By MAX MESSMER, Scripps Howard News Service

Ghosts and goblins don't faze me; bad resumes do. In honor of Halloween, here are some of the most frightening mistakes we've recently encountered:"OBJECTIVE: I will take any open position available in your business - evan mail clark is OK."Who are Evan and Clark?"ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Appoited as general manager in 2002."

Being part of a World Series-winning team is the ultimate accomplishment for a professional baseball player. Though your biggest career successes may not draw worldwide attention, they do have a place on your resume.

Preparing an effective resume is not as simple a task as many believe. Job seekers frequently make mistakes, one of which is not providing enough information. For example, simply saying that, as a claims processor, you "process claims" - which some actual candidates have done - doesn't provide prospective employers any insight into your on-the-job contributions.

Cover letters should expand upon -- not merely recap -- your resume. Delve further into the skills and attributes that make you the ideal person for the job and offer a prospective employer concrete examples of how you'll benefit the organization. The following candidate said very little despite his wordplay:

There are many tactics a job hunter can use to garner attention from hiring managers, but a video resume may not yet be the best bet. In a survey by Robert Half International, only 24 percent of executives said their organizations accept video resumes.

There's little question about what type of information should appear in the "Work Experience" and "Education" sections of your resume. What to highlight in other areas, however, is less clear-cut.

As Election Day draws closer, every word spoken by political candidates will be dissected by opponents, the media and voters. And many politicians have learned the hard way that uttering just one white lie or seemingly innocuous embellishment can be costly.The same holds true for job seekers.

In today's global economy, being multilingual can give you an advantage as a job candidate. Companies in nearly every industry rely on geographically dispersed teams to serve customers and clients around the world, which means foreign language skills have never been more valuable - or marketable. But you should note your multilingual abilities on your resume only if you are fluent.

Your computer's spell-check function can be "grate." But as you can see from this example, it doesn't always catch words that are spelled correctly but used incorrectly. Therefore, it's critical that, after running spell check, you closely proofread your job-application materials for easy-to-overlook -- but potentially troublesome -- errors.

As summer winds down and students head back to school, remember the ABCs of resume writing. Whether you're drafting your first resume or updating an existing one, keep the following do's and don'ts in mind.