bad resume assignment answer key

10+ Bad Resume Examples - Mistakes to Avoid in 2024

They say that to err is human, but some mistakes you’re definitely better off avoiding - especially when it comes to your resume! 

From grammatical and spelling mistakes to using the wrong font and submitting a 3-page-long resume, certain mistakes make really bad resumes. 

And, it goes without saying, that submitting such a resume can seriously harm your chances of getting hired, if not ruin them completely. 

To keep you from making such mistakes - and also give you a good laugh - we’ve put together some bad resume examples that you must avoid at all costs, as well as a thorough explanation of what makes a good resume and a bad resume. 

So, let’s dive right in! 

Good Resume Vs Bad Resume

Before we dive into the most common resume mistakes, we should cover a very important topic:

What’s a good resume, and what’s a bad resume?

Here are the qualities that differentiate the two: 

• Is easy to skim through 
• Can pass applicant tracking systems
• Is free of spelling and grammar errors
• Is ideally no longer than one-page 
• Is tailored to the specific job position
• Is focused on the applicant’s skills and achievements
• Uses a professional font and has a simple layout
• Includes a resume summary or objective
• Is disorganized and difficult to read
• Has spelling and grammar mistakes 
• Includes distracting graphics
• Includes an unprofessional email address
• Has long chunks of text instead of bullet points
• It is not tailored to the job position
• Is not matched with a cover letter 
• Is not tailored to the position
• Includes non-quantifiable achievements

10+ Examples of Bad Resumes

It’s one thing for someone to tell you about resume mistakes and another to see them in all their glory for yourself. 

To give you a better idea of how detrimental some mistakes can be to your resume, we’ve collected some of the “best” examples of bad resumes out there, starting with:  

#1. Uninspired Work Experience 

The work experience section is arguably the most important section of your resume, as it can effectively prove you’ve got the right experience and qualifications to do the job. 

For that to happen, however, simply listing your work responsibilities won’t cut it. On the contrary, your resume must be packed with as many data-backed achievements as possible. 

Well, the resume example above definitely fails to do that. Actually, it does the exact opposite - it’s an uninspired and overly generic listing of work responsibilities that recruiters already know. 

None of what this applicant has listed under their work entry demonstrates how they mastered or excelled at their job, giving recruiters zero incentive to call them back for an interview. 

For example, this entry here:

• Lead Generation

Gives the hiring manager exactly 0 information on what you did at the job. Sure, you generated leads, but how many? How often? Were they quality? 

If phrased like this, however:

• Ran Google Ads campaigns, generating over 200 leads per month for our in-house software.

Then the work experience entry becomes a lot more impressive.

If you’re having trouble writing an achievement-oriented work experience section, you can also follow the Laszlo Bock formula : “Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z].”

This is what this formula looks like in practice:

• Sourced qualified candidates utilizing various web technologies, social media, resume databases, and referrals from networking events while reducing hiring costs by 35%.

#2. Bad Spelling 

Spelling or grammar mistakes can be very, very harmful to your job search.

Such mistakes tell the recruiter that you either don’t know the language very well, don’t have much attention to detail, or you don’t care much about the job you’re applying for in the first place.

So, make sure to run your resume through a friend to catch any obvious grammar or spelling mistakes. 

We also recommend you try Grammarly , a very handy tool for catching mistakes.

#3. Wrong Design and Layout 

When it comes to your resume, looks matter.

Recruiters usually have hundreds of resumes they need to go through before deciding on whom to call back. The above resume example is so unimpressionable that, chances are, the recruiter won’t even notice it. 

Want to avoid making the same mistake? 

Follow these formatting tips:

• Font size. Your font size should be big enough to read but small enough so that the text doesn’t spill over on page #2. As such, 12 pts is usually a good font size for resumes. 
• Line spacing. The line spacing should be between 1 and 1.5 to save you space. 
• Section headers. To differentiate between sections, use headers for the section titles instead of using the same font size and simply bolding them (like the bad example above). That will only make all the sections look like they’re blended together, which is the opposite of reader-friendly. 

Now, the bad resume example we just covered made mistakes with all 4 of these. By centering their entire resume text, they’ve messed up with the margins, the section headers, and the overall aesthetic of their resume - something recruiters are bound to notice. 

If you never want to have to worry about any of these things, just use our resume builder ! It’s free, easy to get the hang of, and loved by recruiters worldwide!

#5. Unprofessional Fonts 

Take a long, hard look at the resume example above. 

In addition to being very hard to read, it’s also very unprofessional. If a recruiter sees a resume with a font like this, they’ll simply assume that the candidate is not serious about the job.

So, instead of experimenting with your resume, stick to tried-and-tested resume-friendly fonts like Ubuntu, Roboto, and Overpass.

#7. Too Many Graphics 

This infamous resume example uses so many graphics it simply becomes unprofessional (as well as unpleasant to look at)

Don’t get us wrong, creative resume designs aren’t all bad. Done right, they can help you stand out, catch the recruiter’s attention, and land a job you’ll love.

But even creativity has a limit. When you overuse creative elements on your resume you risk distracting recruiters from what really matters on your resume - your achievements, experiences, and most important skills. 

Want a creative resume that’s not too much? Consider using a pre-designed resume template . 

At Novorésumé, we offer a variety of templates to choose from that are creative, professional, and look much better than the average black-and-white template.

And the best part? Most of the are free! Head over here to browse our resume templates .

#8. Unimpressive Resume Summary 

The resume summary is the first thing recruiters see when looking at your resume.

If the summary matches what they’re looking for, they’re going to go ahead and read the rest of your resume.

If it doesn't, though, they’ll simply skip it.

As such, it’s important for your resume summary to be memorable and captivating - unlike the example that we showed you above.

Specifically, the resume summary above is wrong because it: 

• Is low-effort. It’s obvious that this candidate does not really care where they’ll get hired.
• Not tailored to the company or the role. Customizing your resume summary for the role means that you’re enthusiastic about working at this specific company, and aren’t just applying for random jobs.
• Is not specific enough. The resume summary does not include critical information like the exact years of experience, top skills, and biggest achievements.

To really drive the point home, let’s compare these 2 resume summaries:

Professional marketer manager with 5+ years of experience in digital marketing. Social media marketing experience, including Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn advertising. Experience in managing a Google Ads account with a monthly spend of $30,000. B.A. in marketing management.

Journalist looking to work for your newspaper and put extensive journalistic experience to use. Passionate about investigating and amazing with words.

If you were the hiring manager, which one would you pick?

#9. Unprofessional Headshot 

If you decide to include a picture on your resume, you’ve got to make sure that it’s actually a good idea in the first place.

Companies based in certain countries like the US , UK, or Ireland actively discourage candidates from using photos in their resumes because of anti-discrimination laws. 

So, if you’re based in any of these countries, there’s a chance that including your photo in your resume might just get your application discarded immediately.

In case you don’t live in any of these countries and still want to use a photo in your resume, then you need to make sure that it’s not something from your:

• Social media profiles 
• Old family scrapbooks
• High school yearbook  

Rather, the photo should be:

• High-quality
• Taken by someone else (not a selfie)
• Professional-looking. You don’t need to wear a suit and tie, but a shirt would do you good

#10. Longer Than One Page When Not Necessary

Unless you have over 5-10 years of super relevant work experience, there is absolutely no reason for your resume to be longer than one page. 

See, your resume should only include information relevant to the job you’re applying for. 

You can skip out all sorts of irrelevant details like your first internship, your part-time summer gig, where you went to high school, and so on.

If you do so, then chances are, your resume simply won’t exceed one page.

That said, if you DO have a lot of work experience, are an executive, or work in academia, then your resume CAN be longer than a single page.

FAQs on Bad Resumes

Do you still have some questions on exactly what makes a bad resume? 

We’ve gathered the most frequently asked questions (that we haven’t addressed yet) and answered them below: 

#1. What does a bad resume look like? 

While not all bad resumes look alike, some common qualities of bad resume examples are being messy, disorganized layout, being too long, using an unprofessional font, or simply having uninspired content.

#2. What are some common resume mistakes?

According to this study by CareerBuilder, the most common resume mistakes that make for instant deal breakers include typos or bad grammar (77%), unprofessional email address (35%), resume without quantifiable results (34%), resume with long paragraphs of text (25%), resume that’s not customized to the company (18%), resume longer than two pages (17%), and lack of cover letter (10%). 

#3. How do I know if my resume is good enough?

Some common traits of a good resume are a structured and organized layout, clear fonts, achievement-oriented work experiences, and a lack of obvious grammar or spelling errors.

Key Takeaways 

And that’s a wrap! 

After this article, you’ll know what a bad resume looks like when you see one (even if it’s your own). Before you go, here’s a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article: 

• Your work experience section is one of the most essential parts of your resume. Make sure your experiences are achievement-oriented and in-depth.
• Make sure your resume is spelling or grammar-free by getting a friend to review it or using a tool like Grammarly.
• Keep your resume brief - one page is enough unless you’ve got a decade’s worth of work experience.
• Some common resume mistakes involve adding an unprofessional headshot to your resume, writing a generic resume summary, and lying about your achievements.  

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Bad Resume Examples and Recruiter-Backed Advice on How to Avoid These Common Mistakes

Examples of bad resumes with formatting errors, distracting designs, irrelevant skills and unfocused experience so you can be sure to avoid these mistakes.

9 months ago   •   7 min read

No one wants to be told they have a "bad resume" or to be rejected from an opening due to easy-to-fix mistakes. But it's hard to know how to fix your resume if you've never seen what a truly terrible resume looks like.

The most common issues that create poor-performing resumes are distracting formats, grammar mistakes, irrelevant information, and overuse of resume buzzwords.

