Forbes.com

We all know how to avoid the basic resume writing pitfalls– don’t forget to proof read, don’t lie, and don’t ramble on for 3 or 4 pages. But there are many other mistakes that are harder to identify. They tend to crop up when you look at your resume from the perspective of a job candidate rather than a recruiter. Here are 5 ways you may be shooting yourself in the foot before you even get a foot in the door.

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#1 Hiding Your Achievements

Plenty of people know how to write a resume, but most people don’t understand how to develop a resume. A list of your credentials, skills, past duties, and job history only tells a recruiter what you have done in the past. When you focus on specific accomplishments, this helps recruiters and managers visualize what you could do in the future as part of their organization. Achievements that highlight your abilities in relevant areas are much more impressive than a list of skills with no real context.

#2 Sharing Your Career Dreams

You may have heard that the best way to start a resume is with an objective statement. In today’s marketplace, that may be as outdated as sending in a resume written on a clay tablet. You can assume a recruiter knows you are “seeking opportunities for career advancement in a supportive work environment that encourages professional development”. Don’t waste this valuable space talking about your hopes and dreams for your career. Instead, use it to summarize how and why your abilities and achievements will benefit your would-be employer.

#3 Overusing Buzzwords

Never value cleverness over clarity. A recruiter sees the same terms and phrases over and over, day in and day out. When you pepper your resume with the latest industry buzzwords, you aren’t making yourself stand out. Instead, you sound like every other desperately trendy job candidate. So, don’t use a term like “synergistic effort” when “collaboration” will serve the same purpose. Only use acronyms if they are commonly understood by people outside your profession. For example, HTML would be OK to use since it is more widely recognized than Hypertext Markup Language.

#4 Skipping Customization

Imagine you are a contractor bidding on a project that will pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next few years. You wouldn’t send in a generic bid and hope to get the contract. Your next employer will invest a significant amount of money in your total compensation package. They deserve to receive a resume that is customized for the position you are seeking at their company. It pays to take the time to investigate an employer and figure out which of your skills and accomplishments will instantly pique their hiring manager’s interest.

#5 Failing to Optimize

When you are posting your resume online or sending it to recruiters in electronic format, you need a crash course in SEO. This is especially important in technical fields where recruiters may be seeking candidates with very specific competencies. Job boards, networking sites, and internal ATS systems allow recruiters to quickly narrow their search down to a few qualified candidates by entering specific search terms. If your resume isn’t optimized with the right keywords, you may miss out even if you have the necessary qualifications.