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Career tip: Resume Mistakes To Avoid 5

The message of the final instalment of our Resume series might come as a surprise to many of you: Don’t include incorrect contact information in your application!

Consider this: You’ve taken the time and effort to review our resume and cover letter. In may ways, you should be the top contender for the job! So why haven’t you heard from the employer? You look at your emails and check the sent folder, only to discover that you’ve included an incorrect email address.

If you’re lucky and the employer is still interested to meet with you, they might decide to contact you and give you an opportunity to rectify this mistake. However, a small mistake like this can spell doom for your application, especially if the other top contenders provided correct and well-formatted information.

Another potential issue that you should consider is the name of your email address. Your email address is part of your professional identity. A suggestive, flirtatious or funny email address might be entertaining amongst friends, but it could cause potential employers to dismiss your application out of principle. Consider creating a separate email account for job applications. Try following these guidelines when making a professional email account:

  • Make it easy to remember.
  • Have the address include your first and last names.
  • Do not share the account with friends or family.
  • Avoid using numbers or other symbols.
  • Register it on your LinkedIn profile, which should be treated differently to your other social media accounts.
  • Ensure that you include the correct spelling of your email address on both your resume and cover letter.

This article was written and edited by Arthur Chan and Matthew Leach. 
中文版,由Arthur,Cissy和Nebula编写和编辑 (WeChat or browser compatible, coming soon)


The GBCA team would like to wish all current students and alumni best of luck when seeking employment. It is not easy and sometimes, with the best efforts one may still not be selected for an interview – don’t give up or overthink, we are living in an era where there are just too many options available, if you had tried your best, you should not have any regrets and keep on trying.

Best wishes

GBCA