In this article, we'll explore some bad resume examples so you can see how these mistakes affect the readability of a resume and learn what not to do. We'll discuss why these mistakes lead to an unprofessional presentation and, more importantly, how to ensure your resume doesn't include any of these common pitfalls.

Common mistakes and bad resume examples

Most "bad resume" mistakes fit into two categories: things that make your resume appear unprofessional and those that make your resume harder to read. Focusing on clarity, readability, and presentation will eliminate these common errors.

Having a resume that's too long

If your resume is longer than two pages, most recruiters will likely skim the first page and disregard the rest. Remember, your resume shouldn't include every job you ever had, but rather a targeted list of your most relevant and significant experience.

Keep your resume to one page by removing outdated or irrelevant information and focusing on industry-specific skills. A two-page resume is acceptable if you have more than ten years of experience, but ensure you still focus on your most significant achievements.

Related : Is a 3-Page Resume Too Long?

Spelling and grammar mistakes

Typos and grammar mistakes may seem insignificant, but they make a resume harder to read and appear unprofessional. They also convey poor attention to detail and a lack of genuine interest in the position, creating a negative impression on recruiters. Always proofread your resume to ensure you eliminate the common spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes shown in the example below:

Note how spelling and grammar mistakes give off a poor impression of this candidate.

Including irrelevant information

Including irrelevant information distracts from your skills and experience, making it harder for a recruiter to find critical information. Don't bury essential details in lengthy paragraphs . Use bullet points to highlight your most memorable achievements and use well-structured headings so a recruiter can easily find the information they're looking for.

Listing work experience in the wrong order

Recruiters expect to see your most relevant and recent experience first. If your experience isn't presented in this order, a recruiter might incorrectly assume your lowest level experience is your most recent and disregard the rest of your resume.

For example:

To avoid this mistake, list your work experience in reverse chronological order (most recent first), as shown in the amended example below.

Not optimizing for ATS

Even the most qualified candidate can be rejected if their resume isn't optimized for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Complex formatting, special characters, lack of keywords, and incorrect file types interfere with ATS scanners, leading to an automatic rejection. Make sure to build your resume using an ATS-optimized template and use an AI-powered resume scanner to check that the software can pick out the crucial information.

Focusing on responsibilities rather than achievements

Most hiring managers aren't interested in roles and responsibilities. They want to see evidence of your skills. Instead of listing responsibilities, focus on specific, quantifiable achievements . For example, instead of saying that you "managed a team", write that you "Led a team of 5 associates to increase quarterly sales by 5%". Here is an example of a resume listing roles and responsibilities:

And here is an example of how to improve that resume by focusing instead on quantifiable achievements:

Using flashy or bizarre formatting

While creative formatting may look visually appealing, jumbled elements and colorful design distract from your resume's content and make the critical information harder for both recruiters and ATS to find. Stick to traditional resume templates and formatting for the best results. Here is a good vs. bad resume example, showcasing a professional format alongside a creative, stylized design.

And although the following resume isn’t flashy, notice how difficult these center-aligned bullet points are to read:

Including too many soft skills

Including soft skills in your skills list overshadows relevant hard skills and makes your list harder to read. Instead, exemplify soft skills in your work experience bullet points through specific examples and quantified results and save your skills list for hard skills.

For example, here is a lengthy skills list that includes soft skills:

Industry-specific skills are lost in this list, and there is no evidence to prove the soft skills of leadership or adaptability. Instead, remove these soft skills to create a more focused, relevant skills list, as shown below.

Not targeting your resume

Sending a one-size-fits-all resume shows a lack of interest in the position and hides your relevant experience amongst irrelevant data. Always tailor your resume to the job by removing unrelated experience and non-industry skills and reworking your resume summary to target each new position.

To tailor your resume for the job you're applying to, use the hard skills and keywords tool below. It provides a list of skills relevant to the job, helping you identify which of your hard skills to include.

Listing too many short-term jobs

Including too many short-term jobs can raise questions about your commitment. Unless you have an industry-relevant reason for having multiple short-term jobs (seasonal, freelance , or contract work , for example), don't include positions you held for less than six months unless they are specifically relevant to your application. Here is a poor resume example, listing too many short-term positions:

To improve this resume, pick the most relevant positions and remove the rest. For example:

Using buzzwords

Buzzwords are generic, overused phrases, like "team player" or "detail-oriented", that take up space on your resume without adding relevant information and make recruiters less likely to take your resume seriously. For example:

A motivated and results-driven professional with excellent communication skills and a strong work ethic. Highly organized and detail-oriented with a passion for teamwork and problem-solving. Proven track record of achieving goals and exceeding expectations.

Notice how these buzzwords make claims without providing evidence and say nothing about the candidate's actual experience. To improve this summary, replace buzzwords with specific quantified achievements, or use our resume summary generator to create a powerful and targeted summary.

Experienced Training Manager adept at developing training programs in high-growth industries. Introduced a new onboarding process that decreased onboarding time by 50% and improved employee retention rates by 35% through a comprehensive career development program.

Note how the overuse of buzzwords gives the reader no insight into the candidate's skills.

How to prevent creating a bad resume

After such a long list of resume pitfalls, it may seem like writing a good resume is impossible. But don't worry. That's what we’re here for. To help you write a great resume without worrying about all tohese potential mistakes.

Proofreading is essential to presenting a professional-looking resume. Our AI-powered resume scanner helps you proofread your resume in seconds, correcting any grammar and spelling mistakes and providing detailed feedback on areas to improve.

Less is more

Less content, less irrelevant information, and less flashy formatting. Make your resume targeted and focused by only including recent and relevant experience. Use our Targeted Resume tool to align your resume with a specific job description and cut your resume down to only the essential information.

Use AI-resume tools

Leverage AI resume tools to receive targeted feedback, making editing quick and easy. Our Score My Resume tool offers personalized feedback on formatting, keywords, brevity, and clarity, highlights common mistakes, and compares your resume against industry standards to optimize your resume's overall effectiveness.

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Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.

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15 Bad Resume Examples & Ways To Fix Them

A resume is a document that contains details about your academic and professional achievements. It also gives personal information including your name, address, contacts, hobbies, and skills.

Resumes offer people a glimpse of what to expect from you. In fact, when applying for a new job , you will almost always have to produce a resume.

That is because it gives your potential employer a preview of the kind of candidate you are. It is with this in mind that you must always ensure your resume conforms to the highest standards of quality.

Having a look at some bad resume examples and ways to fix them can be key to crafting an exceptional document for yourself.

Also Read : How To Respond To An Interview Request ?

Bad Resume Examples & Ways To Fix Them

Here are some of the most common mistakes individuals make when crafting their resumes and how you can correct them.

1. The spelling and grammar disaster

Whether you are writing your resume for the first time or just editing to add new details, you must always pay close attention to spelling.

If your resume contains a significant number of spelling mistakes , potential employers will view you as a careless candidate who does not pay attention to details. Documents with too many spelling mistakes are unpleasant to read through.

Keep in mind that spelling mistakes or typos occur even if you are the most skillful person when it comes to the use of computer keyboards. To avert this disaster, it is a good idea to proofread your work once or twice.

You can even go ahead and ask a friend or relative to proofread your work. This will bring to light any mistakes that you may have missed.

You must also form sentences that are short and grammatically correct. This will make it easy for anyone to read through your resume and understand each point clearly.

Take note that there are certain apps and programs designed to pick up spelling and grammatical errors . These apps can then offer suggestions on how to correct any spelling or grammatical mistakes you may have made.

By using such apps, you can quickly correct mistakes and have a resume that is pleasant to read through.

2. Fonts are not a joke

When crafting your resume, you need to be extremely careful when choosing fonts. If you go for options that do not appear professional, potential recruiters will immediately push it away.

Even if you have some of the most outstanding achievements with regard to academics and skills, the truth is that bad fonts will discourage employers from proceeding with your application.

Some examples of bad fonts include Comic Sans, Papyrus, Pacifico, Mistral, and Impact. These fonts may be extremely beautiful or attractive when used to showcase art and other entertainment-related information but can be annoying when used in a professional resume.

To ensure you make a positive impact, choose fonts that are considered professional. Some examples of the best fonts to use when creating a resume include Times New Roman, Cambria, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia, and Arial.

3. Vague accomplishments

Your resume gives you a chance to let people know of some of your most outstanding achievements. That is why you need to be specific when giving details of each of your achievements.

However, a lot of people are vague when it comes to what they have achieved. For instance, saying that you were responsible for an increase in sales or profits may be true but it is not detailed enough.

Potential employers are interested in knowing how you actually managed to increase sales or profits. That is why you should point out some of the specific things you did to ensure increased sales.

An example of something you might have done to increase sales is coming up with a social media page where you posted information regarding the products or services your organization was offering.

Coming up with an app that streamlined communications within the organization can be another specific strategy you might have implemented to ensure higher sales and productivity.

The key is to point out things that led to an actual increase in sales and profitability rather than just saying the organization achieved greater profitability because of you.

Explore : Best Job That Hire At 15 & Even 14

4. The bad graphic designer

Sometimes people try to make their resume stand out so much that they lose the point of crafting one. Including flashy graphics in your resume may make it stand out but for all the wrong reasons.

The goal of crafting a resume is to communicate certain things in a simple and straightforward manner. Including graphics, emojis, and other animations in your resume may only end up causing unnecessary distractions.

While some people find it cool to put their photos on their resumes, the practice is considered unprofessional in certain parts of the world. In fact, certain employers will shy away from resumes with photos because of fear of a lawsuit related to discrimination.

It is worth pointing out that some companies use applicant tracking systems or software to process resumes. Graphics may hinder such software programs from processing your resume and you’ll therefore be disqualified before getting to the critical stages.

