when sent, especially if the employer uses an automated rsum scanner. To cut the risk of your rsum becoming a jumbled mess, trySticking to a plain-text version for online applicationsAvoiding formattingDeleting extras such as logos and picturesSelecting traditional headers that can be understood by all systems4. FluffHiring managers arent pirates they dont have time to dig for buried treasure. Make sure the information most critical to your candidacy can be spotted with ease. A few things to avoid includeGeneric, overused phrases with litt le meaning (such as great communicator or hard worker) stick to concrete examples, preferably quantifiable onesAccomplishments with no bearing on the position at hand (unless youre looking for a job at the beach, employers dont care that youre a certified lifeguard)Details of every job youve ever held (youre unlikely to impress anyone hiring in IT by talking about that summer spent scooping ice cream)Touting common, expected skills, such as the ability to use the Internet5. ConfusionFinally, dont rely on an employer connecting the dots. Be certain to present a clear application package that hiring managers can follow easily. For instance,Identify each file you send with your full name. (Rsum 2016 might be fine on your home computer, but can you imagine the hard time an employer will have finding the specific rsum a recruiterwants if they allsimply use that title?)Keep your name consistent an email coming in from Joan Brown may not register as being the same person who sent in a rsum under Joan B. Smith.Explain your past titles and companies. People tend to write in terms they understand instead of thinking about if a hiring manager will know what they mean. Unless your previous employer was a household name, detail the nature of the business.Looking for more resume and cover letter advice? Check our resume tips category.Readers,do you have any other best practices you follow to help you land interviews? Are resume and cover letter mistakes costing you? Please share below.