The resume is virtually a prerequisite to gainful employment. But for such an important document, it’s astounding how much can go wrong.
Bad grammar, flowery language and too many words are just some of the mistakes that can make potential employers toss your resume in the trash.
The U.S. job market is coming off the best year for hiring in 15 years, and many thousands of jobs are still unfilled. But one way to quickly take yourself out of the running for one of those jobs is to annoy a hiring manager.
The Huffington Post asked managers across a number of industries to reveal their biggest pet peeve about resumes, and here’s what they said. Job seekers, take note:
–
The most concerning error is when candidates fail to clearly write (or altogether omit) an executive summary, [a brief introductory paragraph that explains who they are and what they’re looking for]. An executive summary is the candidate’s best opportunity to quickly showcase his/her skills, accomplishments and relevance to the role.
— Eric Di Monte, senior talent acquisition manager at Univision Communications Inc.
My biggest pet peeve with resumes is when a candidate does a huge summary of experience that encompasses all of their work history. Then follows with the work history section with only company name, dates, and title. No bullet points describing what they did at that particular company. Not an effective way to showcase experience and expertise.
— Teresita Montgomery, director of recruiting at Stella Staffing
