Many job seekers, with impressive academic and professional qualifications, are not invited to job interviews due to various errors and inaccuracies in their resumes. A document outlining your suitability for a job should 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 following seven biggest resume mistakes are unpleasant and detrimental to your job search and should be avoided.

1. Grammatical and spelling errors

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

2. Illogical arrangement

Many job applicants order items on their resumes inconsistently or illogically. It is crucial to appreciate that potential employers read numerous requested and unsolicited documents. One of the most common resume mistakes is using functional chronological styles in a document. For example, if you’re at the job entry level, organize your work experience and education 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 can lose their job or even be jailed. 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. Unexplained gaps

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

5. Incomplete information

Closely related to unexplained gaps in resumes is the error of submitting incomplete information. For example, if you were working in a certain company, indicate the duration and responsibility assigned. Also, when using a pattern where you list duration, title, and responsibility in a sequence, make sure each entry on your resume adheres to this categorization. Similarly, the referees’ contact details must be complete and accurate.

6. Clueless referees

One of the most common resume mistakes is failing to let your referees know that you have assigned them that important role. Potential employers will call these people to verify the information you have provided and to understand your suitability for a job from someone else’s point of view. What if your arbitrator tells a potential employer that her name is unfamiliar or that she has no current or relevant information about you? To avoid such situations, talk to referees and ask for their support before including their names on a resume.

7. Luxury Internet Templates

The Internet contains various resume templates that you can adopt. However, avoid unnecessary excitement about formats, as this can make you forget about the crucial intent of impressing a prospective employer. One of the resume mistakes to avoid is emphasizing a template at the expense of content. A smart job seeker would rather have a simple format that communicates effectively than a fancy one with no content.

How to avoid errors in the resume

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

These are the most obnoxious mistakes job seekers make when writing a resume. The next time you’re putting together a resume, make time to edit it. Remember that your chance of being invited for an interview largely depends on having an error-free resume.