By Surranna Sandy, CPRW, CEIP, President

Many Canadian and international job seekers are aware that errors on their resume, even seemingly insignificant ones, can mean the difference between a request for an interview and having their resume sent to the “not interested pile.” In today’s highly competitive job market, it is essential that job seekers craft resumes that are error proof and high impact. The list of mistakes made by job seekers when writing their resumes are endless. The

following are the 12 most common resume writing mistakes that Résumésolutions.ca resume writers see from our clients.

1. Poor spelling and grammar - It does not make a great first impression to describe yourself as being "very resuts orieted.” Yes, it is a cliché, but there will be no second chance to make a good first impression. Proof read your resume repeatedly.
2. Including unnecessary information - as proud as you maybe of that 8 grade hockey team champion, do not devote your resume to it.
3. Zero focus on achievements and strengths - providing lengthy, generic job descriptions – your career history section should your achievements and demonstrate the benefits of employing you. Of course, you should back the statements up with facts and figures where ever possible.
4. Listing less important career details before key experience and achievements.
5. Using a "life story'' resume writing approach. A potential employer does not need to know that your wife/husband left, leaving you with two kids, two cats and a large mortgage.
6. Using an outdated resume format, visit our sample page to see Resume Solutions sample resumes.
7. Writing old, irrelevant information. If you built up your career to a management role from your start on the shop floor, a detailed description of your high school education or first job is not your strongest selling point. Limit job descriptions to the last 10-15 years.
8. Sharing highly personal information such as SIN number, date of birth, marital status or the number of children you have.
9. Attaching a photograph. Never include one.
10. Going on and on. If your resume is more than two pages and you are not an academic or in highly technical roles, forget about applying for positions, which require "excellent communication skills''.
11. Forgetting the importance of active language / action verbs. Start sentences with strong action words such as "delivered'', "designed'', "implemented'' and "initiated''. Click to read our article on using action verbs effectively called Writing a Great Resume Using Action Verbs.
12. Information in the wrong order. It is crucial for a recruiter to see the most relevant information first, so remember to put each section of your resume such as work history and education in reverse chronological order and place the most important information on page one.

Make sure you are not making mistakes with when writing your resume and if in any doubt utilize the experts of ResumeSolutions.ca. We offer a very powerful and effective service.

Surranna Sandy, a Certified Career Coach, Certified Professional Resume Writer and Certified Employment Interview Coach and former Human Resources Management Professional, is the Founder and President of SurCorp Group of Companies (www.surcorpgroup.com), Career & Resume Solutions. The company offers advanced resume writing, career coaching, outplacement and interview coaching services for entry level, mid-career, management through to executive clientele in the global marketplace, and her team of client focused résumé writers and career coaches have helped thousands of job seekers meet their career goals.