When looking for a new position, job seekers sometimes tend to put less emphasis on the resume and more into networking and the actual act of job hunting. You can not underestimate the importance of writing a good resume. On that note, there are a few back to basics I’d like to discuss: contact information, grammar, and critical information.

Contact Information

I can not stress enough how important it is to put your contact information on your resume. Time and time again I’ve come across resumes without contact information or with inappropriate email addresses. If you do not have an email address with your name in it then I suggest you look into getting one. It simply looks more professional. I know what you’re thinking; I e-mailed my resume so the hiring manager obviously has the e-mail address. This is not necessarily the case though, especially with applicant tracking systems (ATS). Even if an ATS isn’t in place, more often than not, a hiring manager saves the resume and deletes the email. With regards to a phone number, best practice is to write your cell phone number. Be cautious of putting your office number and keep in mind moving if you put your home number.

I know that many people don’t like the idea of giving out their home address. However, on the other end of the spectrum, the employer needs to know where you are located because they may not be interested in relocating a candidate or knowledge of the local community may be a qualification for the position. So, at a minimum, include you city and state.

Grammar

We’ve all made writing mistakes. Most of the time our good friend, spell check, will catch us when we make a blunder. But unfortunately, as we all know, this is not always so. Hiring managers will generally overlook a couple of typos that anyone could fail to see (we’re human, right?). Then there are those grammar mistakes that simply can not be overlooked. Here are five mistakes you can’t afford to make and that will take you back to your school days in English class:

  1. Contractions vs. Possessive Pronouns
  2. Homophones
  3. Apostrophe Use
  4. Tenses
  5. Subject-Verb Agreement

Critical Information

It is very common for job seekers to state responsibilities and skills and leave it at that. The hiring manager wants to know what resulted from these responsibilities and how you use your skills to achieve success. With the addition of critical information about results, you can make a seemingly unimportant task important.

At the end of the day resumes are about you, an individual. When writing a resume you are inclined to ramble and highlight points that you believe are important. A company doesn’t care about that stuff; a company only cares about how you will fit in with their culture and what you can bring to the table.