As a former hiring manager I tend to have a critical eye on resumes that pass through my line of sight. Although job seekers tend to make many different kinds of choices on their resumes, there are the resume mistakes I see most often that tend to tarnish the five-second review applicants receive from hiring managers.

DISORGANIZED OR UNATTRACTIVE RESUME FORMAT

You can preach all day about the keywords and content of a resume, but I stand by this as the most important principle in resume writing—you MUST have an attractive resume format if you want to be seriously considered for a job opportunity.

If you’re making it hard for the hiring manager to find the information he or she needs, you just lost your shot at the job. Someone else will have taken the time to construct a resumes that is polished, easy-to-read, and attractive to the eye.

Don’t believe me? Think about print advertising. If it’s hard to read or looks messy you’re not going to waste your time reading the ad. But if it’s eye-catching and professional looking, you might invest the time.

CALL OUT THE CRITICAL

Yes—keywords are extremely important, but just haphazardly throwing them into the resume is pretty much pointless. Sure, you may get past the computer scan, but if the entry-level HR rep or hiring manager cannot immediately see your qualifications, you can forget about him or her reading your resume. He or she will probably just skip to the next person.

I recommend creating a bullet point section that is not too text-dense, but instead draws attention to the most important keywords. This information should appear in the top third of your resume. Again, it’s all about making relevant information easy to find.

WATCH YOUR TEXT DENSITY

Let me tell you a little secret we professional resume writers use: keep your paragraphs to a maximum of 3-5 sentences long, especially your opening career summary and personal branding section. If your resume looks too text dense, no one is going to read it.

So let’s recap the critical points here:

1. Create an attractively formatted resume. Hint: using color can definitely be a plus.

2. Direct attention to important information. Bold, underline, and create targeted sections with white space that draws the eye to relevant information.

3. Keep each section between 3-5 sentences. Remember, you’re writing to catch the reader's attention during the initial scan, but also to provide compelling content for the hiring manager who will invest more time once you’ve caught his or her eye.

Of course, there are many other factors to consider when writing your resume, but these three areas are critical to that initial first impression and quick scan the hiring manager will give your resume. The pertinent information the hiring manager is looking for needs to be easy to find and eye-catching while professionally packaged in an attractive format.

Incorporate these tips into your resume and you’ll be more likely to make it past the initial scan and have the hiring manager invest more time in reading the content and calling you for the interview.