Avoid these résumé blunders

If you are a recent graduate or will be graduating soon, you may be in the process of sending out résumés in search of an associateship.

A bit of creativity may make your résumé stand out from others, but you’ll want to avoid creative blunders that make résumés jump out of the hands of employers and into the circular file. Some examples include:

• A candidate stated he spent summers on his family’s yacht in Grand Cayman.

• An applicant attached a letter from her mother.

• A job seeker, wanting her résumé to appear different from all others, printed it on pale blue paper with teddy bears dancing around the border.

• A job seeker explained a three-month gap in employment by saying he took the time off to get over the death of his cat.

• A prospective employee specified his availability to work was limited to Monday through Thursday, because Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were drinking times.

• An applicant who wanted to show her enthusiasm included a picture of herself in a cheerleading uniform.

• One hopeful individual drew a picture of a car on the outside of the envelope and said it was the hiring manager’s gift from him.

• A job seeker stated one of his favorite hobbies was sitting on the levee at night to watch alligators.

• An individual bragged in her résumé that her sister once had won a strawberry-eating contest.

• A “wannabe” candidate explained that he worked well nude.

• Another applicant dismissed an arrest by stating, “We stole a pig, but it was a really small pig.”

• A job hopeful, who wanted to assure the prospective employer he would have few medical costs, included a complete family medical history.

Source: CareerBuilder.com