TOP 20 Reasons your Resume Isn't Working

Now most of you aren’t in professions where you view resumes on a daily basis, so just take my word for it – the majority of resumes out there are mediocre at best. I hear the same sentiments from recruiters and hiring managers; most people just don’t know how to write a great resume. I spend a lot of time telling my clients what you should do to improve your resume and your job search strategy, but now I am going include taking some time to tell you what you shouldn’t do – because you’re probably already doing it. These are the biggest pet peeves on resumes and common mistakes that have stopped your resume from being short-listed or placed in the circular file. Even if you think your resume is fine, keep reading. We know you’ve made at least one of these errors.

Now let’s get started, we’ve got a long list to get through.

1. No Formatting

Before the hiring manager reads a single word on your resume, they see your format. The problem is, with many resumes, there’s no format to look at. If you don’t even distinguish your contact information and separated sections of experience and education, you basically haven’t tried. You opened a new document and just started typing without paying any attention to the visual presentation of your resume. Even worse, you used an internet template and when the hiring manager opens it on their computer, the formatting is so muddled and disorganized that it immediately goes into the garbage even if you are the most qualified candidate.

2. Contact Information

First of all, have you even included your contact information at the top of your resume? Seems like a silly question, but we’ve seen resumes that lack even these basic details. If you did include your contact information, did you include the right information? You may be surprised how people think that their nickname sounds friendlier or is easier to say. If it is on your birth certificate, driver’s license, or certification/state licensure information, then that is the name that should be on the resume. You would be surprised what your contact information says about you. Ensure you have a local address, a professional email address and one personal phone number listed. Add a hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile to give it some extra oomph. Sexybabe4u@yahoo.com is not an acceptable email address. Emails with underscores or dashes or misspelled words tend to be typed incorrectly when someone wishes to respond. Would you want to limit the amount of interviews you get because no one will either type in your email address, or worse, can’t understand it.

Unless it is an electronic copy, do not leave it underlined or blue. Format!

3. Objective Statement

An objective statement is weak and does not conform to current resume standards. An objective statement is telling the Hiring Manager what you want out of the role. To be frank, the Hiring Manager does not care about what you want; they care about whether or not you’ll be a good fit for the role. Therefore, you should eliminate your objective and instead discuss the value you will bring to the role throughout the resume.

4. Lack of Customization

If you are using the same resume for multiple positions, the Hiring Manager can tell. In order to increase your chances of being noticed, you must customize the keywords of your resume to suit each individual role. If you’re not taking the time to do so for your resume, you can bet that someone else is, and they are getting the call-backs. Fonts should never be a way of customization. You can use any font you want as long as it is simple like Calibri or Times New Roman.

5. No Keywords

If your resume doesn’t have keywords, you are basically doomed. If a Hiring Manager is personally reading (skimming) your resume, they are looking for keywords. Many times, you have to pass a computer based, keyword scanning system in order to get to the Hiring Manager. If keywords are not present on your resume, you can count yourself out for that job opportunity. You should be including the keywords present in the job description, as you know that is what employers will be looking for. Do I know what every key word is? Most likely it is not a big secret and we can easily figure out what the good buzzwords are and more importantly, how we will fit them into the resume.

6. Ignoring Requests

Follow instructions! If the employer asks for a one page resume, don’t send them five pages. If they ask for a PDF file, don’t send them a Word document. Nothing will make you look worse than your inability to follow simple instructions. This is a dead giveaway of your work ethic, and Hiring Managers will not be impressed.

7. First Person

Resumes are never written in the first person. Didn’t we all learn this in high school? A big reason for this is the constant repetition of “I-phrases” throughout the resume. Imagine reading multiple resumes a day, each with the same “I did this” and “I did that” phrases. The boredom would be overwhelming. The fact is that a potential employer will only look at a resume for an average of no more than 20 seconds. If “I” is a key word, then it will be dismissed.

8. Job Descriptions

We get it, nobody likes writing a resume so they try to find an easy way to get it done quick. Many people resort to copying and pasting their job description into the resume. This is the worst idea. The job description is a generic list of tasks that the person is required to do. That means, that anyone who fulfills this role, will be required to complete these tasks. There is no originality, no achievements and no contributions. Describe your job in a list. Then take the parts of the job that are redundant and combine them. Then leave out the basics.(example: I wake up, I scratch myself, I brush my teeth, I make a cup of coffee, I sit in traffic, etc.)

