10 resume pet peeves
According to Bruce Noehren of J. Recruiters already know what the job is; your resume should highlight your accomplishments in that position. Recruiters need to know when you worked where to get a better understanding of your working history and to use the dates for background checks. Include specific ranges in months and years for every position. If you have gaps, explain them either in your cover letter or introduction, but not in your resume. How can someone contact you if the phone number is missing a digit or your email address is incorrect?
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
In the subjective world of career-marketing communications, where opinions vary widely and consensus is hard to find, the pet peeves and preferences of those with the power to hire offer enlightenment for crafting your executive resume -- especially what to avoid.
Through a list of the Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves, hiring decision-makers reveal the landmines aspiring executives can avoid while positioning their career-marketing documents to meet decision-maker needs. I surveyed 59 hiring decision-makers for my book, Top Notch Executive Resumes from which this series of articles is adapted about their peeves and preferences. Hiring decision-makers cited this peeve more than any other. It may surprise some that misspellings and typos pervade even executive-level resumes, but they do.
A job-seeker-submitted sample I considered for this book, for example, contained the common error of spelling "manager" as "manger. So is "posses," the plural of posse, which I often see on resumes when the job-seeker intends "possess. While there is no consensus among employers and recruiters about resume length, most feel one page is too short.
Maureen Crawford Hentz, manager of talent acquisition, development and compliance at Osram Sylvania, Boston MA, particularly disdains "abbreviated or 'teaser' resumes" that urge the recruiter, "for more information, call me.
Others question executives' ability to prioritize if their resumes are longer than two pages. Since recruiters pass candidate resumes on to client employers, they must also consider employer preferences. Recruiter opinions about resume length have been colored in recent years by the growing practice of reading resumes on a computer screen rather than printing them. Resumes that might seem too long in print are acceptable on screen.
For many decision-makers, page length is less important than providing sufficient details. A resume that's three or four pages but actually shows the qualifications and experience necessary for a position is much preferred, in my opinion, to one that has cut out all the substance to meet some passe idea of a one-page resume. If a candidate has 20 years of experience directly relating to the position being applied for and that experience is verifiable, it should be listed even if the resume goes four-plus pages.
Strike a balance between a meaty, content-rich resume and a concise, readable document. Employers want both. Limit bullet points while still telling your full story.
Cut out unnecessary words. If you've sliced out as much as you can and the resume still looks text-dense, look for ways to break up blocks of content. Survey respondents were surprisingly vocal in their irritation over this resume affectation. Although the pronoun "I" is generally not used in resume, it is the understood -- but unwritten -- subject of a resume's bullet points. Note that "I" is the unwritten subject of this bullet point:.
Some senior-level job-seekers are even more blatant in their use of third person, annoying employers with summary statements such as:. In the age of electronic submission, many candidates seem to think decision-makers will want to communicate by e-mail only, but a phone number on your resume is an absolute must. Be sure to include a daytime phone number as that's when recruiters are most likely to call you. The recruiting process often moves too rapidly for e-mail; recruiters prefer to call -- and expect you either to answer or call back without delay.
Without a phone number, "I can't call you," said recruiter Alice Hanson, "and most jobs I have on my desk need to be filled in hours. I find a good candidate and can't connect -- it drives me wild. They still want to see e-mail addresses listed as an alternate contact method, however, and recruiters note a surprising number of candidates who fail to provide sufficient contact information.
Your e-mail address must be professional. It might seem like a silly protocol to omit "I" when the understood subject of resume bullet points is, in fact, "I. Most people in hiring positions do not read Objective statements. I am especially puzzled when it is in an executive resume," noted Joy Montgomery, owner of Structural Integrity in California, citing a typically poor objective statement:. Objective: A challenging position where I am able to use my considerable something or other skills in a fulfilling opportunity Similarly, Weaver offered this self-serving and slightly exaggerated objective statement as a typically weak example:.
Objective: Seeking to obtain a position within a growing company where my existing skills will benefit my employer, and be part of an environment where I will be challenged so that I may gain even more experience. Hiring decision-makers want to see the results you attained for past employers, what you accomplished, the value you added, and how you made a difference in your past jobs.
They want to gain a sense of the complexity and significance of what you've done. Some recruiters recommend a bulleted list of key projects indicating accomplishments and results.
