The CV or resume is the most important part of the job search.

You can apply for jobs, network for opportunities, scour LinkedIn, register with a recruiter and do all of the other things that you are advised to do in a job search, but the resume determines if you get an interview or a thanks-but-no-thanks acknowledgment.

Despite that, many people fail to pay sufficient attention to the basics of resume writing and as a result get stuck at first base in their job search.

Often it’s because the same mistakes get made again and again. Employers and hirers also use the resume review to choose candidates and to eliminate them, especially when there are a lot of applicants, as is often the case in recessionary Bermuda. When you make these mistakes, you just made their job easier.

These ten common resume mistakes will ensure you don’t get the interview:

1. Spelling mistakes: These are the kiss of death. If you are trying to show how detail oriented and careful you are, making a spelling mistake on your own resume is a job killer. There is no excuse, especially with spellcheck.

2. Chronological disorder: Having jobs overlap, or inexplicable gaps between jobs will doom you as well. So will saying you worked somewhere for five years when your resume says you were there for three years. This falls under the detail fail again. If you don’t know when you worked somewhere, this says nothing good about your memory. Check your dates. Then check them again.

3. Incorrect contact information: Kiss of Death Part III. Yes, it does happen — more often than you think. Giving a potential hirer an out-of-order phone number, the wrong e-mail address and so on sends your resume straight to File 13.

4. Visually unappealing resumes: Especially for professional jobs, the lilac coloured paper with the border of pretty kitties is a no-no. So is the mysterious and unreadable Gothic font. A resume can be eye catching, but it must also be easy to read and logically laid out so that it is easy to navigate. Above all, it needs to be clear.

5. Sexymama13@gmail.com: You’re entitled to whatever e-mail name you want for your personal e-mail. No doubt your friends get your meaning. For your professional job applications and work-related e-mails, susanjones100@gmail.com is better. Actually it’s not better, it’s essential. This is not prudery. Ask yourself who you would hire to look after your money, handle your insurance application or care for your children. Sexymama or Susan?

6. Irrelevance: If you are applying for a job in sales, don’t send a resume that emphasises your experience in operations or accounting. Make sure your resume reflects the job you are applying for. This is not wrong and it definitely does not mean you should leave out your other roles (see 7). It just means you should put your best foot forward. And it shows you are capable of critical thinking too.

7. Gaps: Gaps in a resume are an instant red flag. Include all of your work experience, even if it ended badly. You can explain what went wrong in the interview. But if you leave it out and the hirer figures it out (easily done in Bermuda), you won’t get the interview.

8. Length: Don’t make your resume too long. A recruiter or hirer may spend 30 seconds looking at your resume. Don’t make them work to find the relevant information.

9 Don’t make it too short: If you don’t have much work experience, present your volunteer experience and your educational background in more detail.

10 Vagueness: Monster.com uses this resume example:

A. Worked with employees in a restaurant setting.

B. Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant with $2 million in annual sales.

This is the same job. Who would you hire?

Next time: Tips for writing a successful resume.

Bill Zuill is marketing director of Bermuda Executive Services Ltd. If you have questions about employment, you can reach him at the e-mail marketing@bes.bm. BES’s blog is also available on www.bermudaemployment.com