Dos and don’ts when writing your resume
By Ken Pelczarski, Contributing Editor | TLT Career Coach July 2025
Follow these common practices and avoid these transgressions when constructing your draft.
I have viewed hundreds of thousands of resumes during my 48-year career in recruitment and have found that each resume has its own unique design, style and content. You have an enormous amount of freedom when deciding how to construct your resume. There are guidelines, however, regarding what employers consider acceptable and what they frown upon.
In this article, I will discuss common practices when constructing a resume while also pointing out cardinal sins and minor transgressions.
Below is my list of resume-writing dos and don’ts:
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Don’t: Finish your resume before proofreading it.
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Do: Be sure to proofread and spellcheck. Multiple typos may remain if you spellcheck without proofreading carefully. Have family, friends and colleagues proofread your resume to increase your chances of avoiding mistakes.
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Don’t: Use flashy colored paper.
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Do: Stick with white or other neutral, subdued tones unless you are in a colorful profession (e.g., graphic design or personal care/beauty services).
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Don’t: Include a photo of yourself.
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Do: Refrain from using any photos. It can distract from your main message and may also turn into a negative due to the possible bias of an employer.
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Don’t: Worry about the length of your resume by cramming information to save space.
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Do: Describe highlights of your experience and overall credentials whether it takes one page or several pages. Just make sure that the top half of the first page displays important information that encourages the employer to read through the rest of the resume. In addition, design and format your resume so the entire document is easy to read.
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Don’t: Make important information difficult to find by writing long paragraphs.
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Do: Write short paragraphs and use lots of white spacing. Otherwise, information may be hard to find because it is hidden deep inside long paragraphs. Highlight important information by using bullet points and by separating these items from less important ones.
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Don’t: Make it difficult for the employer to reach you.
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Do: Include information at the top of the resume including best contact number, email address and a link to your LinkedIn profile. An exact home address is not necessary, but the city and state of residence are recommended.
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Don’t: Write a job objective that is too narrow, too broad or too generic.
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Do: Strike a balance by writing a job objective that is specific but also indicates some flexibility in your career goals. It is not necessary or even expected by employers, though, for you to have a job objective on your resume.
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Don’t: Rely on a job objective to describe your skill set.
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Do: Include a summary statement and/or a list of your primary skills. Two or three sentences in a skill summary statement is often recommended to be used in place of a job objective. Another good idea is to have a couple of columns listing a total of 10-20 skills. This is an excellent way to have buzzwords picked up by an applicant tracking system.
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Don’t: Lock yourself into using the exact same resume for every job.
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Do: Be open to modifying your resume, especially for jobs that you do not normally apply for. You may be tweaking your resume frequently if you are well-qualified for two or more distinctly different types of positions. When tweaking your resume, stick with the truth and simply emphasize different parts of your background and skill set.
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Don’t: Lie, exaggerate or embellish.
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Do: Present yourself honestly in your resume and aim to be “hired for who you are.” Most resume fabrications are eventually discovered and could affect your job, candidate status or industry reputation.
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Don’t: Use reverse chronology when listing your work history.
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Do: List your work history starting with your current or most recent job. Reverse chronology can make it difficult for an employer to follow your career progress and the likely reasons for your job changes. This is a taboo with many employers.
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Don’t: Omit dates of employment.
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Do: Include dates of employment for all positions in your primary field. By omitting dates of employment, employers will not easily be able to evaluate the depth and amount of your various skills and experience. It is acceptable, though, to omit dates from jobs you held more than 25 years ago, and at least list the employer’s name and your job title.
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Don’t: Provide too much detail about old or irrelevant jobs.
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Do: Devote little space to older jobs unless they are uniquely relevant to your current career goals. Employers are not greatly concerned with what jobs and responsibilities you held 20-30 years ago or more.
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Don’t: Utilize many different fonts or kinds of formatting.
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Do: Employ consistent formatting and spacing throughout your resume. Utilize the same size and type of font within each of various information categories such as company name, job title, list of responsibilities, accomplishments and education. Inconsistent formatting is obvious to the human eye and can greatly diminish the visual appeal of your resume. The employer may also become concerned about your written communication skills.