Consider our Job-Seeker Accomplishments Worksheet to help develop accomplishments and results. As many achievements as possible should be measurable, especially quantifiable. Scott advises metrics or results for at least 40 percent of your bullet points for each job. Among measurable items employers want to see are sales volume and ranking in comparison with peer and compared to previous periods, percent of quota , number and titles of direct reports, number of people you've hired, size of teams you've led, your position within the team, amount of money you've saved, success in completing projects, initiatives that result in revenue-generation, process-improvement, and cost-containment.
Your resume must tell stories of your successes and results. Number are great, but well-chosen words and well-crafted phrases will also get your message across. Excessive use of numbers can hurt your resume's readability, so don't go overboard.
To keep from limiting themselves, candidates sometimes create a very broad resume that lacks specific information. A peeve for Holmes is "failure to include enough information for a recruiter to determine fit. Executives more so than less-senior level candidates should be aware of the importance of effective communication, and yet they seem less motivated to tailor their resume to the specific job in which they are seeking.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information definitions and links on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Or perhaps n t having success with your current resume? Consider hiring the resume and curriculum vitae CV experts! In both a timely and cost-effective manner, we can reate a resume for you -- whether you're a student, yo ng professional, id-level career-changer, or executive. We have written thousands of executive resumes and know what recruiters and employers want to see in a resume.
Katharine Hansen is the creative director and associate publisher of Quintessential Careers; is an educator, author, and blogger who provides content for Quintessential Careers; edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers; and blogs about storytelling in the job search at A Storied Career. Katharine earned her Ph. Hansen, Ph. About the Author. About the Author Katharine Hansen Career Advice Expert Katharine Hansen is the creative director and associate publisher of Quintessential Careers; is an educator, author, and blogger who provides content for Quintessential Careers; edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers; and blogs about storytelling in the job search at A Storied Career.
Read more stories by Katharine. As seen in:. Customer Service. All rights reserved.
Confusing or complicated formatting. Wrong or disconnected phone numbers.
If you are involved in recruitment, I am sure you have seen it all — from candidates who have fallen asleep or who have answered cell phone calls in an interview to candidates who have asked if having a DUI would get in the way of being hired for the position! The following job candidate pet peeves have actually happened and are from my network of professionals:. Presumably, these candidates did not have the advantage of professional career transition services , or if they did, they slept through the interviewing portion of the program!
Our Headhunters share some of their resume pet peeves that can land your application in the shredder. If you want to include an opening statement, try a Brand Statement or Value Proposition that summarizes what strengths you bring to the table, preferably with quantifiable results.
In the subjective world of career-marketing communications, where opinions vary widely and consensus is hard to find, the pet peeves and preferences of those with the power to hire offer enlightenment for crafting your executive resume -- especially what to avoid. Through a list of the Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves, hiring decision-makers reveal the landmines aspiring executives can avoid while positioning their career-marketing documents to meet decision-maker needs.
10 of the Biggest Pet Peeves Recruiters Have About Candidates
Since recruiters and hiring managers play a significant role in your job search success, the onus is on you to know how to avoid these resume faux pas that irk them. Based on a survey conducted in late about Resume and Job Search Trends , the following were identified as the top resume pet peeves for recruiters and hiring managers:. While you might not agree with all of the above, some are glaringly obvious and should be avoided. Have your say. I am Daisy Wright, an award winning certified career management and interview coach, author, and certified resume strategist. I collaborate with executives, managers, and mid-career professionals in all aspects of their career and job search to help them get hired FASTER!
What Not to Put in a CV: 10 Recruiter Pet Peeves
Well maybe not. After all, the resume is often our ticket through the gate to employment. The resume can make or break us when it comes to getting to the next step. Finding a job can be an overwhelming, daunting experience — where to look, how to apply, what to avoid, and how exactly to write that darn resume! Trust me, I feel for you. I have written hundreds of resumes for friends, family and various individuals needing guidance on the art of the resume. However, you can include all the great formatting and content you want, but if you include something that drives a recruiter bananas, all that hard work may go down the drain — right alongside your hopes of employment. No fears!
Our business looks at A LOT of resumes!
Posted by: Mark Sapoznikov. Recruiters receive hundreds of new resumes every week and only a few make it to consideration for one of their available positions.
