Expectedly, your resume should speak in your favor when hiring managers are short-listing candidates for the position to which you have applied. However, when you’re not getting interview invites as expected, it shows that your resume is not doing enough to work as your advocate. This can make landing your dream job seems like a mirage. If you’re a job seeker and you’re not getting enough interview invites at the moment, then it’s time to take a second look at your resume to see those things that may be working against you.
At Bossjob where we connect job seekers in the Philippines to their dream job through our online portal, we have seen millions of resumes. Hence, we have in-depth knowledge of those factors that could make your resume stands out in a bad way. Now read on to learn 4 things that can get your resume thrown away by recruiters:
1. Inadequate skills or experience
If your resume failed to provide enough evidences that you have the minimum skills or years of experience required for the post to which you’re applying, recruiters may not think twice before throwing your resume into the trash bin. Remember, an average hiring manager has less than 15 seconds to scan through your resume. You should show in the “education” or “work experience” section of your resume that you have the minimum required experience, training or skills to perform adequately on the job. Don’t forget to keep your resume updated!
2. Extremely lengthy content
Recruiters often have thousands of resumes to attend to after a job advertisement. Your resume will undoubtedly be thrown away by hiring managers if it’s way too lengthy. Instead of putting up a 6- to 10-page resume to proof all your accomplishments, you should articulate its content into an easy-to-read 2 pages document by screening out those unnecessary and outdated details. It’s best to seek the service of a professional resume writer if you find it difficult to cut your resume to the right size.
3. Excessive styling
Another thing that turns off hiring managers is the issue of over-styled resume. Rather than focusing on ways to showcase their skills and experiences so as to increase their chances of securing an interview space, many applicants jeopardize their opportunities with too many styling mistakes. Some common styling mistakes most applicants make include: use of multiple fonts, broken hyperlinks, and use of buzzwords, among others. If you don’t want your resume to be tossed off, always pay attention to styles and keep the language simple.
4. Too many spelling, grammar and punctuation errors
The importance of having an error-free resume cannot be overemphasized. An error-filled resume will portray you as someone who is not organized and doesn’t pay much attention to details. Of course, hiring managers are looking for good employees who can pay attention to little details that are important to business growth. But, if your resume is filled with lots of avoidable mistakes, you won’t be considered as a good fit. Needless to say, your resume goes into the garbage can.
Your resume gives the hiring managers the first impression about you. Thus, it is imperative that you make the impression strong enough to land you an interview opportunity. Therefore, if you want hiring manager to move your resume into the “yes” pile, then it is imperative that you take note of the above listed factors.
Find these tips useful? We have more career advice, workplace tips, and job search tips on our blog. Don’t forget to check them out!
Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
