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1. Typos

A 2013 CareerBuilder survey found that 58% of resumes have typos. Typos are deadly, says Block, because employers interpret them as a lack of detail-orientation, and as a failure to care about quality. The fix? Read your resume from bottom to top: reversing the normal order helps you focus on each line in isolation, Block says. Or have someone else proofread closely for you.
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2. Length

A good rule of thumb is one page of resume for every 10 years of work experience. Still, Block says many candidates have difficulty condensing their experience to meet these parameters. A crisp, focused resume demonstrates an ability to synthesize, prioritize and convey the most important information about you, he says. The purpose of a resume is to get you an interview, not to convince a hiring manager to say "yes" to you. That's what the interview is for.
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3. Formatting

Unless you're applying for a job such as a designer or artist, your focus should be on making your resume clean and legible, says Block — at least 10-point font, at least half-inch margins. White paper. Black ink. Consistent spacing between lines, columns aligned, your name and contact information on every page. Formatting can get garbled when moving across platforms, he adds, and suggests saving it as a PDF is a good way to go.
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4. Confidential information

In a very rough audit, Block says he found that at least 5-10% of resumes reveal confidential information. “Which tells me, as an employer, that I should never hire those candidates ... unless I want my own trade secrets emailed to my competitors,” cautions Block. If you wouldn't want to see it on the front page of a national newspaper with your name attached (or if your boss wouldn't), don't put it on your resume, he says.
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5. Lies

Putting a lie on your resume is never, ever, ever, worth it, Block says. Everyone, up to and including CEOs, gets fired for this. People lie about their degrees, what school they went to, how long they were at companies, how big their teams were, and their sales results, always goofing in their favor. But problems await you when you lie, Block cautions, because you can easily get busted. The Internet, reference checks and people who worked at your company in the past can all reveal your fraud, Block says, adding that lies also follow you forever. Fib on your resume and 15 years later get a big promotion and are discovered? Fired. And try explaining that in your next interview, he says.
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