When writing your resume, don’t you just wish that you could read the recruiter’s mind? Well, we can’t read minds but we can tell you the biggest resume pet peeves that most hiring managers have so that you can avoid them and get off on the right foot.
1. LENGTHY RESUMES
Right off the bat, if your resume has a lot of unnecessary information and is very lengthy, the hiring manager won’t be giving you much importance.
Mention everything but in brief. If there is something that piques their interest they’ll ask about it in the interview. So leave something for the interview instead of writing everything down.
2. GRAMMATICAL OR SPELLING ERRORS
This one is quite obvious but people still skip proofreading and have a resume with errors making the document muddled. Having to decipher such a resume is a task and makes you look like a liability rather than an asset. Make sure to at least read the document twice and double-check all the facts and attached documents.
3. INAPPROPRIATE WAY OF DRESSING / BEHAVIOUR
When preparing for an interview, some people think their skills and resume are the only factors considered. But in reality informally or shabbily dressed candidates are often scorned upon. Having a bad temper towards the receptionist or not arriving for the interview on time is another thing that is disliked.
When a candidate exhibits this kind of behavior it discourages the recruiter to hire you. The reason being the fear of you ruining the company image and being a tardy, irresponsible person in general. Always during interviews behave well with the handlers, dress appropriately and be humble.
4. BAD-MOUTHING PREVIOUS EMPLOYERS
If the recruiter asks about your past experience or why you were let go from a job, answer calmly. Do not badmouth your employer. The story is obviously heavily one-sided and makes you look petty or looks like you are trying to cover up your mistake.
Be upfront but sweet about your dynamic with the previous company and answer the question truthfully. The recruiters are often seasoned workers who can catch a lie from a mile’s distance, so the only way to their heart is the truth.
5. LACK OF RESEARCH OR INTEREST(BODY LANGUAGE/UNPREPARED)
When writing your resume, always research every part of the company you are applying to and tailor the resume for each interview. If your resume is vague it shows your lack of research and thus, a general lack of interest in the company.
While writing your objective, research where the company is expanding its territory and write accordingly, this shows your willingness to contribute to the company’s growth and prosperity.
6. VAGUE JOB DESCRIPTION
Quite often candidates just list out the roles they carried out when they mention their past experience. But those are duties you are bound to carry out, it does not show you individual contribution.
Write what you accomplished in a quantifiable data which will make it sound impressive. List accomplishments from your college and previous work experiences, such as- batch topper, an employee of the month, etc.
7. VARIATIONS FROM RESUME
If you wrote something in your resume then stick to that statement. Similarly, if you wrote a desired salary then stick to it instead of trying for a negotiation. In case you want to negotiate, state that in the resume. Try not to be wishy-washy and change your requirements based on the situation.
Anything that you wrote in your resume is supposed to be the final version of all things. That was the basis of your selection but if you defy that very basis then that makes the manager question your integrity.
8. INEFFICIENT NEGOTIATION
Not being sure about what you want or beating around the bush because you’re too shy to be upfront about what you want is a very undesirable trait. It gives an impression that either you were not sure about you getting hired or that you weren’t sure about your skillset. Be confident about what you’re worth and stick to it.
9. FORMATTING
There’s something that gets on every recruiter’s nerves, that thing is bad formatting. Putting information under wrong sections, using buzzwords or having an unreadable font are some things that may reduce your chance of getting hired. Avoid using colored paper to have your resume printed on unless your industry demands creativity.
10. NOT FOLLOWING THE GIVEN SET OF INSTRUCTIONS
If the recruitment requested that the resume be submitted in a specific format then do not submit your resume in another format. Most companies use an ATS so they request a .pdf or .docx. But if your resume is in some other format then ATS won’t even accept it. So be mindful and it will reduce your work as well as the recruiters.
11. INAPPROPRIATE WORDING
When sending in your resume, make sure the name of the file is suitable. Example- Ravi Kumar Resume. Docx is better than 37733.docx. Another thing to avoid is to have inappropriately named emails. If your email is a bit informal, try making another one for work purposes.
12. PUTTING IN A PHOTO
This might be hard to understand but companies often face allegations about favoring certain candidates during interviews. So having your photo on the resume might raise unwanted questions in such a situation. They prefer to see just your work and skills and nothing other than that, it is better not to mention your gender or include your photo. Avoid putting in too much personal information in an interview unless something is specifically asked.
Making the person taking your interview happy always helps your case. Hope this helped you get an insight on how recruiters think so that you can use these to make a good resume! All the best !!
