At one point or another, it has happened to all of us. An exciting job opportunity that matched our background, experience and education finally came along. And not only was the job well within our salary range, but it was a PERFECT fit for our resume—to the point we convinced ourselves “They actually wrote this job posting for ME!” So we dusted off our resumes, wrote a quick cover letter, and sent our information directly to the hiring manager . . . and never hear back. Yet another job opportunity passed us by, and we were, quite inexplicably, NOT included in the process. Which forced us to repeatedly ask ourselves the same burning question.
“What the hell happened?”
Those of you who are currently unemployed, or actively looking for a job-related change of scenery, have no doubt realized things are finally starting to loosen up a bit. And now that the employment market is turning positive, it is a great time to dust off your resume, make a few updates, and start selling yourself to the world. But before you start mass emailing your information, there is something you need to know. In addition to the obvious resume mistakes every savvy job seeker on the planet avoids (hard to read layout, mis-spellings, too many pages, etc.) there are a few not-so-well-known red flags experienced hiring mangers look for—red flags that can put your resume on the fast track to an industrial-sized paper shredder.
If you’ve ever missed out on the interview process for a job that seemed like a perfect fit for your resume, chances are good you’ve made one of these five resume mistakes.
Resume Killer #1: Listing Religious, Political or Controversial Causes as Volunteer Work
In my 18+ years in business, I’ve seen hundreds of candidates make the mistake of padding their resumes with activities that put their belief systems on full display. Sure, acting as the Chair of your neighborhood “Christian Democrats for the Fair Use of Water” meetings shows both commitment to a cause and a willingness to unselfishly donate your time. But what if the hiring manager who looks at your resume is an Atheist Republican Anti-Conservationist? The fact is, you NEVER know the political, religious or moral views of the person vetting your resume. Understanding it isn’t ethical for a hiring manager to eliminate a candidate because of their political or religious views, don’t fool yourself by being naive—it happens every single day, and there is no point in taking the risk.
Resume Killer #2: Communicating Personal Drama in Your Cover Letter
If you are an experienced hiring manager, odds are good you’re nodding your head right now. As adults, we all understand things like car accidents, divorces, serious medical conditions and family deaths are an unfortunate part of life. That said, as heartbreaking as these things may be, they have absolutely nothing to do with your qualifications as a potential employee. Look at it from the standpoint of the hiring manager: if a candidate is willing to share ultra-person details in a cover letter, how many hours per day might they spend venting to fellow employees—or their boss—once they actually have the job? The best hiring managers look for low-maintenance employees who are smart, care about their work, and come with minimal baggage. Before you apply for your next position, re-review your resume and cover letter and ask yourself, “Do I sound high-maintenance?”
Resume Killer #3: Pointing Out Your Own Flaws
One of the most common impulses among job searchers who aren’t technically ‘perfect’ candidates for a position (especially in the Midwest) is to be honest about their shortcomings up front. This high degree of ethics might allow you to sleep more peacefully at night, but it will NEVER help you gain an interview. In fact, admitting your previous position was in a different industry, or that you’re two full years short of the experience requirement, will only get you one thing: eliminated from the hiring process. The fact is, there are very few ‘perfect’ candidates who apply for open positions, and hiring managers will often overlook missing requirements in exchange for something else they happen to like. Don’t be tempted to do the hiring manager’s job for him or her. If you’re not a perfect fit, let them figure it out on their own.
Resume Killer #4: Listing Yourself as the CEO of Your Own Company
To most hiring managers, starting and successfully running a business (even for a short period of time) shows ambition, entrepreneurial spirit, and an ability to handle a variety of responsibilities. That said, C-level titles on a resume rarely work in an applicant’s favor. If you’re applying for a VP or Director position, claiming a CEO stint on your resume says “I’m used to calling all of the shots.” And if you’re applying for a middle-management position, listing a CEO position screams “I’m overqualified, and probably want too much money.“ Here’s a tip: if you ran your own business in the past, focus on what you did to make the company successful —Marketing Consultant, Flash Developer or Project Manager, for example—not on what your business card said.
Resume Killer #5: Overlapping Timelines in Your Work Experience
For those of us who had to work our way through college, a certain sense of pride comes with being able to claim we juggled two (or in some cases three) jobs at one time. Back when we were young, balancing multiple jobs made us look like ‘entrepreneurs’ and ‘go-getters.’ But in the real world, working two or more jobs at one time is a sign to hiring managers that we will be distracted and chronically tired employees, whose minds are usually somewhere else. As an applicant, you need to keep in mind that every employer wants his or her job to be the ONLY focus in your working life. Giving a potential supervisor any reason to think otherwise will significantly decrease your chances of even getting an interview—much less actually landing a job.
And to wrap it up, I would like to point out that my goal for this article is to create a living, breathing, extraordinarily helpful document for job seekers. Therefore, if you are a hiring manager and would like to add your own “Resume Killer” to the list, PLEASE use the comment field at the end of the article to share your knowledge and experience with job seekers around the world. Thank you for your help!
Otherwise a Retweet, Facebook Share, LinkedIn Share or other type of social share (handy buttons provided) would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you!
