Resume Tips



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Resume Tips

Resume Tips

Recently, an online resume service surveyed 2500 recruiters across the US and Canada to find out the top "Pet Peeves" recruiters have about resumes that result in a resume being tossed in the excluded pile.

Recruiters receive hundreds of resumes a day, so they must narrow down the "keepers" through the process of elimination.

According to many recruiters "People often try to write a resume so generic that a reader has no idea what industry the candidate comes from. Did they manufacture fertilizer, package cow chips, cook and distribute potato chips or assemble computer chips?

One recruiter said "I am usually looking for a reason to exclude resumes, not a reason to include them."

More often than not, your resume will be the only tool to let your reader know why you would be the right person for the job.

"Just because you have 20 years of experience, does not necessarily mean you have a good resume. It simply means you have 20 years of experience…. You may have all the necessary skills and experience, but the way you present yourself through your resume can tell your reader all they need to know."

Top 20 Countdown
Recruiters' Pet Peeves
about Resumes

20	Burying important info in the resume
19	Gaps in employment
18	Resumes written with 1st person references, or in the 3rd Person
17	No easy-to-follow summary
16	Pictures, graphics or URL links that no recruiter will call up
15	Resumes sent as PDF files, Zip files, faxes, or mailed resumes; i.e. not sent as a WORD attachment
14	Poor font choice or style
13	Objectives or meaningless introductions
12	Lying and misleading - especially in terms of education, dates and inflated titles
11	Missing employer Info and/or not telling what industry or product candidate worked in
10	Personal info not relevant to the job
9	Unqualified candidates - candidates who apply to positions they are not qualified for
8	Long, dense paragraphs - no bullet-points
7	Long Resumes - over 2 pages
6	Functional resumes as opposed to chronological resumes
5	Poor formatting - boxes, templates, tables, use of header and footers, etc
4	Missing contact Info, inaccurate, or unprofessional email addresses
3	Missing dates or inaccurate dates
2	Too duty oriented - reads like a job description and fails to explain what the job seeker's accomplishments were and how they did so
1	*Spelling errors, typos and poor grammar*