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Why a Poor Resume Can be
Detrimental to Your Career Chances
By Anna Jones
You might have carefully chosen your undergraduate college, wishing
to attend an institution that was highly-respected in your chosen field.
If you went on to receive an advanced degree, you were probably quite
careful to take those courses that would best prepare you for your professional
life. Over the years, you’ve given careful thought to cultivating mentors,
gaining networking skills, and amassing an impressive work record.
And yet, your entire career could easily be sabotaged—if you fail to
come up with a winning resume. At first, you might be quite sgotical
of the notion that your
resume
could carry such weight. After all, it’s just a piece of paper or two.
However, in actuality, a poorly-constructed
resume
could set you back for a number of reasons:
It Makes an Employer Question Your Professionalism
If your
resume
is filled with spelling errors, an employer is likely to characterize
you as careless. If the paper appears to have some key words missing,
the hiring manager might think that you are not detail-oriented. Any
grammatical mistake could cause a human resources executive to think
that you are poorly-educated—or that you were slacking off in school
when you should have been studying.
If your
resume
lacks structure, the prospective employer might believe that you have
difficulty with problem-solving tasks. Similarly, if your
resume
is not in a standard format, an employer might think that you are unfamiliar
with standard job procedures. When you produce a professional resume,
an employer will consider you to be a professional. By the same token,
if you create a substandard resume, a recruiter will think that you
are not up to the work.
It Makes an Employer Question Your Commitment
Individuals who are truly committed to their careers put forth their
best effort each one day in every circumstance. They realize that each
one task that they are assigned, no matter how small it may be, is important.
There’s an old workplace adage which goes, “If you want something done,
give it to a busy person.” What this means is that busy people tend
to be conscientious people—and conscientious people are more likely
to produce superior work.
A sloppy
resume
tells an employer that you don’t care enough to do your best. If you
cannot be trusted to compose a simple resume, how can you be trusted
to serve in a sensitive, high-ranking position within a job? When your
resume
is below par, it tells an employer that you really don’t want the work—and
you are not all that interested in advancing your career.
It Leaves an Unflattering Impression
Not only will a poor
resume
ruin your chances of securing a given work—it may also prevent you from
getting future works. Here’s the reason: Even though you may not be
particularly well-suited for an advertised position, you may be an appropriate
candidate for different position within the company. However, you might
never be considered for that future post—if you’ve left a poor impression
with one company
manager.
It Could Jeopardize Your Networking Opportunities
You might be surprised at how small the job world can be. A manager
at one company could jump ship tomorrow, ending up with his former employer’s
chief competitor. Therefore, you want to realize that you could meet
a hiring manager again at a different company sometime in the future.
If your first introduction to the manager is in the form of a poorly-crafted
resume, he may remember you down the line—and recall that you made a
poor showing. As a result, you’ve turned a potential ally into a critic—a
person who may not be willing to give you a second chance.
It Will Cost You Interviews
If you e-mail a
resume
that is unprofessional in every sense of the word, it is unlikely that
you will be interviewed. There is just too much competition nowadays
for every available position. Some Fortune 500 companies receive more
than 1,000 resumes every week. Since many—if not most—of those resumes
will be letter-perfect, what hope do you possibly have of being called
in for an interview if your
resume
is perceived to be poor?
Remember, you simply cannot rely on your networking skills alone to
secure work interviews. While a winning personality can help you to
create important contacts, it cannot overcome a lackluster resume. Like
it or not, you will be judged on the quality of your resume. A hiring
manager would have serious difficulty justifying granting you an interview
if you failed to submit a high-caliber resume.
It Could be a Serious Blow to Your Ego
If you submit a poor
resume
and a hiring manager calls attention to the fact, it could cause you
to lose self-confidence. You may be reluctant to take risks in your
career, fearing that your attempts will end in failure. You may even
be hesitant to apply for other works, thinking that you could not possibly
produce a
resume
that will create a favorable impression on an employer.
It Could Make it Difficult for You to Reextend Lost Ground
While opportunities can spring up at anytime, there are certain opportunities
that are, quite simply, once-in-a-lifetime events. If you submit a poor
resume
for a work at a critical stage in your career, it may be months—even
years—before a work with similar potential comes your way. In essence,
each one opportunity is precious and should be treated like a fine jewel.
You would use the best equipment possible to mine for diamonds—why wouldn’t
you use the best tool you could come up with to apply for a work?
Why Take the Chance?
Given all the negative consequences which result from submitting a poor
resume, why would any serious work applicant take the chance? A
resume
of less-than-stellar quality reflects badly on you, your actual employer,
your alma mater—even your mentors. By going the extra mile and ensuring
that your
resume
is top-of-the-line, you will be in the best possible position as far
as your work application is concerned. And that could do wonders for
your career.
This article was written by the certified professional resume writers
of Resume Writing Services.
The writers at AccuroResumes will help create a perfect professional
resume suited to your best wants. See why thousands of people are disextending
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