Are you having difficulties in creating a resume that will grab the attention of the hiring manager from the get-go? If so, it’s best to be aware of the most common resume mistake people make to increase your chances of getting called in for an interview.
Actually, it’s not a “mistake” as such – most people do it, so I prefer to think of it as an “untapped opportunity”. But call it what you will.
Here it is:
Are you trying to please everybody with your resume? Are you afraid of revealing anything that could be misconstrued by someone, somewhere as a potential weakness – i.e. a reason not to hire you?
Then, please, listen closely.
Because what I’m about to share could help you achieve a breakthrough.
When you try to please everyone – and by that I mean, when you try to present yourself as the perfect “rounded” candidate who no recruiter or hiring manager anywhere could ever pick a fault with – you please no one.
Why?
It all comes down to a core principle I teach in Interview Success Formula:
Weakness is the price we pay for strength.
Here’s what I mean by this:
Take your biggest strength – your “signature strength”.
If it’s a real strength, then you can bet your bottom dollar that some hiring manager or recruiter somewhere considers it a weakness.
Because whether the attribute in question is a strength or a weakness depends on the role for which you’re applying.
Do you want to know the easiest way to make your resume shine?
(And by that I mean really shine.)
Find out what core strength a company is looking for in their ideal candidate. Then, tweak your resume so that it’s focused around this same strength – to the extent that a hiring manager looking for the opposite strength would throw your resume in the trash out of sheer repulsion.
(Remember the “flourless chocolate cake” message I shared before?)