The key is to avoid propping up your resume with photos, graphics, and emojis. Instead, keep it simple and to the point. That way, an employer can skim through your resume quickly and decide if you are fit to move to the next stage.

Also Read : Best Apps Like Instawork

5. Irrelevant skills

When applying for a particular job , the recruiter wants to know if you have the skills and experience to handle the tasks that are relevant to the position you are applying for.

For instance, if you are applying for a job as a laboratory technician, your skills and experiences should match. However, a number of people simply put down skills and experiences to stand out.

As a lab technician, you’ll have nothing to do with playing basketball or operating an ambulance. Instead, the skills and experiences you list should be relevant to the tasks that are done within the laboratory setting.

Good time management, exceptional communication, adherence to safety standards, and teamwork are some of the skills you might want to claim. Such are the things that are necessary to keep the laboratory operational.

6. The sequencing nightmare

Coming up with an orderly sequence for your resume is another way to ensure you grab the attention of a potential employer. With the right sequence of events, your employer can easily skim through the document and find every detail they need.

However, many people simply overlook the importance of such details in their resumes. The first thing you need to do is ensure that you have your personal details at the top of the resume.

Some of these details should include your name, contact details, and address. These details let the employer know who they are dealing with.

You should then proceed to write about your academic journey and then move to work experience. Some people prefer detailing their work experience from the most recent period and then moving backward in time.

As long as your journey is captured properly, it does not matter whether you start by stating your academic journey or work experience.

Mark your journey by quoting the years you achieved milestones. For example, capture your year of graduation from university. You can also state the year you started work and the year you stopped working at a specific organization.

Do not mix up years when sequencing your resume. Either move from the most recent year backward or the earliest to the most recent.

Also Read : Best Apps Like Wonolo

7. The formatting joker

Formatting your resume is key to getting into good books with potential employers. The last thing you want is to have a resume with blocks of text that read like a novel.

Even worse is having a resume that does not have any distinction when it comes to headings and the main body of the paragraph. The key is to ensure that you include formatting to make your resume easy on the eyes.

Some of the things you need to avoid include inconsistent spacing, misaligned icons, and randomized fonts. Regardless of the substance of your resume, if you fail in formatting, potential employers will view you as a lazy or careless individual.

But to get it right, the first thing to do is use a heading at the top of the resume. You should also include subheadings to help potential employers skim through the resume easily.

Additionally, you can bold specific texts to show a distinction. Bullet points and numbers can also help make your resume easy to read through.

Make sure that your resume has different sections for academics, work experience, and hobbies.

Formatting can be compared to your physical appearance. If you attend an interview dressed unprofessionally , you’ll be struck out of the list of potential recruits.

On the other hand, good formatting is like dressing professionally to show just how serious you are about the position you are applying for.

8. Resume vs cover letter

Many people fail to understand the difference between a cover letter and a resume. For that reason, some end up applying with a resume without a cover letter or vice versa.

The truth is that these two documents contain different types of information. They are also quite essential in expressing your desires and showing your potential.

First, you need to realize that your resume contains an elaborate list of your personal details, skills, academic qualifications, and work experience.

A cover letter on the other hand is an expression of interest in a specific position at an organization. Your cover letter contains your name, a direct salutation to the recipient, and compelling details of why you should be hired for the vacant position.

If your document is a mix-up of these two things, the potential employer may not know whether you submitted a resume or a cover letter.

9. It is not an autobiography

When looking for a new job that holds the promise of better pay, you’ll probably be tempted to showcase everything you have ever done.

You do that in a bid to stand out from other candidates seeking the same position. But that can end up working against your interest rather than promoting them.

For example, if you have worked for under 10 years in seven different organizations, you might want to let your potential employer know about such experiences.

However, chances are that you’ll end up writing a resume that exceeds two or three pages. When your resume is too long, employers may end up overlooking your most important achievements and skills.

Remember, there are probably hundreds of resumes being sent to any given organization at the same time. Recruiters, therefore, don’t have the time to read through resumes with three or four pages of content.

They prefer going for shorter resumes that are straightforward and to the point. Instead of including all the work experiences you have, choose those that seem most relevant to the job you are applying for.

This will ensure that your message is in a one-page document that is easy to read through. As a general rule of thumb, if you have less than 10 years of work experience, keep your resume under one page.

If you have work experience that exceeds 10 years, it may be fine to submit a two or three-page document.

10. The buzzword-enthusiast

While crafting your resume, you are obviously thinking of what you can include to ensure that it stands out from the others. In many cases, the use of buzzwords or keywords tends to come up.

Some examples of these phrases include:

• Cutting edge
• Self-starter
• Thought leader

These words may sound powerful and can create an impression that you are really good at what you do. But that impression only exists in your mind.

Experienced employers know everything about buzzwords. As a matter of fact, almost half of the resumes they receive contain buzzwords and you’ll therefore not fool them with such.

Instead, focus on writing a simple resume. No need to include catchphrases or words that are rarely used by everyday people.

Also Read : Best Apps Like Upshift

11. Don’t mention weaknesses

When crafting a resume, you want to showcase your strengths and achievements, not weaknesses . That is why you should be careful when considering the type of information to include in the education section.

There is no need to point out that you got a less than average mark on your final college exams. If you scored a low GPA, simply ignore the issue altogether.

Keep in mind that there is no requirement for you to include your GPA in a resume. In fact, most employers do not even consider it when vetting candidates.

The only time you might want to include your GPA in a resume is if you scored highly. You should also include it if the employer requests it.

12. Exaggerations can hurt

While your resume should showcase strengths, it must never be turned into something to peddle falsehoods about your qualifications and skills.

In an attempt to stand out from other candidates, some people end up exaggerating what they can do. The problem is that exaggerations may get you an interview but what will follow is disappointment.

For instance, if you claim to be an expert in operating a machine and then during the interview you fail to demonstrate your expertise, the end result is that you’ll be rejected.

By exaggerating things on your resume, you only create a false impression that will not last for long. In fact, you’ll end up wasting your own time and resources.

13. Lack of career progression

Another common mistake people make is to mention their work experience without showing their career progression. This is especially true for individuals that have worked for one organization over a long period.

For instance, an individual may point out that they have worked with a particular organization for 10 years. But that’s all they note on the resume without giving any other details.

Instead of only pointing out the duration you stayed with an organization, go ahead and detail your career progression with that organization.

Under your work experience with the organization, include bullet points that show what position you held in the first year. Include other bullet points that show how you were promoted over the 10 years you were working with the company.

Failure to showcase your career progression may create a bad impression. Some potential employers may view you as an individual with no ambitions while others will not understand the value you bring to their organization.

Your career progression shows potential employers your ability to perform at different levels and the reasons you got promoted.

Also Read : Killer Interview Questions To Ask Employers

14. Bad references

Putting down a list of references in your resume is good practice. However, don’t be tempted to list references you had a falling out with.

If you had a disagreement with your employer because you constantly reported late to work or argued with customers all the time, ignore such references.

That is because when your resume moves to a critical stage, a potential employer may want to get an independent opinion of who you are and how you work.

When such an employer calls your references and all they hear is how you were caught in various scandals, then your chances of securing a job go down the drain.

It is important that you only include references that you had cordial relations with. Simply consider people who can speak positively about you whether you resigned or the contract came to an end.

Also Read : Good Reasons To Call Out Of Work

15. The wrong kind of personal information

While your resume should contain personal information, you should not throw in every little detail about yourself. For instance, there is no need to point out your age, nationality, religion, and race.

This information does not affect your ability to execute tasks, which is why it should not be included in the resume. When you include such information, it forces your potential employer to start thinking in a certain way.

For example, your employer will start thinking of how your age will affect company dynamics. They may also start looking at your ability to stay with them over the long term because of age.

Mentioning your nationality will leave the employer wondering if you are able to communicate fluently in a specific language. Your religion is another piece of information you might want to leave out.

Your potential employer may start wondering if your religion will constrain you from carrying out certain duties or if you’ll be forced to take frequent breaks to attend to religious customs.

If your resume contains this wrong type of personal information, the best way to fix it is just to delete it.

Explore : Best Apps Like Shiftgig

Having looked at the 15 bad resume examples and ways to fix them, it is clear that a resume should be simple and to the point.

Ensure proper formatting, proofread your texts, and focus on the skills and experiences necessary for the position you are applying to.

Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing. I started my first e-commerce company in college, designing and selling t-shirts for my campus bar crawl using print-on-demand. Having successfully established multiple 6 & 7-figure e-commerce businesses (in women’s fashion and hiking gear), I think I can share a tip or 2 to help you succeed.

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Resume Disasters: 7 Bad Resume Examples To Avoid

A good resume does more than list your skills and qualifications. It gives hiring managers and recruiters a clear picture of your potential, ambition, and experience. 

In a resume, content is king. But if good content is overshadowed by poor formatting, visual, and grammatical choices (among others…), it may affect your chances of being called for an interview.

Want to create a strong resume that doesn’t land in the rejection pile? Let’s explore excerpts from seven bad resume examples to help you identify and avoid some of the most common resume mistakes.

3 key takeaways 

• 7 common resume mistakes to avoid
• More effective approaches for potential resume blunders
• How Teal’s AI Resume Builder can help you build a better professional resume

1. Spelling and grammar mistakes

Stepping into a job interview wearing mismatched shoes can be a faux pas—kind of like presenting a resume or cover letter full of grammar and spelling errors. It can give off a negative first impression and may lead recruiters or hiring managers to assume that you don’t pay attention to detail.

Your resume and cover letter need to be cohesive and error-free. Even a small grammatical error or typo can overshadow your qualifications. Resume proofreading is important; remember to run it through a spellcheck program and manually review it for errors. It’s also helpful to have a friend, family member, or coworker scan it over to catch any errors you might have missed.