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Author: Eric_Rudolf (76 Articles)
Eric Rudolf is Director of Marketing for one of the fastest-growing professional development and training companies in the world, as well as a featured small business writer for LegalZoom.com and RainToday.com—a major marketing and sales portal operated by the Wellesley Hills Group. Eric can be followed on LinkedIn or Twitter.
July 13th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
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July 14th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Eric, I generally agree with you on the primary points of this article with one difference. Is the purpose of a resume to get any interview or to find a company worth working for? Your advice seems to me to be good if you’re open to “any job,” but if you’re looking for the right fit, #1 and #3 actually weed out the bad fits. (Of course, I am a Christian from the Midwest too.)
One resume killer for me… a resume that appears in every respect like it’s telling me what “I want to hear.” As the employer, I don’t want a poor fit either. It never works out for either party.
Mike…
July 14th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Mike:
You make a VERY valid point about finding a company worth working for, so allow me to explain . . . my inspiration for this article was (unfortunately) about a half-dozen friends and relatives who have been out of work for extended periods–in one case 13 months. So my goal here was to try and provide some help for people who just need ’something’ to get their careers back on track. But you are obviously correct: in a good job market, this article would look different.
And great point about candidates telling hiring managers (thru their resume) what they ‘want’ to hear. I’d say about 1 out of 10 resumes I receive look like slightly reworded versions of the job posting I wrote. Copying the “Desired and Required Skills” and pasting them into a cover letter is never a good idea.
Thanks again for writing!
- Eric -
July 14th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Eric, while I agree with you about the CEO job title, I do wonder what you would advise people do in the actual interview.
As someone who runs a creative studio (my legal title is not CEO anyway) and also works as an editor for another company, this problem may arise for me later. My current boss is aware of my company and we are open about it, but what about future positions? As a creative professional, no one has ever felt any need to over-pay me (hardy har), but I do worry about how to handle the inevitable future questions, should I seek other work later, about the company I do indeed own and operate.
How do you recommend young job seekers handle this delicately? Regardless of what we put on the paper, if we get in the door, someone will ask about the company. Lying does not seem intelligent, and I never have myself, but I know others feel trapped by this situation. Especially in a multiple-job age. Heck, I need both jobs to pay my bills, but I too have hesitated to hire “CEO”s for lower-level jobs, so I’m the victim and the cause!
July 14th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Hi Lindsey:
Great question–and I believe I have an answer. First, in the creative industry it is significantly more acceptable for people to have multiple jobs. I am regularly involved in hiring full-time graphic artists, editors, designers and writers, and it is pretty common for people with these skill sets to take freelance work on the side as well. In your industry, it’s the nature of the beast, and a financial “matter of survival” as you state above.
Second, you need to handle the interview honestly, but carefully. If you’re interviewing for a salaried position with benefits like health insurance and paid vacation, an employer has every right to expect that from 8am to 5pm, you will work for her and no one else. These days, many standard NDAs (Non-Disclosure / Non-Compete Agreements) will specifically require “any outside work must be disclosed and approved by the full-time employer in advance.” If you are asked to sign one of these prior to starting a new full-time job, you have a choice to make: turn down the job, or come clean. That said, as long as you can lay out a logical strategy as to exactly how you plan on working two jobs, you should be fine. Ultimately, REALLY good creative people are hard to find, and in most cases employers are willing to give on the ’second job’ thing, in exchange for the unique skills you bring to the table.
Thanks for writing, and good luck!
- Eric -
July 21st, 2010 at 1:57 am
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September 6th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
I found this post particularly interesting. I had never realized that the “president” job title might be hurting me when trying to look for extra work. My company is being run by others for the most part, and I consult less than 20 hours/week, so extra work would be welcome, but I can’t seem to get any responses when I put my resume out there. Thanks for the advice!
September 7th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
As a hiring manager, I truly believe this to be the case. If “President” doesn’t accurately describe what you do on a daily basis–or doesn’t fit the job you are seeking–it is best to find a descriptor that better represents you. Thanks for writing, and good luck!
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February 6th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Very eye opening to say the least. I’m going to take another look at my resume. Needless to say, there are a multiple of challenges with all of the scenarios presented, including the ones in the comments. Of course, we don’t live in a perfect world, so, the challenges are very real. Then, of course, you have some middle management person in charge of weeding out the resumes. It’s all about getting past the first line of defense!
February 7th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Thanks for stopping by, Todd, and thanks for the kind words. You are 100% correct–it’s all about getting through the first line of defense. I had a hiring manager I very much respect pass along a piece of advice to me early in my career, and it went something like “Writing a good resume and cover letter isn’t about making yourself look like the perfect candidate. It’s about not giving the HR Department a good reason to weed you out.” I know it sounds like basically the same thing, but there is a HUGE difference. Good luck to you!
May 21st, 2011 at 1:06 pm
“Especially in the midwest”? Just what are you trying to say?
May 25th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
I’m saying that candidates from the Midwest tend to feel obligated to point out their shortcomings (and identify the requirements they don’t meet) in an interview. I’ve interviewed hundreds of them, and I’ve seen this tendency first-hand. That’s what I’m saying. Feel free to disagree.