Your resume is a succinct 1-2-page summary of experiences that are relevant to an opportunity you are looking for. Resume’s, like email, seem like they are here to stay. No matter how many experiences you will add to your growing resume or the countless creative ways that you will display it, there are a few universal things to avoid when writing your resume. Check out five of the mistakes you should definitely avoid when crafting your resume.

1. Lying – Do not lie about your job title, what you did, where you did it with, who you worked with, or what impact you had. It sets a bad precedence and you might be asked to speak on something you lied about. What then?! 
2. Focusing on responsibilities versus achievements – One of the beautiful parts of a resume is that it should pique someone’s interest about what you can bring to a job, experience, or graduate program. It is much more interesting to hear about how you “Built a team by hosting a series of mixers, holding regular check-ins, and offering management feedback on strategies to improve personnel morale” than it is to hear that you “Threw parties.” 
3. Including references without notifying them – The backend of an HR, graduate school, or fellowship office can be an unpredictable place. You never know who will end up looking at your resume and reaching out to a reference without your knowledge. Before including someone as a reference on a resume, be sure that they know that they are serving as a potential referral.  
4. Keeping irrelevant or outdated information – If you have a Master’s degree, I don’t need to know where you went to high school. It really does not matter. Space is very precious on your resume. Make sure that every addition contributes to your story and is relevant and succinct. 
5. Maintaining unprofessional contact information – prettyprincess2928@hotmail.com?Speedracer987@yomama.com? If this is your email address (sorry to shame you) or if your resume includes anything remotely similar to this, it is time to collect our life and graduate to an adult email address. Keep it simple and professional. It can sometimes be appropriate to include social media on your resume such as a LinkedIn profile or a professional portfolio. However, before adding links to your Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, think long and hard. Do you really want your potential interviewer to know you that well?

Need some help confirming that your resume is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Let’s talk!