What do you think are the two biggest mistakes that job seekers make on their Resume and/or Job Application?

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 21:41:31 -0400

If I am permitted, I would like to make this a two part series. During the next few days, while I have time because I will be recovering from surgery, I would like to talk about Resumes and Job Applications.
As I look around on RP, I see that there are so many Veterans who are getting ready to retire from Active Service or who state in their profiles that they are “available for employment.” Therefore, I thought that I may share some of my knowledge and experience in the area of Resumes and Job Applications. For over forty years, I’ve conducted thousands of Pre-employment Backgrounds for Homeland Security Companies and there is one common denominator that job applicant’s consistently do wrong. Do you know what that is?

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 27 at 2015 11:48 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 23:48:07 -0400

I'm going to say using acronyms and providing lengthy qualifications/experience, instead of short and concise information. I'm guessing this based on my own frustrations writing medals and dealing with unfamiliar acronyms provided and from a critique on my résumé by my husband.

Response by SPC William Scissom made Mar 28 at 2015 12:29 AM

SPC William Scissom — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 00:29:21 -0400

You say there is one common denominator that applicant's consistently do wrong, therefore I am inferring that you are talking about all applicants and not just former military so I will say that they either fail to provide qualified references, not friends and family, or they fail to disclose their full employment history.

Response by CPL Aaron Cottingham made Mar 28 at 2015 4:37 AM

CPL Aaron Cottingham — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 04:37:14 -0400

Not using only details specific to the job applied for, fairly easy to under/over qualify ones self.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Mar 28 at 2015 11:34 AM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 11:34:54 -0400

As I state above, the two biggest mistakes that job seekers make on their Resumes and Job Application is that they embellish their education and their past employment. In other words, they lie. Maybe not intentionally, but people feel that that have to claim that they have the education and past experience for that particular job that they are applying for. Like I said, I conduct pre-employment backgrounds for several high profile successful companies everyday and while conducting these backgrounds, I have found that many people say that they have graduated and have diplomas from certain colleges when in fact they do not. In some cases, our investigations have shown that the applicant has never attended that College or have dropped out of college before graduation. For whatever reason, many job applicant's do not think that these Companies are going to check all of the information on that job application, but I can tell you that they do. I have seen many instances where a person has been hired and once we finally do the pre-employment background and we document that the applicant has lied or misrepresented their information, the Company has terminated their employment. This happens all the time and when it comes to filling in a job application or creating a resume, some people tend to lie or significantly exaggerate their credentials or experiences in the hopes of increasing their chances of being successful. And while this can sometimes land you that job, materially misrepresenting your qualifications can backfire. And be very careful what you post on any Social Media sites because, while doing these pre-employment backgrounds, we also check all of the Social Media sites to see exactly what that applicant post.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 28 at 2015 12:21 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 12:21:13 -0400

From my experience...I have found that different organizations require/expect certain formats of resume layout. The verbiage of employment/job/duty descriptions can also prevent an application from further review/consideration.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 28 at 2015 10:40 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 22:40:41 -0400

If you ask my humble opinion? I think it is being too open. Some people go too much in detail about their skeletons in the closet.

Response by SSG Keven Lahde made Mar 29 at 2015 12:52 AM

SSG Keven Lahde — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 00:52:07 -0400

I have to admit that I totally suck at writing a resume. I never know what to put down, how to word it correctly. I have 3 and I think its either missing something or I need to take something out of it. I will be glad to email it to get pointers from anyone. I even look at different examples and I still cannot get it right to save me.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Mar 29 at 2015 8:36 PM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 20:36:45 -0400

I would just like to add that if anyone needs help with their resume or would like their resume critiqued, you are welcome to send me a copy at [login to see] . And before anyone ask, I can assure you that your information will be secure. I am here to assist anyone with their employment endeavors. SF!

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2015 9:09 PM

LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 21:09:06 -0400

two is kinda specific, however I would say including non relevant info that doesn't pertain to the job that they're applying for, ie. mentioning that you swept floors in a clock shop when you're applying for an engineering position, and not creating a targeted resume for the job that they're applying for.

Response by SSG William Rhodes made Mar 31 at 2015 8:20 PM

SSG William Rhodes — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 20:20:48 -0400

I will send you my resume for review. Thank you so much.

Response by TSgt John Dias made Apr 1 at 2015 2:52 PM

TSgt John Dias — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 14:52:48 -0400

1. One mistake most folks make is to use the same resume for all jobs applying to. You should tweak your resume to where you are submitting it to. Conduct intel on the places you are submitting to; adjust your resume to appeal to them more. Remove bullets that aren't germane to the position you are applying for; add content that is. Adjust/add/remove key words, skills, that will get your resume noticed. Not all positions are the same. I'm not advocating lying here. Even at a job fair tweak it before you go there to be attractive to as many companies in attendance there.

2. Write to the layman. KIS(S). Write to the position you're applying to.

Response by CSM Michael Lynch made Apr 6 at 2015 3:10 PM

CSM Michael Lynch — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 15:10:39 -0400

Sgt David G Duchesneau Thank you for the great insight and advice. I sent you one of my resumes for advice and we all appreciate what you are doing for us. Salutes