Results-driven Project Manager with 4 years of expereince leading and managing multiple projects simultaneously, developing and maintaining project timelines and budgets, and implementing project management methodologys. Successful track record of increasing project completion rates, acheiving cost savings, an ensuring timely delivery of projects.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Project Manager

3/2022 – Present

Universal Ventures

• Led and managed multiple projects simultaneously, resulting in an 15% increase in project completion rates.
• Developed and maintained project timelines, budgets, resulting in an average project cost savings of 20%.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Agile/Scrum Methodologys
• Project Planning & Execution
• Project Mangement

Master of Science in Project Management

Boston University

While some of these errors may seem insignificant, they can showcase a lack of attention to detail. Be sure always to double- and triple-check your resume for grammar and spelling errors before submitting it to a hiring manager.

Pro Tip: The Teal AI Resume Builder includes a free spelling and grammar tool to help you get it right—every word, every time. 

2. Showcasing a lack of work experience

The beginning of your career journey is both exciting and nerve-wracking—and an empty work experience section can make the job search even more stressful.

While a lack of work experience might imply that you're a novice without much to offer, that's rarely the truth for young professionals. 

Instead of emphasizing a short or irrelevant work history, choose the best resume format to showcase what you do bring to the table—highlighting achievements, academic projects, and transferable hard and soft skills—instead of your lack of experience.

Work Experience

1. Sales Assistant, Taluka Paper - June 2023 to August 2023

• Assisted customers with product inquiries and selections.
• Handled cash register operations and processed customer transactions.
• Communication
• Computer applications

Imagine this candidate is a recent graduate aiming for a role in SaaS customer success. Although these bullet points may be true to the position’s basic duties, they don’t speak much to the candidate’s value or the role they’re seeking. 

In this example, it would be better to focus on the transferable skills that someone in customer success would use. 

For example, instead of “Assisted customers with product inquiries and selections,” a more effective bullet point may be something like,  

“Increased monthly sales by 15% by assisting customers with product inquiries and selections, leveraging strong interpersonal communication and QuickBooks Point of Sale.”

Instead of “used the cash register,” the bullet point could focus more on the customer service aspect of the job to align with skills needed in customer success, such as,

“Handled cash register operations and processed customer transactions with a 99.5% accuracy rate, leveraging POS system operations and excellent customer relationship building—increasing customer satisfaction rate to 98%.”

3. Using unprofessional or hard-to-read fonts

Even in more casual or creative industries, your resume should look professional, so stick with a basic, readable font. Fancy, intricate fonts can make your resume hard to read, while casual fonts seem unprofessional.

And don’t go overboard with different fonts for headers, bullet points, and summaries. This can make your resume look chaotic and hard to follow.

4. Incorporating all you've ever done

While you want potential employers to get a clear, comprehensive picture of who you are as a professional, your resume is not an exhaustive memoir of your career. The job of your resume is to showcase the top 10% of your experience that’s 100% relevant to the role you’re applying for. It should be clear, concise, and impactful. 

Instead of taking a hiring manager or recruiter through all the twists and turns of your professional history, take a step back and review the job description to see what they’re really looking for in a candidate. Then, tailor your resume , prioritizing experience, accomplishments, and skills that are relevant to the position and cutting information and details that don’t demonstrate why you’re right for the role. 

1. Intern, TechPlace - Anytown, USA August 2011 - May 2012 (worked Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday)

• Assisted in software installations
• Participated in three team meetings
• Watered office plants

2. Junior Administrative Assistant, Office - Smalltown, USA June 2010 

• Photocopied 100+ pages daily, once helped with a 105-page document.
• Answered phones during lunch breaks, precisely between 12:15 PM and 12:45 PM.
• Refilled the coffee machine and restocked sweeteners.

A good guideline is to focus on the experience that is most relevant to the role you’re applying to. While you may have held brief roles like these, it’s best to focus on the experience that best highlights what you’d bring to the table in the potential new job.

5. Including unnecessary graphics or pictures

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when it comes to resumes, an unwarranted image might cost you your dream job—for a few reasons.

First, applicant tracking systems (ATS) can only parse text. So, for example, if you present your work experience section or skills section as a graph or image, the content won’t be searchable within the ATS. 

Second, hiring managers sort through potentially hundreds of applications. They want to quickly understand your skills, experiences, and unique accomplishments. Visuals can be distracting and make it harder to skim your resume. 

Third, biases are an unfortunate reality, whether they’re subconscious or blatant. While a headshot can help recruiters put a face to the application, it can also make the hiring process less objective.

It comes down to one simple rule: to get your application seen, you want to create an optimized resume for ATS that’s scannable—and this excludes using pictures and graphics.  

Imagine Claudia, a qualified software developer with five years of experience, is applying for a competitive role at a tech firm. Along with her detailed, well-formatted resume, she includes a headshot. 

The hiring manager, David, has an unconscious bias he's unaware of. Claudia looks a lot like someone he knew growing up, and based on her appearance, he makes assumptions about Claudia’s background, age, or even work ethic.

A few days later, another resume lands on David’s desk. This one is from Eldria, who has a similar skill set to Claudia. However, Eldria has not included a headshot. 

David, without any potential biases triggered by a photo, focuses solely on Eldria’s qualifications and experiences. So Eldria gets shortlisted for an interview, while Claudia (despite being equally qualified) does not.

Pro Tip: The free Teal AI Resume Builder offers four resume templates that can be easily parsed by an ATS and read by a human hiring professional. 

6. Poorly formatting your resume

A well-formatted resume isn't just about aesthetics—it’s about making sure that recruiters can easily understand your worth. 

Bullet points, headers, bold text, proper spacing—all of these resume design features help break up information and make your resume skimmable. 

Social Media Manager

Driven and successful Social Media Manager with 4+ years of experience developing and executing campaigns that have driven significant website traffic and generated leads, resulting in a 25% increase in followers and engagement, as well as a 20% increase in conversions across multiple platforms. 

White Mountain Holdings

Implemented a successful social media strategy resulting in a 25% increase in followers and engagement across all platforms

Developed and executed campaigns that drove significant website traffic and generated leads, resulting in a 20% increase in conversions

Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop and execute social media content that aligned with overall branding and marketing goals

Social Media Strategist

3/2020 – 3/2022

Redshift Technologies

Developed and managed social media calendars, resulting in a 15% increase in engagement and followers

Collaborated with design and content teams to develop visually compelling and engaging social media content

Social Media Specialist

3/2019 – 3/2020

Summit Solutions Group

Assisted senior social media managers in developing and executing social media campaigns and strategies.

Collaborated with cross-functional teams to gather information and create social media content.

Skills and competencies

Social Media Strategy Development

Social Media Campaign Planning & Execution

Social Media Calendar Management

Social Media Content Creation

Social Media Insights & Metrics

As you can see, without using any bold, italics, underlining, or bullet points to separate sections of your resume, it can be tough to tell the difference between your resume title and your “Skills” section. Remember, recruiters see a lot of resumes, so make yours as easy to skim as possible!

7. Including too many buzzwords

"Synergy," "leveraged," "optimized." While these words have their place, overstuffing your resume with buzzwords can make it seem insincere. It's important to be genuine and use terms that truly reflect your experience and skills.

Experience:

Global Strategic Visionary MegaCorp Intl., Big City, USA - 2022 to Present

• Synergized cross-functional teams to elevate stakeholder engagement and maximize ROI.
• Leveraged state-of-the-art techniques to streamline, optimize, and reinvent the wheel of customer interface processes.
• Pioneered paradigm-shifting initiatives that transcended traditional business constraints.

Again, these buzzwords aren’t always bad—they have a time and a place. But in a resume, it’s best to use a balance of power and simplicity in terms of vocabulary. It may not be immediately clear what it means to “synergize a cross-functional team,” but it’s a lot easier to understand what it means to “collaborate with cross-functional teams.”

If vocabulary isn’t your forte, don’t worry—you’re not alone! The good news is that Teal’s AI Resume Builder has made it easy for job seekers like you to create powerful resumes that highlight your experience with all the right words. 

As a Teal member, you get real-time feedback and recommendations for how to adjust your resume’s wording to include optimal keywords and measurable descriptions. With Teal, it’s easy to accentuate your strengths and position you as an ideal candidate for the job.

Create better resumes with Teal

A well-formatted, professional, error-free resume is key for any job seeker—but that’s easier said than done! Fortunately, there’s Teal.

Teal's AI Resume Builder can help you build tailored resumes with optimized formatting, clean resume templates, and correct spelling and grammar for every job you apply for. 

Ready for a resume that shows you off as a professional? Sign up today and get started with Teal!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common design mistakes to avoid in a resume, how can i ensure my resume is tailored to the job i'm applying for, is it a bad practice to include personal information on my resume.

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Bad Resume Examples: 7 Cringe-Worthy Resumes (and How to Fix Them)

Customers Interviewed by:

Reddit user u/cityoftress recently asked employers for “ the funniest, craziest or weirdest thing you’ve seen on a resume .” We found a few doozies, but even the worst resumes can be fixed.

#1 – Orienting Details

A 3×4 table under the header of Soft Skills. The bottom right cell read:

with “detailed” being centered and “orientated” right-justified. – u/lavidalibre

Always ask a few friends or family members to glance over your resume to pick up on any formatting , spelling, or other errors you might have missed. It’s not good enough to rely on spell-check, as this example demonstrates. Learn more about how to handle soft skill sections .

#2 – The Underwater Ceramics Expert

Underwater ceramics and glass cleaner for a multi-million dollar company meant dishwasher at chili’s – u/suicidalsilkworm

Props for the creativity, but you’ll eventually have to explain in an interview that your family restaurant franchise job didn’t require scuba certification. You can put almost any experience on your resume without over-exaggerating, you just need to know how to write it the right way .

