Many job applicants, with excellent academic and professional qualifications, are not invited to job interviews due to various errors and inaccuracies in their resumes. A document summarizing your suitability for a job must be free of errors. A resume is the first meaningful contact between a prospective employer and a prospective employee. Unfortunately, for thousands of job seekers, this becomes the last interaction because this vital document portrays them as irresponsible and careless.

The next seven most important resume mistakes are unpleasant and detrimental to your job search and should be avoided.

1. Grammar and spelling errors

Job applicants who submit resumes full of spelling and grammatical errors have little chance of success. Potential employers hate such mistakes considering that the owners had time to design and write the documents. Language-based errors portray a job applicant as thoughtless and unworthy of responsibility. If you can’t identify and rectify flaws in such a vital personal document, how will you handle organizational responsibilities?

2. Illogical fix

Many job applicants sequence the items on their resumes in an inconsistent or illogical way. It is critical to realize that potential employers read numerous requested and unsolicited documents. One of the most common mistakes on the resume is using functional chronological styles in a document. For example, if you are at entry-level to work, organize work experience and educational background chronologically to avoid upsetting potential employers.

3. Inaccurate information and lies

Falsifying inaccurate or false information and inserting it into a resume as a means of gaining an advantage over competitors damages a candidate’s credibility. If an employer discovers a lie, the employee may lose his job or even be imprisoned. Making such mistakes, deliberately or not, can have lifelong repercussions. These are resume writing mistakes that can come back to haunt you long after you’re hired.

4. Inexplicable gaps

Unexplained gaps in a resume contribute to the downfall of many job seekers. It is normal to go through periods of unemployment. However, when designing and drafting your document, you should never assume that the employer will overlook such omissions. Interviewers can attribute this to crime, misconduct, or ineptitude at a previous job, making this one of the biggest mistakes on the resume.

5. Incomplete information

Closely related to unexplained gaps in resumes is the error of presenting incomplete information. For example, if you worked in a certain company, indicate the duration and the assigned responsibility. Also, when using a pattern in which you indicate duration, title, and responsibility in a sequence, make sure that all entries on your resume adhere to this categorization. Similarly, the contact details mentioned must be complete and accurate.

6. Referees clueless

One of the most common mistakes on the resume is not informing your referees that you have assigned them that important role. Potential employers will call these individuals to determine the information you have provided and to understand your suitability for a job from someone else’s point of view. What if your referee tells a potential employer that your name is unfamiliar or that he or she does not have current or relevant information about you? To avoid such situations, talk to the referees and ask them to be your sponsors before including their names on a resume.

7. Luxury Internet Templates

The Internet contains several resume templates that you can adopt. However, avoid unnecessary excitement regarding formats, as this can cause you to forget the crucial intention of impressing a potential employer. One of the mistakes to avoid on the resume is accentuating a template at the expense of content. A smart job seeker would rather have a simple format that communicates effectively than a fancy one without content.

How to avoid mistakes in the resume

To ensure a resume is error-free, print a copy and edit it thoroughly. You can also correct it with a spell checker or online software. A friend who is well versed in language and grammar issues can also correct the resume. Unless you don’t want a job, you can’t forget or ignore editing your document.

These are the most obnoxious resume writing mistakes job seekers make. The next time you’re preparing a resume, take some time to edit it. Remember that your chances of being invited to an interview are highly dependent on having an error-free resume.