In the US, the pandemic threw more than 20 million people out of work and unemployment rates spiked to nearly 15%. It’s an unprecedented level not seen since data collection started in 1948, according to the Congressional Research Service.
So in these miserable times, looking through your resume, building a nice portfolio, or rethinking the way you present yourself in your CV may be a top priority. But without realizing it, we all make similar resume mistakes when seeking a job and the good thing is that they can be easily avoided.
Thanks to the Twitter user Sli, who shared a handful of useful resume tips she learned while working as a recruiter at a Fortune 100 company, we now know the biggest faux pas that may cost us the place. Take notes, kid, ‘cause you don’t want to miss any of this.
One Twitter user who worked as a recruiter at a Fortune 100 company shared a handful of useful tips to improve the resume
Image credits: StartupStockPhotos (not the actual photo)
Image credits: slizagna
Image credits: slizagna
Image credits: slizagna
To find out more about what it takes to perfect your resume, Bored Panda reached out to Dawn Moss, the founder of “Your Interview Coach” that helps both candidates and hiring managers through the complexities of the recruitment and selection process.
Dawn has worked as an in-house recruiter for 12 years, screened approximately 1 million CVs, and interviewed over 10,000 candidates for 100s of vacancies. From her experiences, “One of the biggest mistakes (and totally avoidable) is not tailoring the resume to the job,” she said.
Image credits: slizagna
Image credits: slizagna
“I understand it’s a full-time job looking for work and tailoring a resume takes a little more time and effort. And, that’s two reasons for tailoring; the recruiters screening resumes will know instantly that someone has taken the time and made the effort, which demonstrates an interest and a pride in their application.”
Image credits: slizagna
Image credits: slizagna
But for most of us, creating a good resume may be a truly daunting task. You never seem to know what the employee expects, and end up either guessing (sometimes in the wrong direction), or not caring too much and pressing the send button too early.
Image credits: slizagna
Image credits: slizagna
Dawn suggests not to hurry and take the time to review all the information you have available about the job and the company. “This will help you be selective about the information you share,” the interview coach explained.
Image credits: slizagna
Image credits: slizagna
Secondly, never underestimate the power of the introduction. “Include a relevant, punchy, and concise opening paragraph (summary or profile on the resume). Some hiring managers will read this first and won’t bother reading the rest if it’s not tailored or relevant to the job. It needs to grab the reader’s attention and entice them to read on.”
Image credits: slizagna
Thirdly, you may wanna keep the essays deep in your drawer. Dawn recommends keeping the information “concise and easy to read and pick out key information relevant to the job you are applying for.”
In the end, looking for a job is indeed a full-time job not to be taken lightly if you want some good results.
And many people on Twitter found the thread really useful
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Graduation date is only relevant if you're still in school. If you've graduated, you don't have to put the year, and the company can't ask you about it. In the U.S. at least, it's illegal to ask. That's to prevent age discrimination.
In my case, my graduation date for college is recent, but my graduation date from high school isn’t. I’m 60, but look 40-ish, and wish you could leave out anything that gives your age away, just to avoid the ageism, which I feel I’m encountering a lot. I can’t afford to retire anytime soon and come from a family that lives to +/- 100 years old, so can realistically plan to work til I’m well into my eighties (why spend a full third of my life not working and actively participating in society, and having to survive on a dwindling fixed income?). So, 20+ years. Just because I’m 60 doesn’t mean I don’t have bills to pay. I just need a decent paycheck to pay them with. It’s why I went to college as a mature adult (graduating at the top of my class, btw, better than people more than half my age). I’m like a Boomer (1960, so late boomer/almost GenX) with Millennial problems. I have student loans to pay off too. At. My. Age.
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The problem with getting "advice" from people like this is that they are all full of crap. They are only giving you GENERALITIES of what resumes MIGHT or MIGHT NOT need to contain. EVERY company out there thinks they have to be "different", so they all want different types of resumes submitted to them. If you can't be bothered to contact the companies HR department and ask what type/style of resume they want to see submitted for open positions, then more than likely you aren't going to hear from them. There is no standardization in the job application process. It's all screwed to hell and back, every company wants something different. It's a HUGE guessing game that wastes professional job seekers hundreds of hours a year attempting to figure out WHY they aren't getting any "bites" on their submitted resumes.
I work in HR. We do not want people contacting us to ask about the style of resume we want.
Load More Replies...
Add DON'T TYPO.. It show you as a lazy person when writing and never check before sending for a potential job.