#3 – Call My Mom

Listing their mother for a reference, and her not picking up or returning the call. – u/118ave

Many employers will ask for non-family references, so don’t bother with all those cousins, aunts, or grand uncles. Make sure you’re carefully choosing your job references and touch base with them before you send references out to make sure they still have the same contact information…and that they’ll actually return a call.

#4 – A Sunny Resume

Entire CV in bright yellow. I could not read a word against the white paper. Made me wonder how many jobs she missed out on by doing this. – u/stuartiscool

Ouch. This is one of the worst resume mistakes you can make, but it might not have been on purpose. Canary yellow text could have been because her printer ran out of ink or due to a software error. Now if the applicant just loves the idea of a colorful resume, she should know that colorful fonts are only good for physical resumes , and even then, it should be dark, professional , and legible .

#5 – The Boss Baby

One lady had put a headshot of her baby on her resume. I asked my supervisor to give the lady a call, just to find out why she had put a baby picture on her resume. My supervisor was interested in the story too, so gave her a call and did a bogus phone interview all so he could just end with “oh and by the way… why the baby picture?”

Turned out it was not her baby, it was her, as a baby. She thought it was a cute picture and used it on a resume, applying for a job paying north of 100k a year. – u/Alwin_

Employers have to be very careful of not appearing discriminatory in their hiring practices, which is why they can’t ask you if you have kids. Putting a photo on your resume (especially of a baby) is a great way for an employer to reject your resume outright so they don’t even have to deal with the possibility of impropriety.

#6 – The Head Liar

My uncle was on the recruitment panel for his law firm. One day he received a pretty strong application. The applicant looked great and they fully intended to ask her to interview until a lie in her application came to light.

One of the achievements that the applicant listed was that she had been head girl at her school. It didn’t really make much difference to her application, but it stood out because by sheer chance it was a local school and my aunt taught at it.

“Hey guess what” my uncle asked when he got home that night “you’ll never guess who has applied to us. It’s [whoever], one of your head girls.”

“I don’t think so,” replied my aunt, “We don’t have head girls.” – u/Patnet

Now that’s some karma – and maybe the worst resume mistake so far. Obviously the fix here would have been for the applicant not to lie. But you can elaborate on your resume without being untruthful.

#7 – Head of the Household

I had been back in the workforce for about a year- before that I was a stay-at-home mom . The online application system would not let me submit the application with gaps in my work history, so I said that during that 6 year timeframe I was the CEO of the household and listed duties and qualifications. I got the interview and was hired with no experience in that industry. It was an inside sales position, so I think they appreciated the hustle. – u/redemption_songs

This is a great story of ingenuity and hustle. It’s also one of luck – this kind of comedy won’t fly with a lot of hiring companies or for all roles. There’s more dependable ways to write a stay-at-home parent resume , but having creative solutions ready to go is an excellent job skill (and mom skill!).

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4 Bad Resume Examples

Here are several BAD resume examples—don’t do this! These are some common mistakes I often see people make on their resumes. Refrain from making these common errors and you will set yourself apart from the hungry pack of job hunters.

Bad Resume Example 1

• Don’t center everything! This makes it very difficult to read. Especially with bullet points.
• Don’t use too much white space, or too little. Balance your text with the white space around it.
• Don’t use the same typeface weight or size. It is difficult to see where categories begin and end.
• The margins are too small on this bad resume. It looks like you’ve crammed everything into a little space—too crowded. Margins and white space let your words and design “breathe.”
• Don’t italicize your headlines. It makes them look like a logo for a hockey team, or like they are running a race.
• Don’t use a font larger than 11 points for body copy. It looks too bulky and unprofessional.
• Too much color looks like an American “theme” gone wrong. It also looks a little like a cheap advertisement… “Step right up folks, here’s your chance…”
• The variation of color disconnects the categories and decreased unity. Nothing looks like it goes together.
• Margins on this one look pretty good though. Nice “breathing” room.
• Don’t use Papyrus! Unless you’re designing the poster for Avatar VIII.
• Don’t use overly decorative typefaces. They are too hard to read when used for body copy.
• Don’t combine decorative typefaces

Bad Resume Examples

Bad resume examples: mistakes to avoid while crafting a resume.

Published on October 2nd, 2024

Your resume is your first impression, and the phrase goes that "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." In actuality, job seekers sabotage their own potential for success through a number of common mistakes below-stuff that is quite easily avoided. In this blog post, we discuss some of the most common mistakes and, correspondingly, how to avoid them in order to create a truly brilliant resume.

Example No: 1

• Don't center everything! The less said about this the better, especially in regard to bullet points.
• It is a bit of a balance between not using enough white space, but then again, using too much. Balance the text with white space around it.
• Don't use the same typeface weight or size. It's hard to see where categories start and stop.

Example No: 2

• It's just too much color and it looks like an American "theme" gone wrong. It also looks a little like a cheap advertisement… "Step right up folks, here's your chance…"
• Colour variation disunites categories and thus reduces unity. Nothing seems to be like it belongs together.
• This one's margins look pretty good, though. Nice "breathing" room

Example No: 3

• The margins are too small on this bad resume. It looks like you’ve crammed everything into a little space—too crowded. Margins and white space let your words and design “breathe.”
• Don't italicize your headlines. It makes them look like the logo on a hockey team, or that they are in some sort of race.
• Don't use anything over an 11-point font for body copy; it looks too bulky and unprofessional.

What are the Mistakes to Avoid on the Resume?

Unnecessary information overload.

The mistake : 

Including every job one has ever had, irrelevancies, or personal information that does not bear on the job being applied for.

Why It's Bad: 

Many hiring managers spend only a few seconds scanning a resume. If yours is filled with unimportant information, that is going to make it much more difficult for them to catch your relevant experience and experience and skills.

How to Correct It: 

Summarize experiences and skills relevant to the applied position. Tailor your resume to each job by giving more details on the most relevant parts of your work history. Do not include personal information, like age, marital status, and hobbies, unless it is highly relevant.

The Use of a One-Size-Fits-All Resume

Mistake Made: 

Sending the same generic resume for every job application.

Why it's bad: 

Your resume, not tailored to the specific job, will more than likely just blend into the background. Employers want to see you made an attempt to understand them and how you'd be able to satisfy their needs.

How to Fix It:

The key to a great resume is that it is tailored for each job, which usually means a rewrite of the objective statement, rearrangement of bullet points to bring out relevant experience, and adjustment of keywords to fit the description. Yeah, it's more work, but it's worth it.

Being Vague or Using Overused Buzzwords

The Mistake: You compose your resume with a great deal of vague statements or repeat overused buzzwords like "hard worker," "team player," or "detail-oriented" without proof that you are.

These phrases have lost their impact because they are so overused. Without concrete examples, they don't tell the hiring manager anything meaningful about your abilities.

How to Improve It: 

Be specific. Give quantifiable achievements. Instead of saying you're a "team player," mention any project where your contribution toward working in a team resulted in success. Use numbers to support your achievements whenever possible; for example, "Increased sales 20% over six months."

4. Poor Formatting and Lack of Readability

The Mistake :

Layout is too complicated, fancy fonts are used, or too much text fits on one page.

If your resume is, frankly, a pain to read, hiring managers won't. A cluttered or overly complicated resume detracts from anything that might actually be on the page and makes key points harder to discern.

How to Fix It: Do-adopt a clean, professional layout. Stick to a simple, readable font, such as Arial or Calibri, and leave plenty of white space. Unless you have a lot of experience, stick to one page; if you do have much experience, two pages may be called for. Use bullet points to help clarify information and well-marked sections.

Typos and Grammatical Errors

The Mistake:  

Sending out a resume with spelling mistakes, typos, or grammatical errors.

Errors on your resume indicate the lack of attention to detail and can be one of those red flags for an employer, especially in roles that require your attested communication skills.

How to Rectify: 

You should proofread your resume several times, and you may want to have someone else look at it, too. Sometimes, another pair of eyes finds errors that you never noticed. Tools like Grammarly also help; these tools can catch basic errors.

Final Thoughts

All of these very basic mistakes on resumes make all the difference in the world in your job searching. Remember that very often, your resume is an initial contact with a would-be employer; hence, take this chance and make the most of it. By keeping your resume concise, tailored to a specific job applied for, well-formatted, and error-free, you will get more chances to be invited for an interview and eventually get the job.

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• Resume Tips

Fixing Bad Resumes: 7 Key Improvements

10 min read

Learn how to fix bad resumes in this quick and easy guide!

Is your resume failing to land you job interviews? When you try to write a resume from scratch, there are countless pitfalls you will come up against. Even job seekers who use templates can sometimes fail to make the right impression. The good news is that most bad resumes tend to share some similar failings. In the following guide, we will look at how to fix bad resumes and the mistakes you may be missing.

Bad resume example 

Before we get started, let’s take a look at how a bad resume looks. The below example shows exactly what you should not do when it comes to creating your next application: 

What makes a bad resume? 7 key improvements 

Can you spot the common mistakes in the above example? If not, we have the answers that you have been looking for. To help you learn how to fix bad resumes, we will be looking at each of the errors in turn. Here are the seven core things that make the above example poor. 

1. Ditch the ‘objective statement’

Problem: objective statements are old-hat.

In our bad resume example, you’ll notice that the job-seeker included an objective statement. In times past, the objective section was a traditional option in most resumes. Here’s how it looks: 

“Looking to obtain a position as a software engineer and apply my many years of experience and skills.”

The statement succinctly conveys your career goals, and lets any prospective employer or hiring manager know that you’re serious about the job. On the surface, that seems like an important thing to do, but experts now agree that the objective is outdated in the modern era.

