In Malaysia, a well-written resume will not only increase the chances of you getting invited to an interview but it also drastically reduces the pain and suffering of the HR personnel to filter out the candidates. Anyone who has dealt with HR before can relate to the suffering of receiving tons of substandard resumes. I’ll show you how a bad resume looks like.
Top 4 mistakes in resume writing
1. Sloppy naming of the email address
It is best to use an email address with your own name on your resume writing, for example, jameslee@email.com. Some of the examples that I have personally heard, graduates fill in the email column on their resume by putting f***you@email.com or iamreallysadgoodbye@email.com. Isn’t this utterly baffling? These email address will let the interviewer think ill of you for having bad manners, and resulted in a lower probability of you to be called for an interview.
2. List your work experience in reverse chronological order on your resume
When listing down your working experience on your resume, you should start from 2019, followed by 2018, 2017 and moving on. If the interviewers have to read your working experience back from 1999, not only it will be a waste of time, but also, it shows that you are unprofessional.
3. Full time, part-time and contract employment are not well-written
Normally in resume writing, only full-time employment experience is to be included on the resume. However, if other employment experiences such as part-time employments were to be included, you will need to indicate these experiences as part-time employment experience. Otherwise, the interviewers will think that your disorderly employment timeline on your resume is confusing, which leads to them having a bad impression of you.
4. Missing photo or weird profile photo
Normally for Malaysia, it is encouraged to attach your photo in your resume. The photo on your resume should be clear, not scruffy-looking, simple and formal. There are some interviewees that use the wrong photo. You should prevent from using weird looking selfie (e.g. cartoon filters) or no non-human picture (e.g. cartoon), or group photo as your resume photo. These will make you look rather unprofessional.
5 Tips on how to improve your resume writing
1. Try to limit your resume within 1 to 2 pages
A lengthy resume tends to be eliminated even before the interview. The interviewers will not spend much time on reading your lengthy resume. Basically, all you have to do is to include your personal information (name, contact, education background, skills, employment experience) on your resume. However, if you are having difficulty in summarising your employment experience, try listing it out in a separate document, specifically for your achievement in the field and award-winning project.
2. It is better to not include your hobbies on your resume
The interviewers will think of you as an unreliable person, provided that sleeping is your hobby. Although it is not right to judge a person by its appearance, the resume gives the interviewer the very first impression of oneself. All you can to do are to remain professional and minimise fatal errors. By doing so, there is a higher chance of you to be called for an interview and recruitment.
3. Grammatical and spelling errors in a resume writing
Having poor grammar is one of the common issues of graduates. Graduates are suggested to check their grammar using the latest edition of the dictionary or try using online language tool such as Fluent Express. Besides that, capitalisation should be appropriate. By using capital letter for every single part of your resume shows poor presentation, and difficulty in identifying the points that you wish to emphasise. Can you imagine applying for administration related jobs with your inability in handling documents, would it be possible for the company to entrust you with bigger responsibility? On top of that, capitalisation should be used for proper nouns, the first word of every sentence, job title and etc.
4. Making a decent resume using online resources
It’s pretty convenient to make a decent resume these days, you can get resources and templates online, and just fill it up as your own. When you are choosing the right design for your resume, try to look for simple and decent designs. You may use “canva” or instead, you guys could refer to free resumé templates that we have provided online by clicking on the link down in the comment section.
5. Attach a letter of recommendation from your ex-employer/ex-colleague
Before you submit your resumé, attach a letter of recommendation from your ex-employer, ex-colleague or any senior positions if you are a fresh grad. This will massively increase your chances of getting invited to an interview. Don’t forget to send the contacts of your referrer along with your resumé.