As a dyslexic person this worries me, have I missed opportunities because of my spelling? I always ask someone else to proof read for me because I just can't see spelling mistakes.
Load More Replies...
This must be one of the most US-biased posting on BP. Some of these do not apply in the EU and some are even counter productive. For example, I am sure that I had gotten none of the positions I had so far without attaching a well-written cover letter, even if it was a "Dear Sir or Madam" kind as I did not knew the names. I think the whole recruitment process is very different between US and EU, even with multinational companies.
Also depending on the country, your age and photo might very well be expected on a CV/résumé. You can always leave them out but it will probably look like you're hiding something so your application might be disregarded. In the country I live in, you're even expected to send over scans of your diplomas and certificates upon applying, along with your CV, cover letter, references and anything else the position might require, like a portfolio for example. If you fail to do so unprompted, your application will be seen as incomplete and is even more likely to be disregarded.
Load More Replies...
Lately, I've seen the "no cover letter" thing quite a bit. Problem is, it all depends on the field. Perhaps in Fortune 100 jobs it's not necessary but most jobs I've applied to specifically asked for a cover letter. Unfortunately, if the job description doesn't specify, it's more work for the applicant to do some research about what is expected in that field. Truthfully, I hate cover letters, but if a job asks for one you have to include it.
Most of the time its not requested anymore, plus the jobs are on LinkedIn and you can apply from there.
Load More Replies...
#6 about putting the date you graduated, isn’t that the same as putting your age, I thought you couldn’t ask someone their age in a interview, why would you put your age down voluntarily and possibly exclude yourself from jobs for being too young or too old
Not really. Nowadays not everyone graduates from high school and goes directly to college and graduates immediately in 4 years to a point where one could guess their age. People are returning to college in their 30’s and beyond and not every high school grad goes to college immediately. They make take a few years like I did.
Load More Replies...
If you know the objective is to get a job, don't ask why we applied for the job in the interview.
Number 6 is only for people recently (within the last 3 years) of school. Otherwise you can leave it off. Also cover letters DO matter! Please go read Ask A Manager (I trust her more than some random person). *edited for making a mistake*
If your schooling is directly related to the job you're applying for, you should DEFINITELY include it.
Load More Replies... 
Some of these are not at all good advice. I'm a recruiter and if someone doesn't put their GPA on their resume, one might assume that it's not good. However, 3.4 or a 3.3 could be perfectly acceptable, depending on the major. Also, please DO put your location on your resume. Lots of US firms are happy to relocate within the States, but maybe not outside of it so you could be wasting your time and theirs. And finally, this person is 100 percent correct about one thing: if a firm is looking for experienced hires and you don't put your grad date on your resume, it's going to get tossed rather than the recruiter going through the guesswork. So please add it!
Shouldn't the job history on the resume tell how much experience a person has? If all they're doing is looking at the graduation date then they're missing out on a lot of people who graduate later in life by assuming they have no experience. If it's a college student's resume, as the author notes, then perhaps explain that it's necessary if they don't have experience, to put on their resume? Maybe this needs some clarification? Also, if a company is willing to pay for relocation, then put it in the job description, just like the salary should be. It shouldn't be a guessing game for either side and just like recruiters don't want to do the guesswork, neither do job seekers. Hold the clients accountable for providing this information. #transparency
Load More Replies...
PDF files also have a more important feature - Security. Executable files like Word documents can contain all sorts of IT nasties, while PDFs are only readable
If, by describing *.doc and *.docx files as "executables" you mean macros and vba code, I'm not sure your understanding of the threat is current. Most any company worth its salt today will leave enabled the warning upon opening that such content exists, and you have to click to allow that content to run.
Load More Replies... Most of it is good advice but there is one thing that bothers me.I had a good paying job at a well known company in my country.It is known as one of the most desirable companies here....The problem was that is was mentally abused and due to my mental health i had to quit.I still suffer from it to this day and i have a really hard time going out of my room and socializing.The problem is that all my jobs where less and less paid and i have huge gaps in my cv.So every employer will see that my career is going downwards and that there are gaps wich makes me a "unreliable and lazy worker".Talking about mental health during interviews is a big NO for me and for the company.Also talking bad about past coworker is also a big NO for them.So here i am in a mental health hell with no job and afraid of people AND big gaps in my cv.Pls don't give me advice on my mental health since i tried 4 different psychiatrists and countless ADs...I just need a advice for my CV and what to say in my interviews.Thx
You could shift your CV so that you focus on your skills and experience towards the top of the front page (list the experience under headings relevant to you and the job you're applying for eg 'Project management', 'Team Leadership' etc), and then list your roles and dates further down. That way if they're interested in what you can offer, they'll focus less on the direction of your recent roles.
