Recruiters can spend less than 10 seconds reviewing a CV and therefore it is important not to let yourself down at the first hurdle. Research has shown that recruiters top 10 pet hates are, in reverse order:
10 – Personal Info Not Relevant to the Job
Not only is including personal info that is unrelated to the job a waste of space, but it can actually hurt you. Recruiters do not need to know your age, height, weight, martial status, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliations, or even about your hobbies. They are trying to fill an open job requisition, not match you for a blind date.
9 – Candidates Who Apply to Positions They are Unqualified
In order to gain experience in an area, you need to start out somewhere, and recruiters understand this. Recruiters do not have time to sort through hundreds of resumes that are in no way a match for the requirements they are trying to fill.
When someone submits an obviously unqualified resume, the person receiving it resents them wasting their time. It also delays the consideration of other applicants who ARE qualified.
Recruiter Tip: The easiest remedy is to provide a simple introductory statement ‘while my qualifications do not match your requirements, please accept the attached for your files in anticipation of future, suitable opportunities’".
8 - Long Paragraphs
Recruiters want a résumé's details to be short, concise and to the point. No recruiter has the time to read long paragraphs, which look like a narrative out of War and Peace.
Make sure you quickly get to the "meat" of what you are trying to communicate about yourself. Your resume should be easy for the reader to "scan" your text for your skills and accomplishments. Consider using the following formatting techniques:
· Use blunt, paraphrased bullet-points
· Use appropriate amounts of "white space" to help guide your reader
7 – Long Resumes
A CV should never be more than 2 pages. Situations that usually contribute to long resumes are; too many jobs; a career that is not focused, an inability to be concise, written communication problems, or something similar. All of which make for an 'UNPLACEABLE' candidate.
No matter how tempting it is to go into detail about the first job you had 25 years ago, don’t! Instead, let your resume showcase your most recent accomplishments. Recruiters are only reviewing the last 5-8 years of your career, 10 tops.
If you are a recent graduate with limited professional work experience, your resume should be only one page. If you are from academia, but are seeking a position in industry, do not include every publication or journal paper you have ever presented.
Recruiter Tip: For employment beyond 10 years ago, create a "Previous Employment" section. You can quickly list your older assignments by simply including title, company and dates.
6 – Functional Resumes
A very good way to NOT get your resume read is by sending them a "functional CV”.
Recruiter Tip: At the top of your resume, always include an easy to follow general/functional summary. Use bullet-points that can be easily customised to match what the employer is seeking. Hand your reader what they are looking for on a silver platter. Find out what are the “hot buttons” of the employer and make every one hit a home run. Immediately following your summary, provide your reader with an easy to follow chronological history of where you worked and when. It is here you need to detail your accomplishments.
5 – Poor Formatting
It is paramount that your resume is clean, clear and not full of major formatting errors. Most candidates are unaware that many formatting features will not view well on a computer screen, and more importantly, will not download properly into many HRIS recruiting systems or job boards.
Recruiter Tip: To see what your WORD document resume will look like as a text file, take it and paste it into NOTEPAD. You can then make any minor formatting changes as necessary within NOTEPAD.
3 – Dates Not Included or Inaccurate Dates
A resume that does not include dates sends up "red flags" about a candidate’s background and is immediately tossed out. The obvious assumption is that the candidate is trying to hide something. Furthermore, be honest about your dates of employment.
Recruiter Tip: When providing dates, work history should be in reverse chronological order. The general consensus among recruiters is to place the employer info, title and location to the left hand side of the screen. Your employment dates should be aligned to the right so that your reader can easily “skim” down the page. And if you have a proven track record of staying with a job for a while, absolutely make sure that your employment dates JUMP out at your reader. This is a real selling point about you as a candidate.
2 – Too Duty Oriented
The second most common complaint among recruiters was reading a resume that is "too duty oriented." Resumes need to describe more than just job duties. A good resume must also detail your accomplishments. Mention the business benefits and results attributable to your direct effort, involvement or leadership.
Also, do not just rely on long lists of buzzwords to describe work or accomplishments. Not only are you risking "burying" the important details from your reader, but also doing so often makes a resume appear too generic.
Recruiter Tip: "Do not separate your skills and accomplishments from each position. Someone should be able to look at it and know what you did at each job, and how long you were there. Make sure to provide specific examples of how the company benefited from your performance. Accomplishments should be quantified in pounds or percentages, for example, (Increased productivity of department). From what to what...1%, 10%, 90%?
1 – Spelling Errors, Typos, and Poor Grammar
In the world of technology and ‘Spell Check’, you would be amazed at how many resumes come through with errors! Candidates need to remember that their resume represents them! If there are careless errors, it directly reflects on the candidate.
The general consensus among recruiters is that your resume will more often than not be your one opportunity to make a first impression. You need to make it a positive one!