Including this blurb on your resume is a quick way to show the hiring manager that you are out of touch. It proves to them that you don’t know what the current hiring expectations are.

Solution: Use a summary instead

So, what should you do instead of using an objective? Use a summary statement to better represent who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and how you can benefit the prospective employer if you’re hired. The difference in presentation can be truly dramatic, since it allows you to focus on your value as an employee rather than on what you want from the company.

In short, it means that you put yourself in the hiring  manager’s shoes and understand what they want from you as a candidate. You can then write a summary that meets their needs. Here is an example of a resume summary instead:

“10+ years of experience as a detail-oriented Software Engineer with a proven track record for gathering requirements then designing and developing applications. Excels at learning new technologies and applying them to develop clean and well-structured code. Excellent collaborative team player and an outstanding communicator.”

The summary enables you to provide a quick and concise overview of your employment history. You can use it to highlight your achievements, define special skills, and demonstrate your value. 

Use the summary to focus on the benefits you can provide for the employer rather than what you hope to gain from the relationship. Check out our post on writing a resume summary here . 

2. Shake up the work experience section

Problem: the work experience section is dull.

If you carefully examine the work experience section of the bad resume template example, you may notice that it’s somewhat underwhelming. Yes, it meticulously lists the candidate’s positions and duties – but it seems to be missing something.

It’s missing any real achievements that can catch a hiring manager’s eye. It reads like a dull recitation of facts, and lacks the type of context that today’s potential employers and hiring managers are seeking. 

There are few, if any, power verbs used in this laundry list of jobs held, and no metrics by which this candidate’s potential value can be assessed.

Solution: Define your achievements and add some detail

One of the major problems with this work experience section in the example is that it reads like a list. You have the unique opportunity to create an engaging section that details your biggest achievements to date. Don’t waste that chance. Make sure that you are specific in this part.

You don’t want to make it sound as though you simply did the basic tasks of your role. That is a foundation requirement. So, for example, you should not write the following: 

“Developed sales plan using new and existing resources.”

This approach doesn't show what impact your work had on the greater business. In essence, it gives the hiring manager no clue about your value.  Instead, use tangible results in your work experience section. Wherever possible, you want to quantify your accomplishments. Let’s take a look at how you can add something extra to the above statement: 

“Created dynamic sales strategy that boosted quarterly sales activity by 17%, increasing division profits by 12.6%.”

The additional specificity showcases the types of results that any new employer can expect if they hire you. If in doubt, you can always use the STAR method when writing these points.

3. It fails to showcase any skills

Problem: there is no skills or core competencies section.

The bad resume example doesn’t have a skills section or, indeed, a core competencies section. This is a standard part of modern-day applications. The fact that this one is lacking will make it stand out like a sore thumb. When laying out your resume, you need to make sure that you include all of the sections that the hiring manager expects from you. 

Additionally, the core competencies section showcases what you bring to the table. At a glance, the hiring manager will be able to see whether the skills that you have match the job criteria. 

Add some keywords! 

This resume also lacks the proper keywords needed to get past an Applicant Tracking System , or ATS. Most companies use an ATS to automatically screen your resume and one of the major things it looks for are keywords that relate to the position/industry. 

An average of 75% of resumes are automatically rejected by an ATS so you want to ensure you have the right keywords to let the software know that you're a match for the position.

Solution: Add a balanced skills section

A resume should have a list of relevant core competencies or skills. Not only does this allow you to easily insert relevant keywords and tailor them to each position you apply to, but it tells the hiring manager what they need to know about you as a candidate. 

Go back to the original job advert if you are looking for some inspiration. More often than not, the hiring manager will list the core competencies in the job requirements. Select any that match your existing skill set and include them as bullet points. When we talk about how to fix bad resumes, a quick hack is to also include a healthy range of soft skills . 

4. The language is unimaginative 

Problem: the work experience section is boring .

We already touched on this a bit, but it’s worth repeating: word choice matters. Your verbs should be active and powerful, and your adjectives should help to reinforce the importance of your prior job roles. 

Don’t just describe yourself as being “responsible for” some activity; choose words that are more active and productive. Here are some bad examples of what you should not be writing:

“Responsible for meeting the January 2020 sales goal.”

“Led sales team in achieving January 2020 sales goal, increasing sales by 23%.”

“Represented the company at trade shows increasing the new customer base.”

The goal is to insert value wherever possible. You want that hiring manager to read your resume and think, “This candidate is a real go-getter. If they can provide our company with these kinds of benefits, it would be a mistake to pass on the opportunity!”

You’ll also notice that there are areas within that work experience section where the candidate does promote value. That’s commendable, but even those areas could use some tightening to make them more dynamic. 

While benefits like increased accuracy and reduced overtime are impressive, those achievements would be even more impressive if they were backed up by statements defining the bottom line benefits they created for the employer.

Solution: Improve your writing style

When it comes to how to fix bad resumes, changing up your writing is the biggest improvement you can make. Your resume is a marketing material. As such, the language and tone that you use has to be persuasive and engaging. Let’s take a look at some good examples below: 

“Took the lead as company trade show ambassador, enhancing new client acquisition by 15% over previous trade show outreach.”

“Spearheaded a new sales strategy and boosted ROI by 23% in Q4.”

5. There are avoidable mistakes in the resume

Problem: there are spelling and grammar errors.

The bad resume example above has a spelling error, and even a single error is enough to get you disqualified. When the hiring manager reads a resume like this one, the mistake will jump off the page to them. It shows a lack of attention to detail. The hiring manager will instantly have a negative impression of you as a candidate and likely won’t want to interview you for the job.

Solution: Proofread, proofread, proofread

Always read your resume over and give it over to someone else to spell check and proofread as well. These seemingly small mistakes can make a major difference when you’re applying for jobs. You can also use a third-party spellchecker, such as Grammarly or the Hemingway App . 

6. The resume is not attractive

Problem: the resume design is poor .

Looks matter when it comes to good vs. bad resumes. The aesthetics in the example aren't really pleasing. Sure, the content is the most important part, but you want the hiring manager to read it in the first place. If your resume is unattractive, they might not bother to even do that.

Solution: Spend more time on the design

Hiring managers only spend a few seconds looking at your resume so you want to ensure your resume is neatly organized. Here are some of the ways you can fix bad resume designs: 

Choose a clean and simple layout 

Only use one (or, maybe, two) font types

Use plenty of white space around sections 

Avoid fancy colors or charts on your resume 

Create clear headers for different sections

Remember, your resume should not look like an art project. Instead, you need to make sure that it is easy for the hiring manager and ATS to read. Prioritize readability over everything else. 

7. It’s a one-size-fits-all resume 

Problem: the resume is not tailored.

When we look at this bad resume example, one thing stands out. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach. There is nothing about this resume that suggests it has been tailored to meet the criteria of the job at hand. That means that it won’t impress the hiring manager at all. 

Solution: Always tailor your resume

The fact is that you need to tailor your resume to have any real chance against other applicants. 

This approach ensures that you are properly addressing a given company’s job requirements. This is also the best way to demonstrate that you’re the right person for the open position. 

Do you need multiple versions of your resume? No – you can easily tailor your resume if it’s formatted properly. Take a look at this good resume example:

The takeaway 

Learning how to fix bad resumes can be challenging. Chances are, you are not an expert resume writer and hitting the mark is tricky. In this guide, we have outlined some of the simple ways you can improve your next application. Take a look at your existing resume and see whether you have made any of the above mistakes. Dealing with them before you apply for any jobs is a simple way to increase your overall chances of success. 

Want to gain the competitive edge? Let ZipJob’s professional resume writers take the lead. We can help you create an interview-winning resume in no time at all. 

Recommended reading: 

How to Get Your Resume Past the ATS Scans (2024 Updated)

9 Reasons for Automated Rejection Email After Application

Best and Worst Words To Use On A Resume

Charlotte Grainger, Editor & Content Writer, Charlotte Grainger, Editor & Content Writer

Charlotte Grainger is a freelance writer living and working in Sheffield, UK. She has a passion for career development and loves sharing tips and advice. Follow her on Twitter

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Bad resume examples: 7 common mistakes to avoid

1. Unorganized format

2. poor grammar and typos, 3. weak verbiage and clichés, 4. it’s too long, 5. not specific enough, 6. way too creative, 7. not tailored for the role, using an unprofessional email address, including irrelevant personal information, failing to quantify achievements, ignoring applicant tracking systems (ats), omitting key contact information.

A resume is your first chance to make a lasting impression, and a poorly crafted one can undermine even the strongest qualifications. Unfortunately, you might not even realize your resume has issues—it’s easy to overlook flaws, especially when you’re too close to the document.

A bad resume doesn’t just fail to showcase your strengths—it can also make hiring managers question your suitability.

In this blog, we’ll highlight common resume mistakes and explore examples of resumes that miss the mark. Read on as we reveal:

• The difference between a good and bad resume
• 7 common pitfalls that make your resume bad

Other resume mistakes to avoid

What makes a bad resume vs a good resume.

Having a bad resume is a detriment to your job search no matter how qualified you are. It is critical to submit a well-crafted resume that showcases your skills, experiences, and accomplishments, making you stand out in a competitive job market. 

A strong resume can open doors to interviews and job opportunities, while a poorly constructed one can hinder your chances, even if you're highly qualified. In short, your resume is your personal marketing tool. Make it count.

Here are some distinct differences between a good resume and a bad one.

7 Of the worst resume mistakes and examples

The following bad resume examples happen more often than you would think. Some slip in amidst the haste and excitement to send off the application. Others arise out of laziness. If you want the job, take care to avoid all of them.