9. Length

Resumes that go over one page in length, are never as strong as resumes that maintain a rigid format. Your resume is guaranteed to be viewed by more Hiring Managers and Recruiters if you stays on one page. Exceeding this limit means that you are unable to be concise and pinpoint your strongest achievements. For people with executive experience, 20+ years in their respective profession, multiple publications, achievements or professional certifications may exceed the one page rule, but it is a slippery slope and you need to really evaluate what you are filling it up with. If it is 2 pages, then both pages should be filled out and there should not be too much dead space on wither page.

10. Lack of Examples

You can tell the Hiring Manager that you did all kinds of amazing things, but without a description of examples, it all just sounds like fluff. Examples are a great way to show the Hiring Manager what you’re capable of, instead of telling them. This will resonate much stronger with the reader. Along with examples comes proof. If you tell a Hiring Manager that you increased sales year-over-year, but don’t bother saying how much you increased sales by – there’s no proof. Your numbers quantify your achievements and catch the Hiring Manager’s attention.

11. Repetition

When restricted to a one page limit, why would you waste space repeating yourself? If you completed similar tasks in multiple roles, mention them once under the most recent role, and leave it be. Do not copy the exact same line under each role because the Hiring Manager already understands that you have that capability. Use that space to tell them something new.

12. Dates and places

Be specific with your dates! We’ve already mentioned several times that ambiguity will never help you on a resume. If you were in a contract role for only three months, make that clear on the resume. If you simply list the year with no time frame, you look like you have something to hide. Include the month and year that you entered each role, along with the month and year that you left each role. If you worked in the same town your entire life and now you are moving onto the big city, do not assume that everyone know the city and state. Sometimes mentioning different cities and states proves you are flexible and adaptable to a new environment.

16. Functional Resume

If you’ve chosen to use what is called a “functional resume” and listed all of your different skill-sets at the top of your resume, you may be shortlisted. There is nothing more frustrating than a functional resume. It’s great that you’ve told the Hiring Manager how diverse and adaptable your skills are, however they want to know when you obtained these skills and under what context. What are your innate talents and when did you acquire them?

17. Academic Details

Education sections generally lack one of two pieces of information. Either the candidate includes the name of the school they attended, but neglected to include the course or program name. Or they included the course or program name, but did not include the school’s name. Your academic details are not complete without both pieces of information. Were you on the dean’s list or were you awarded any academic achievements that you are proud of? Making up the crossword puzzle for the school newspaper may be the one detail that interests the manager looking over the resume and convinces them to keep reading but you should think about all of your accomplishments and keep a list of them. You can always add some if there is dead space on the resume and you can always delete the less important items to make space for greater accomplishments.

18. References

This is an incredibly outdated practice in the world of resume writing. Another common mistake is including “References Available upon Request” at the bottom of your resume. Requesting references is no longer an option for employers, it is a requirement. Therefore, letting them know that your references are available upon request is simply redundant and takes up vital space on your resume. You should readily have references available, but they should be on a separate document that you can produce during an interview. It should be formatted the same way as your cover letter and resume is.

19. Printing

So you have proofread it a few times and now you are ready to print it out. Is there something that lines up differently? Did a second page spit out of your printer because of blank spaces at the end of your document? It is very frustrating when a hiring manager sees that there are 2 pages to a document but one is blank. It is even more frustrating if the readers’ eyes are dragged back and forth across the resume because the alignment is off. There are sure fire ways to get your resume deleted or thrown in the trash.

20. Portfolio

Finally, your resume is in great shape and you are getting calls for interviews. Even if they have your resume on file and in their hand during the in

terview, you should have a simple 2 pocket folder that you can hand over to the interviewer with a copy of your cover letter, resume, references and any other pertinent, professional information, documentation, certification, licensure, awards, accolades or merit that would make their impression of you last.

I will post another blog just about portfolios in the days to come, but in the meantime, take these words to heart. This is not just my opinion, but the estimation and outlook of many hiring managers, HR personnel and career coaches alike.