Load More Replies...
They use my location to see if they need to pay relocation or not, lady, if they can't afford to relocate me, they won't afford to give me a raise (or even pay what I ask of them). So please have them remove me from the potential employee list if that is the case. Also, if some business is described by "black owned" , that is racist. You're not promoting them using their skills, their experience. You're promoting them by being "black owned". If i did the same with a "white owned" company i'd be flagged as racist, nazi and a handful of other slurs.
also...make sure your email is a grown up one - hotsexxylips69@gmail.com is going to get you noticed for the wrong reasons.
Certain items are really opposite to what I know about resumes. I used to hire people and went through hundreds of them, read many tips and instructions and had many successful applications with my own resume and helped my friends draw up theirs, so: 1. No 2. Very specific, but generally No 3. Yes 4. Yes, yes, yes 5. No 6. Specific 7. Definitely yes 8. This can be achieved through a cover letter though. Bonus tip: No. Just in case someone wanted my opinion )))))))
Your desire to be helpful is appreciated, but I'd write that out again with references, not numbers, so we know what you are talking about.
Load More Replies... Tips for recruiters: Before you request a graduation date, I ask you this: Is the degree truly needed to be successful at the job for which it's required? Will experience suffice? If transcripts aren't required then a degree shouldn't be either. Stop leaving out underserved people because they don't have a degree but are just as qualified. You're the gatekeeper here. Do your part to elevate equitable practices. Post the salary/salary range. Evidence shows that withholding this information leads to income gaps amongst women/POC and their opposites, because women and POC are less likely to negotiate. Companies actually have a better candidate pool when they disclose the salary. Be transparent. Hold your clients to DEI. Don't accept postings without it.
This is information readily available in any simple “resume tips” search and is nothing new. The cover letter perspective is confusing since most recruiters or job applications request cover letters. Do you really want to be that one person who skipped it although it was requested? If they don’t want a cover letter they should stop asking for one!
Welp, my resume has two pages, yes TWO, and the only thing I was getting when I was looking for a job, was that the company's were able to see, that it's not hard for me to do new things, as well it's not taking lots of time to adapt. So I'm kinda 50/50 on keeping your resume on one page
And maybe do a spell check? There are plenty of spelling errors in this thread.
I started saving last.first.resume or cover letter but I should do PdF next time. True about the address, it is no longer needed - but consider if you want to work somwhere with multiple locations. One of my old jobs told me when I inquired about future work they are doing better at location placement so they did not placemin wage employees in beat up cars across town. But I could get around my address with telling them my preferred locations - but in my case it is a regional company (so semi-small) I worked many years for them prior they can have my address. I think I should redo description, too. it gets repetitive as it is the same thing and they understand what each desciption means. I also have my WPM, comouter skills, and certifictaetes on top. No pen,|habdwriting. Black, size 12 basic font, full words, no short hand. If you're well past graduation don't put it on there. They don't need to know your age and use it against you. Maybe for current-2 years post graduation.
I've interviewed hundreds of people. This article is dead on accurate.
It irks me when people write 'Resume' or 'Curriculum Vitae' as a big heading on the document. To me it's akin to writing the word 'envelope' on an envelope. If it contains your details, work history & education then you don't need to waste space on the page explaining what it is.
Never put your PHOTO on it. They don’t need to see your face. They need to see what you’ve done and can do for them.
Using AI as a tool! As an oldie and once a recruitment administrator, it was impossible to accept a resume. A completed application form was required. And after 25+ years I will now own up to something - and I have no regrets. Requests for application forms were left on an answering machine. If anyone left a message asking for a form for job number so and so for the post of Clerk/Typist but pronounced clerk in the American way, I somehow lost all those requests.
Graduation date is only relevant if you're still in school. If you've graduated, you don't have to put the year, and the company can't ask you about it. In the U.S. at least, it's illegal to ask. That's to prevent age discrimination.