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Don’t: Describe your job duties without emphasizing accomplishments.
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Do: Stress your accomplishments in recent years that are most related to your career goals and to the types of positions for which you are applying. Quantifying your accomplishments will convey even more to the employer about the value and benefit you bring to the table. Bullet points are by far the most common way to display your accomplishments.
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Don’t: State the names of your current and past employers without a description of their businesses.
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Do: Briefly describe the business of your employers to include items such as products manufactured or distributed, types of customers and markets, company revenue, location and geographic scope. Employers and recruiters (including myself) often struggle to understand the experience an individual possesses in specific products and processes, and with what types of companies. You may not receive a fair or positive evaluation as a job candidate if employers do not know the business type of your employers.
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Don’t: Simply state your job responsibilities in a matter-of-fact manner.
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Do: Use powerful action verbs such as
built, created, organized and
achieved, as opposed to stating
responsible for or
helped. Employers will then be more likely to recognize you as an achiever and/or proactive leader instead of someone who simply carries out tasks.
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Don’t: Avoid an explanation of why you have held so many jobs.
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Do: Make a notation next to each job if it was contract, temporary or interim or if you were part of a downsizing. If you had several consecutive temporary positions, you may want to combine them into one grouping. Employers may reject your resume out of hand if they see five jobs in the last five years unless they see clearly that you are not a job-hopper.
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Don’t: Have lengthy employment gaps on your resume.
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Do: Account for all time periods even if you were not holding a full-time position in your field. During times when you were not working in your field, employers will want to know if you were pursuing other business interests or were tending to important personal matters (e.g., went back to school, started your own business, relocated to a new area, were caregiving for a family member or were on medical leave).
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Don’t: Abbreviate your history of formal and continuing education.
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Do: Be sure to list all education and certifications related to your profession. Include complete school names, dates and all sources of education. Employers typically value all types of education including undergraduate and graduate schooling, seminars, webinars, workshops and education classes. In addition, employers like to see industry certifications as a worthwhile credential and proof of knowledge. Education is customarily listed after work experience unless your degree was obtained in the past few years. It is acceptable to omit dates of degrees acquired more than 25 years ago.
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Don’t: Be shy about listing honors and awards.
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Do: List all special honors and awards, especially those related to your profession. Include honors dating back many years because employers love to see a consistent record of success throughout a person’s career.
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Don’t: Forget to mention your volunteer activities and technical society involvement.
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Do: Make mention of your volunteer activities in recent years both within and outside your profession. Emphasize any volunteering in technical societies (e.g., STLE) that involve leadership and special technical or business training. In addition, list professional society memberships.
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Don’t: Leave out your military career.
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Do: State your years of military service and include branch, rank (optional), positions held and technical and leadership training. Employers generally respect military service and will frequently look at how applicable your training is for their open position. Some employers even give strong preference to candidates with military background.
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Don’t: Neglect to mention your patents, publications and presentations.
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Do: Make mention of patents, publications and presentations on your resume even if you have an addendum or other separate document containing your full list. It is acceptable to include full details on your resume if there are just a few of these items. Otherwise, have an addendum and simply state on your resume the number of times and the venues where you have presented or been published. Also, list your number of patents.
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Don’t: Include your references on a resume.
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Do: Maintain as much control as possible over the reference-checking process by offering reference names at the right time during the latter stages of the interview. Ideally, you want to be able to alert your references in advance about the hiring company, the position and desired skills, the person who will be contacting them and the timing. If references are displayed on your resume, some employers may be inclined to check them before you alert them.
Your resume is often the door-opener that will get you the job interview. Be careful not to make resume errors that could get you rejected even before you get your foot in the door.
Ken Pelczarski is owner and founder of Pelichem Associates, a Chicago-based search firm established in 1985 and specializing in the lubricants industry. You can reach Ken at (630) 960-1940 or at pelichem@aol.com.