Having an unorganized resume format can make it difficult for hiring managers to find key information. A cluttered layout, inconsistent fonts, and lack of clear sections can give the impression of carelessness and lack of attention to detail. Ensuring your resume is well-structured and easy to read is essential for making a strong first impression.

[email protected]

123-456-7890

Dynamic Retail Manager with over 10 years of experience in driving sales growth, optimizing store operations, and leading high-performing teams. Proven track record in inventory management, customer service excellence, and implementing strategic initiatives to enhance profitability. Adept at fostering a positive work environment and developing staff to achieve their full potential while ensuring an exceptional shopping experience for customers.

Professional Experience:

Sales Associate at Retail Store Inc. January 2018 - March 2024

• Managed sales, customer service, inventory.
• Assisted with social media campaigns, conducted market research, created reports.

While the job may not require Shakespearean writing skills, the presence of basic grammatical errors or typos hints at a lack of attention to detail and a careless attitude toward the application. If you can’t proofread the resume, do you even want the job?

Having errors and typos in your resume can significantly undermine your credibility and professionalism. Such mistakes suggest a lack of attention to detail and can lead to an immediate rejection by hiring managers. Always proofread your resume multiple times to ensure it's error-free.

Detail-oriented accoutant with experiance in financial record-keeping and reconciling accouts. Skilled in using Excel and Quickbooks, but need to improve on some math skills. Proven ability to handle multiple task simultaniously and meet deadlines. Looking for a job where I can use my skills to help with number and stuff.

It is so easy to imagine everyone else writing resumes with impressive sounding claims, but general clichés will not impress a hiring manager who wants to understand whether you have what it takes to do the job. Using poor verbiage and clichés in your resume can make you appear unoriginal and unprofessional. Overused phrases and vague language fail to convey your unique skills and accomplishments effectively. So, be specific.

Dynamic HR professional with a proven track record of driving success through innovative strategies and out-of-the-box thinking. Known for being a passionate team player who consistently goes above and beyond to deliver exceptional results.

This example is full of overused clichés that diminish the uniqueness and value of what is being offered, avoid phrases like:

• Proven track record
• Out-of-the-box thinking
• Team player
• Above and beyond

Having a resume that's too long can overwhelm hiring managers and dilute the impact of your key achievements. No one wants to read a novel about your work history—keep it concise and relevant to make a strong impression. Most resumes should be kept to one page, but can be extended to two if there is significant experience to present. Remember, a focused resume highlights your best qualities without the fluff.

A lackluster resume that only includes bare minimum details without numbers or context fails to capture the hiring manager's interest. It doesn't showcase your achievements or the value you bring to a role, making you blend in with countless other applicants. To stand out, provide specific examples and quantifiable results that demonstrate your impact.

Retail Manager, Family Store (February 2022 – Present)

• Managed store operations.
• Supervised staff.
• Handled customer complaints.

There are 3 common resume formats: chronological, functional, and a combination. Here's how to choose the right one for you.

Overly designed resumes can be distracting and difficult for hiring managers to read, detracting from the content and making it harder to focus on your qualifications. Flashy graphics, excessive colors, and unconventional layouts can also confuse applicant tracking systems, causing your resume to be overlooked. Some design is fine, but balance aesthetics with clarity and professionalism to ensure your resume is both appealing and functional. Impress them with your content.

For tips and inspiration on how to design a resume with a creative flair, check out our creative resume templates

A resume that isn't tailored to the job can come across as generic and disinterested, which will likely reduce your chances of standing out to hiring managers. Employers want to see how your specific skills and experiences align with their needs. A one-size-fits-all resume fails to make that connection. Tailoring your resume demonstrates your attention to detail and genuine interest in the position, making you a more attractive candidate.

Business Professional (January 2020 – April 2024)

• Responsible for handling various tasks and duties
• Assisted with different projects and initiatives
• Managed routine operations and responsibilities
• Engaged in daily activities to ensure smooth functioning

A winning job application needs to be tailored to the job position. A successfully targeted resume builds a story from your experience about why you’re right for this job!

John Doe 1234 Elm Street Anytown, USA 12345 [email protected] | (123) 456-7890 linkedin.com/in/johndoe

A results-driven professional with a provn track record in diverse roles seeking to leverage my skills and experience to contribute to your esteemed organization. Looking for a dynamic role where I can make an impact and dive succcess.

Various Positions Various Companies January 2010 – Present

o  Played a role in different types of tasks and projects.

o  Handled several responsibilities and duties across multiple sectors.

• Worked on various initiatives that helped in some areas of business.
• Assisted in many activities and contributed to overall productivity.

Job Title Company Name June 2005 – December 2009

• Managed a range of daily activities and operational duties.
• Coordinated with teams and worked on several assignments.
• Participated in various company projects and programs.
• Engaged in different processes to ensure the functioning of the company.

Previous Job Company Name March 2000 – May 2005

• Completed assigned tasks and followed company procedures.

o  Worked on several projects with minimal supervision.

o  Helped in managing day-to-day operations and handled various roles.

o  Assisted in different aspects of the business to achieve goals.

Bachelor of Arts in General Studies University Name Graduated 1999 with 1.9 GPA

Certifications

• Basic Certificate in Business Management
• Advanced Training in Office Operations
• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Problem-Solving
• Time Management
• Communication Skills
• Customer Service
• Project Management

Additional Information

• Received numerous awards and recognitions for various achievements.
• Volunteered for several events and community activities.
• Fluent in English and other languages.
• Possess a strong work ethic and dedication to success.

In addition to the major resume mistakes above, there are a few other mistakes that happen quite often that you want to steer clear of.

An email address like " [email protected] " can appear unprofessional. Stick to a straightforward, professional format like " [email protected] ."

Avoid including personal details like marital status, age, or social security number. These are unnecessary and can introduce bias or privacy concerns.

Not providing specific numbers or measurable outcomes makes your accomplishments less impactful. For example, saying "increased sales" is weaker than "increased sales by 20% over 6 months."

Not optimizing your resume for ATS can result in it being overlooked. Use relevant keywords from the job description and avoid complex formatting that ATS may not parse correctly.

Failing to include essential contact details in your header , such as your phone number or email address, makes it difficult for employers to reach you. Ensure that your contact information is clear and up-to-date.

Ready to make a lasting impression with your resume? Check out our expertly crafted resume templates to transform your application and stand out from the crowd. 

Key takeaways

Common resume mistakes include poor formatting, grammatical errors, and generic language, all of which can undermine your credibility. A resume that is too long, overly designed, or not tailored to the job can confuse hiring managers and diminish your chances of landing an interview. Avoid common pitfalls like including irrelevant personal information or failing to optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). To stand out, ensure your resume is clear, concise, and specifically aligned with the job you're applying for, demonstrating your unique skills and achievements.

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10 Good Weaknesses for a Job Interview That Aren’t “I Work Too Hard”(+ Sample Answers)

• Júlia Mlčúchova , 
• Updated March 28, 2024 11 min read

How to answer the classic interview question "What is your greatest weakness" ? And do you really need to prepare your weaknesses for job interview?

Believe us, you do! Because knowing your weaknesses is equally as important as knowing your strengths . 

When it comes to job interviews, we’re constantly encouraged to present our finest selves to seem like the absolute best candidate for the job. So talking about your flaws may seem counterintuitive.

Yet, this question seems to be one of the recruiters’ most favourite . 

That's why it's a good idea to get ready for this eventuality and prepare yourself to frame the answer in your favour . 

If you want to learn more, keep reading our article and discover: 

• Why are recruiters asking this question;
• How to know what is your greatest weakness;
• What NOT to say when answering;
• A list of good weaknesses for a job interview;
• Examples of how to answer “What is your greatest weakness?”

Table of Contents

Click on a section to skip

What the recruiters really want to know

Top 10 good weaknesses for a job interview.

• How to answer “What is your greatest weakness?” in 4 steps

What is your greatest weakness sample answers

How not to answer “what is your greatest weakness”, key takeaways: top 10 best weaknesses for job interview.

Honestly, this feels like a trap, inviting you to reveal your shortcomings and ruin your chances at getting hired. 

But, regarding job interviews , nothing is ever haphazard! So, you probably won't be too surprised when we tell you that there's more to this question than meets the eye. 

When recruiters ask about your weaknesses, here's what they actually want to know : 

• Whether you're self-aware and capable of introspection. Can you look at yourself and recognize your deficiencies? And can you be self-critical? Because both of these are key qualities of anyone's dream employee. 
• Whether you're reliable. Not in the sense of being able to do anything and everything. But in the sense of knowing your limits and being honest about communicating them. Because employers need to know that you won’t bite off more than you can chew. 
• Whether you have a “growth mindset". Next is their interest in your ability to face challenges. Do you perceive them as opportunities to grow and develop professionally? Or avoid them completely? 
• Whether you're a good fit for the company culture. Lastly, they want to gauge how well you work with others. For example: Would you be able to own up to your mistakes, learn from them and move on? Or are you more likely to play the blame game? 

As you can see, your response can offer a glimpse into your resilience, workplace attitude and adaptability . Qualities that are invaluable in any professional setting.

Have a job interview coming up?

Upload your resume and generate sample job-specific interview questions in seconds.

A “good weakness” is one that isn't core to the job in question , is believable, and is possible to work on .

Of course, there's no one-size-fits-all set of weaknesses because everyone's experiences and challenges are unique. However, there are a couple of common vulnerabilities that you may find relatable AND are suitable.

In case you're struggling to identify yours, this list may help you find it: 

• Lack of professional experience with non-essential skills.  
• Taking criticism too personally. 
• Imperfect presentation skills. 
• Struggling to ask for help. 
• Discomfort with giving criticism. 
• Difficulties delegating tasks to others.  
• Impatience with slow processes. 
• Difficulties with prioritizing tasks. 
• Inability to let go of projects.
• Being too blunt. 

