Have you worked hours on end perfecting your resume only to find out that some other less qualified job seeking individual got the job? If you’ve been wondering why some employment agencies might be overlooking or tossing your resume in the bin, it may be because your resume writing skills are not up to scratch. Or, it may be something quite different. Here are some of the things that employment agencies just don’t tell the folks who write out all those job applications.
“Your objectives, we already know what your objective is – to get a job!” Having an objective on your resume is a good way to show how out-dated you are. Every Human Resource Officer knows that you want a job, and that’s your objective. Writing that you want to improve your skills is just beating around the bush. Unfortunately, there are a small minority of people who work as recruiters who simply toss any resume they see with an objective right into the bin.
“Keep it short. Please!” Bosses often have to read hundreds of job applications before they make a shortlist or pick a single candidate for a single job. This means that they are very unlikely to pick a resume that is wordier than the dictionary as a candidate for an interview. The average reader will spend about 5 minutes on any resume they pick – make those 5 minutes matter!
“All the resume writing skills in the world won’t help if you lied to us.” Having an impressive resume is what you need to do to get your foot in the door. But, the quickest way to get your butt kicked out the door is to have someone from Human Resources find out that you lied about your qualifications on your resume. Even if you get the job, you will not have it for long if you make this often regretted gaffe.
“We will not hire you if you are careless in your resume writing.” This seems like common sense, but for many people, it isn’t. You need to make sure that none of the job applications have any spelling or grammar mistakes included in them. A sloppy resume or a sloppy job application is one that will be passed over almost immediately – no matter what your qualifications may be.
“Sometimes, it isn’t the job applications that get people hired.” More often than you’d think, it’s a person’s cover letter that puts them ahead of others when trying to find a job. Other times, it’s the fact that the boss already knew the person beforehand. Other times still, it’s a person’s confidence that makes them seem like the best candidate for the task. Either way, it’s important for you to make sure that you have as many factors in your favour as possible.
“We don’t take certain fonts seriously.” Appearance matters so don’t use fonts that are more appropriate for a teenager, such as Comic Sans or Matisse ITC. Keep it traditional with a nice, easy to read font like Times New Roman or Arial.
“We are more likely to read resumes that don’t look awful.” Formatting counts for a lot. If you have been using a format that simply looks plain, disorganised, or worse – resembles a “wall of text,” you may want to rethink your choice and go for a more aesthetically pleasing option instead.
Remember, every hiring manager is a little bit different, but from what we have heard, these are the things that most hiring managers secretly wish they could tell people when they receive job applications. Do your resume writing skills stand up to par with the standards the hiring managers didn’t tell you about?
For more free information on resume writing check out our videos on How to Improve your Resume and if you really want your resume to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by the employment agencies and employers get yourself a copy of Resume Rescues ebook today!
