From the first time you write a resume, as a simple list at school, perhaps, or a quick hashed effort for a summer job, it is a continuously evolving document. Most people can look back and spot mistakes they've made in past versions that they would never want to repeat again.
Mistakes in early resumes often come from uncertainty about how much and what type of material should be included. These r?sum?s can stretch to novel-length as people try to get in every detail of their life, or they can be nearly empty pages.
'I think my first resume was really short,' said Ed McKay, an audience member at the seminar. 'Really short, really basic, and it didn't include anything that was relevant to the job ... it just listed what I could do in general.'
He said he had since learned to be more focused and include information that addressed the job for which he was applying. Andrea Williams, managing director of Ambition, said that the bullet point structure was a good way to control the length of a r?sum? and that more general information could often be left out.
Other mistakes emerge from uncertainty about the appropriate layout and style. Williams said she still sometimes saw r?sum?s which would list jobs in the wrong order, putting the person's first and least relevant job at the top.
She said that resumes should normally be professional and formal in tone. It's also necessary to make sure that there is nothing in the r?sum? which might give the wrong impression about your character.
A member of the seminar's audience, who works as a teacher in Hong Kong, said she had removed details from her early r?sum?.