You’ve been sending out applications and reaching out to employers for weeks, but so far, you haven’t yet connected with a company or a position that meets your needs. What’s going on? You’re qualified for these roles, or at least you seem to be based on the job posts. Plus you’re nice, hardworking, and ready to roll up your sleeves. So what’s the problem? Could it be your resume?

The short answer: Yes. Your resume may actually be holding you back and preventing you from accessing the best opportunities available. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you give your document another look.

No Typos. Not Even One.

Not sure how to capitalize or punctuate the term “Master’s Degree”? What should you do with the “The” at the beginning of your university’s name? Should these two words be hyphenated? What about those two? Is the correct word “hard-working” or “hardworking”? Look it up and figure it out, because here’s some news: if you’re wrong, your employers will notice.

Be Selective with your Information

You don’t need to include every single workday and every project you’ve ever completed on your resume. You also don’t need to mine your entire life for every single action that can be considered an “accomplishment”. Be selective. Chose only the past jobs, accomplishments, coursework or volunteer projects that are most relevant to the specific job you’re pursuing and most likely to impress your specific target employers. Everything else just comes off as clutter and a distraction. More does not mean better.

Layout Matters.

Don’t crush hundreds of words onto a single page by reducing the font size and creating impenetrable blocks of text. Again, more information won’t take you where you need to go. Instead, reduce all that noise and all of those words to the few items that are the most helpful and relevant to the moment at hand. Then present that pared-down information in a way that’s relaxed and readable on the page. Open up the white space and separate your paragraphs and lines.

Get Help.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a friend or mentor (even better, a professional resume editor) take a close look at your document before you send it out. During the course of your career, you’ll rely on others for help over and over again; if you don’t, you won’t get very far. Get over your pride and reach out so you can make sure your resume is creating a positive impression.

For more help with your resume, job search, and career development, turn to the staffing experts at PSU.