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3 experts who've read over 300,000 résumés say these are the biggest mistakes people make

resume young man reading paper multitasking work working
resume young man reading paper multitasking work working

(Does your résumé contain this big mistake?GaudiLab/Shutterstock)

When it comes to writing up a résumé, there's a lot that can go wrong.

However, there's a difference between an annoying error that'll hurt your chances and a mistake that'll get your CV tossed out the nearest open window.

Business Insider consulted three career experts to identify the worst mistakes people make.

Résumé Writers' Ink founder Tina Nicolai, Chameleon Résumé managing director Lisa Rangel, and Five Strengths CEO Amy Adler revealed that these are the three biggest errors you can make on a résumé:

1. Sloppy presentation and writing

Nicolai previously told Business Insider that she has seen too many résumés with typos, unprofessional fonts, and outdated and irrelevant information.

"Another 'lazy' thing I see on résumés is when people start a bullet point with 'Responsible for,'" she says.

"Candidates need to understand that starting a sentence with 'responsible for' tells the reader what the job requirements were supposed to be, but it does not state that the candidate actually performed the functions," Nicolai says. "It does not state that the candidate was successful in these functions. Don't be lazy: Take the extra few minutes to explain what you accomplished — not what you were expected to accomplish."

2. Forgetting about LinkedIn

Rangel says that the worst error you can make doesn't necessarily have to be on paper.

"The worst mistake I often see on the résumé is actually off the résumé," Rangel says. "It is not syncing the résumé with your LinkedIn profile and, as a result, conveying two different, often conflicting, messages of what position you want and who you are as a candidate."

3. Cramming too much information in

Less is oftentimes more. Adler says that one of the worst things you can do is try to fit too much experience onto one page.

"The résumé lists every position for the person’s entire career history, perhaps 20 or 30 years, and it only describes what the person was 'responsible for' — no focus, no accomplishments, and no description of what the candidate could uniquely bring to the position," Adler says. "I've seen these in rambling narratives as well as in death-by-bullet-point formats."

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