In February 2009, the Sunday Times of Singapore ran an article titled, writing a good resume”. It was a good article and one part caught my eye.

I am now paraphrasing a section in which I agree with. We have so much common ground here.

Here are the five no no’s:

1. Don’t send in a generic resume.

The reason is that hirers are irritated with such resumes because they don’t highlight the relevant skills they are looking for in a candidate.

With this I don’t totally agree because generic resumes can be used for some positions that require many skills.

2. Grammatical errors and typo mistakes.

Such mistakes show you are sloppy and that also means that you are not responsible.

3. Not enough personal details

This makes it difficult for hirers to contact you if they are interested.

4. Bad photographs

They say a picture says a thousand words. In a way, this is the first “contact” the hirer has with you. If you appear unkempt then they won’t be interested.

5. Salary

Unless you are asked to, don’t state the salary you want on your resume. That way, you avoid pricing yourself too high or too low.

Salary expectations are best left to the point at which you are almost hired.