4 mistakes you may be making on your resume -

4 mistakes you may be making on your resume - Hiring managers see thousands upon thousands of resumes every year. Thats why job seekers have to stand out in a crowd if they are   harboring any hope theyll be hired. When youre writing a resume, what you dont know can hurt you. John Kalusa  is a nationally recognized writer who speaks about corporate sales, recruiting, and personal career management. With over 25 years of experience as a strategic recruiting, human resources, and sales and marketing management leader in start-ups and Fortune 250 companies, hes well qualified to comment on what hiring managers want to see and what they DONT want to see. Mistake #1: Failing to highlight your strengths Too many job seekers fail to incorporate a direct match between what you offer and the employers requirements. After all, your resume isnt just about you. You want the recruiter or interviewer to say “Hey, we should talk to this person!” Once youve covered all the bases, Kalusa says “If you have room left, add statements to highlight your added value. Be hard on yourself and try to be as objective as possible. “For each of the requirements or position responsibilities, try to match your past experiences or skills to those requirements. Write the bullet point so it comes across as more than just a description of your activity. Try to think like the hiring manager. What is the problem they are trying to solve? How can you concisely say that you have the experience to solve their problem or deliver the value they seek?” Mistake #2: Applying to jobs even if youre not qualified Don’t apply if you aren’t qualified. Period. End of story. “If you aren’t nearly a 100% match for the key requirements, you will do yourself a disservice by applying, Kalusa says. It’s like saying, ‘I’m so glad you spent a lot of time to come up with the requirements so that you can find qualified and motivated people, but I don’t match those requirements.  But Im certain there’s a place for me here so please look at my resume anyway because Im sure if you do youll see Im highly qualified for something.” Mistake #3: Including outdated or irrelevant work experience Don’t make it an encyclopedia or a run-on laundry list  of everything youve ever done in your career. According to Kalusa, More is rarely better, but targeted with some flavor is always better. The rule of thumb I use is: 5 to 8 bullet points for your current/last position (depending on length), 3 to 5 for each of the positions going back 10 years and after that 1 (2 at most) for earlier positions. Mistake #4: Your resume is WAY too long Recruiters and hiring managers don’t want to read a book, so make your resume easy to read. Think about the solutions/values/results you helped to create and deliver, Kalusa says. Depending on how much experience you have and how much of that experience is appropriate for the position you are applying for, two pages should be more than enough. Remember, your resume is a marketing brochure, not a catalog! This post originally ran on Salary.com.