And now, let's look at each of these in more detail. Plus, we'll also briefly discuss how you can try to fix them. 

#1 Lack of professional experience with non-essential skills

In other words, not having a deep understanding of a skill that may be beneficial, but not indispensable. For example, while a project manager isn't required to have proficiency in graphic design, knowledge of Illustrator may be useful for creating simple visual materials for presentations.

This weakness is relatively safe, yet it still communicates your “growth mindset.” Plus, it's an easy fix – just mention a particular course that targets the skill in question .

#2 Taking criticism too personally

This one is pretty real and believable. The ability to receive feedback and objective criticism is necessary for any professional, yet it's not something that comes naturally to many.

For instance, you could say that in the past, it was difficult for you to distinguish between criticism of you as an employee, and criticism of you as a person . But through a conscious shift in mindset, you came to recognize it for what it really is – an opportunity to improve.  

#3 Imperfect presentation skills

Another fairly common weakness is the fear of public speaking . Whether it be presentation for teams, your management, or clients, some degree of public speaking is necessary for pretty much any corporate position.

To improve upon this weakness, you can enroll into a course (such as this Harvard University course via EdX) where you can hone these skills and earn a certificate.   

#4 Struggling to ask for help

You simply can't be a lone wolf in a corporate setting. So you can talk about your inability to ask your colleagues or supervisors for help because you don't want to add to their workload and seem like a burden.

But after several negative experiences you've realized that seeking assistance is the responsible thing to do, because it facilitates the completion of projects . So, you've decided to work on your communication skills , and now you’ve become more productive.

#5 Discomfort with giving criticism

If you happen to occupy a leadership position, it doesn't matter to what capacity, there are times when you have to put your foot down if something isn't working . And not everybody is comfortable with that.

There might’ve been situations where you avoided giving your junior colleagues criticism out of fear of being too harsh. But mention that you're working on this problem by going through a leadership and communication programme . 

#6 Difficulties delegating tasks to others

Another weakness you could mention is reluctance to pass tasks to others . Whether it stems from your desire for perfection, not wanting to increase your colleague's work load , or your need to have things under control, this weakness of yours has caused a decrease in overall team efficiency.

But soon enough you've come to recognize your own faults. You've started by delegating small, low-risk tasks at first. Gradually, you've established open communication for any question or feedback, and learned to trust your colleagues more. As a result, the productivity, efficiency and job satisfaction of your entire team increased. 

#7 Impatience with slow processes

For instance, your lack of patience manifested whenever you felt that your own work pace was hindered by your colleague’s slower tempo. And sometimes, it caused tensions within the team.

So, you did a bit of research and discovered that there are stress-reduction techniques you could learn that target your impatience management. Additionally, you developed a habit of using the extra time between projects by tackling smaller tasks which keep you occupied and productive.

#8 Difficulties with prioritizing tasks

Maybe you're that type of person that says “yes” to everything and then ends up struggling to juggle all the tasks you took on. Because of this, you've reached out to a professional who advised you to work on your time management skills .

Maybe you've gone through a training in the ABCDE method , and now you're able to categorize your tasks based on their urgency. You felt the results of your effort immediately – you became less stressed, which improved your productivity, as well as your relationship to work itself. So now you feel more confident and in control. 

#9 Inability to let go of projects

Imagine this: you've managed to complete your project ahead of time and instead of marking it as complete and moving on to a new task, you just keep coming back to it. Even if the project is executed to perfection.

And this was a problem, because it prevented you from working more efficiently and not wasting any time. But, after you've completed a project management programme , you've learned how to curb this behaviour. Now, you practice setting yourself clear criteria for project evaluation which help you not to dwell on one task for too long. 

#10 Being too blunt

Lastly, you can say that, in the past, you're too direct in your communication with your colleagues. You've realized that your communication skills could use some training when several of your co-workers accused you of being too harsh.

So, to fix this weakness, you completed a course that taught you how to deliver your comments in a more sensitive way. For example, to insert criticism (constructive, of course) in between two positives to make the impact of your words less biting. As a result, the awkward workplace tension disappeared and your co-workers became more receptive to your feedback. 

How to answer “ What is your greatest weakness ?” in 4 steps

Essentially, you should approach the weaknesses for job interview question as an opportunity to demonstrate that you're not only aware of your faults but that you're also actively trying to overcome them . 

So, the perfect answer to "What is your greatest weakness" should follow these 4 steps:

First, select a real weakness that you’ve actively worked/are working to improve. For instance, do you tend to take criticism too personally? Can you be impatient with slow processes? Do you struggle to ask for help?

Next, describe how and when you noticed this weakness. Maybe you received feedback from your supervisor? Or a project you worked on didn't go as planned? In any case, outline what exactly was the problem.

Then, you have to show that once you became aware of this weakness, you rose to the challenge and decided to work on yourself. Being aware is not enough. You must also show willingness to grow. For example: enrolling in a course, mentorship programme, workshop, or developing new habits and practices.

Finally, share the results of your efforts. Ideally, you'll be able to show how your newly sharpened tools contributed to your team or project. And don't be afraid to acknowledge that you're still working on them, if that's the case.

Although this structure is fairly simple, it works wonders! Feel free to use it when preparing your answers. And remember, the narrative is entirely in your hands! 

And finally, we should take a quick look at these 4 example answers.

Notice that all of them follow the structure we've outlined above (weakness, context, improvements, results). 

And if any of these correspond with your own weaknesses, you can just copy and tweak them so that they reflect your own experience. 

Weaknesses for job interview: Presentation skills

“My biggest weakness is my presentation skills. It was only last year that I realized my public speaking skills needed improvement. I was really struggling to overcome my nervousness during team presentations. I realized very quickly that I have to do something to get better at it. So I enrolled in a public speaking course and practiced at every opportunity I got: presentations, reports, even family gatherings! After two months I noticed that I became more confident and comfortable during presentations. I’m by no means perfect, but I received positive feedback from our clients recently. ”

Weaknesses for job interview: Delegating tasks

“The thing I really struggled with in the past was my ability to delegate tasks to my co-workers. I’ve always felt this need to ensure that every single task is completed to a certain standard. And I used to have problems trusting my team even though they always did a stellar job. Eventually, this caused unnecessary tension among us. I realized that it was me who was at fault. So, I decided to work on myself. I improved my communication skills and made sure that my team knows that they can turn to me with any questions. After some time, our relationships and mutual trust improved. And we were able to complete complex projects well ahead of deadlines . If I recall correctly, our overall productivity improved by some 20% . ”

Weaknesses for job interview: Asking for help

“ I remember that when I started out as an accountant, I suffered from a serious imposter syndrome. I was self-conscious of my lack of experience, so I felt that I needed to prove myself. Plus, I really didn’t want to seem like a burden, so whenever I was struggling with new systems or processes, I simply wouldn’t ask anyone for help . Of course, now I know how unfounded and unprofessional this behaviour was. The key thing I’ve changed was my own mindset . I started to look at these challenging moments as opportunities to foster stronger teamwork. I feel that by reaching out to others, I learned a lot about the importance of collaboration. And it also made me more patient with newcomers ! Now, I always make sure they know that they can reach out to me with anything and not feel bad about it.”

Weaknesses for job interview: Being too blunt

“When I look back on my previous work experience, I can definitely say that I used to be pretty blunt when it came to giving feedback to my colleagues. See, I’ve always valued honesty and transparency above everything. And I thought that that’s what makes effective workplace communication. But I was so wrong! My co-workers often felt that I’m being too insensitive, and that caused tension between us. To address this, I enrolled in a leadership programme that taught me how to better phrase my concerns. I’ve found the ‘praise-criticism-praise’ technique especially useful! Soon, all that awkward energy was gone. And my co-workers actually became more receptive to my feedback and we worked much better together as a team .” 

Now that we've gone over the best answers, let's also talk about how NOT to present your weaknesses.

Again, it's pretty simple, just avoid doing these things: 

• Saying that you have no weaknesses. Who’re you trying to fool my friend? Certainly not the recruiters! Indeed, if there's one way to communicate your lack of awareness, it's this! 
• Trying to pass your strengths for weaknesses. Not even Michael Scott can pull off a Michael Scott. So, skip saying you're too much of a perfectionist, or that you work too hard! 
• Using a skill/quality that's essential for the job as your weakness. For example, if you're applying for the job position of an accountant, don't say you're bad at maths or that you pay no attention to details. 
• Oversharing personal information. Just to be clear, recruiters don't care much about the details of your weaknesses. Maybe your nervousness about public speaking is rooted in a bad experience from childhood. Even if so, keep this detail to yourself. Instead, go into lengths about how to address and correct your weakness.  

To sum it all up, the weaknesses for job interview question isn't a strategy to reveal your faults, but an opportunity to show that you're self-aware , introspective , and determined to continue improving on your weak areas. 

When preparing your answer, try sticking to this simple, yet effective structure:

• Introduce your weakness.
• Provide a real-life professional context.
• Demonstrate your effort and determination to improve.
• Mention the results of your improvement (if possible). 

In case you don't know what your weaknesses are, you can draw inspiration from our list of the most appropriate weaknesses for a job interview : 

•  Being too blunt. 

If you're preparing for a job interview, be sure to also check out how to answer these common questions:

• Why are you interested in this position?  
• Why should we hire you?
• Why did you leave your previous job?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
• Why are you looking for a new job?

Julia has recently joined Kickresume as a career writer. From helping people with their English to get admitted to the uni of their dreams to advising them on how to succeed in the job market. It would seem that her career is on a steadfast trajectory. Julia holds a degree in Anglophone studies from Metropolitan University in Prague, where she also resides. Apart from creative writing and languages, she takes a keen interest in literature and theatre.

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