In my case, my graduation date for college is recent, but my graduation date from high school isn’t. I’m 60, but look 40-ish, and wish you could leave out anything that gives your age away, just to avoid the ageism, which I feel I’m encountering a lot. I can’t afford to retire anytime soon and come from a family that lives to +/- 100 years old, so can realistically plan to work til I’m well into my eighties (why spend a full third of my life not working and actively participating in society, and having to survive on a dwindling fixed income?). So, 20+ years. Just because I’m 60 doesn’t mean I don’t have bills to pay. I just need a decent paycheck to pay them with. It’s why I went to college as a mature adult (graduating at the top of my class, btw, better than people more than half my age). I’m like a Boomer (1960, so late boomer/almost GenX) with Millennial problems. I have student loans to pay off too. At. My. Age.
Load More Replies... The problem with getting "advice" from people like this is that they are all full of crap. They are only giving you GENERALITIES of what resumes MIGHT or MIGHT NOT need to contain. EVERY company out there thinks they have to be "different", so they all want different types of resumes submitted to them. If you can't be bothered to contact the companies HR department and ask what type/style of resume they want to see submitted for open positions, then more than likely you aren't going to hear from them. There is no standardization in the job application process. It's all screwed to hell and back, every company wants something different. It's a HUGE guessing game that wastes professional job seekers hundreds of hours a year attempting to figure out WHY they aren't getting any "bites" on their submitted resumes.
I work in HR. We do not want people contacting us to ask about the style of resume we want.
Load More Replies... Add DON'T TYPO.. It show you as a lazy person when writing and never check before sending for a potential job.
As a dyslexic person this worries me, have I missed opportunities because of my spelling? I always ask someone else to proof read for me because I just can't see spelling mistakes.
Load More Replies... This must be one of the most US-biased posting on BP. Some of these do not apply in the EU and some are even counter productive. For example, I am sure that I had gotten none of the positions I had so far without attaching a well-written cover letter, even if it was a "Dear Sir or Madam" kind as I did not knew the names. I think the whole recruitment process is very different between US and EU, even with multinational companies.
Also depending on the country, your age and photo might very well be expected on a CV/résumé. You can always leave them out but it will probably look like you're hiding something so your application might be disregarded. In the country I live in, you're even expected to send over scans of your diplomas and certificates upon applying, along with your CV, cover letter, references and anything else the position might require, like a portfolio for example. If you fail to do so unprompted, your application will be seen as incomplete and is even more likely to be disregarded.
Load More Replies... Lately, I've seen the "no cover letter" thing quite a bit. Problem is, it all depends on the field. Perhaps in Fortune 100 jobs it's not necessary but most jobs I've applied to specifically asked for a cover letter. Unfortunately, if the job description doesn't specify, it's more work for the applicant to do some research about what is expected in that field. Truthfully, I hate cover letters, but if a job asks for one you have to include it.
Most of the time its not requested anymore, plus the jobs are on LinkedIn and you can apply from there.
Load More Replies... #6 about putting the date you graduated, isn’t that the same as putting your age, I thought you couldn’t ask someone their age in a interview, why would you put your age down voluntarily and possibly exclude yourself from jobs for being too young or too old
Not really. Nowadays not everyone graduates from high school and goes directly to college and graduates immediately in 4 years to a point where one could guess their age. People are returning to college in their 30’s and beyond and not every high school grad goes to college immediately. They make take a few years like I did.
Load More Replies... If you know the objective is to get a job, don't ask why we applied for the job in the interview.
Number 6 is only for people recently (within the last 3 years) of school. Otherwise you can leave it off. Also cover letters DO matter! Please go read Ask A Manager (I trust her more than some random person). *edited for making a mistake*
If your schooling is directly related to the job you're applying for, you should DEFINITELY include it.
Load More Replies... Some of these are not at all good advice. I'm a recruiter and if someone doesn't put their GPA on their resume, one might assume that it's not good. However, 3.4 or a 3.3 could be perfectly acceptable, depending on the major. Also, please DO put your location on your resume. Lots of US firms are happy to relocate within the States, but maybe not outside of it so you could be wasting your time and theirs. And finally, this person is 100 percent correct about one thing: if a firm is looking for experienced hires and you don't put your grad date on your resume, it's going to get tossed rather than the recruiter going through the guesswork. So please add it!
Shouldn't the job history on the resume tell how much experience a person has? If all they're doing is looking at the graduation date then they're missing out on a lot of people who graduate later in life by assuming they have no experience. If it's a college student's resume, as the author notes, then perhaps explain that it's necessary if they don't have experience, to put on their resume? Maybe this needs some clarification? Also, if a company is willing to pay for relocation, then put it in the job description, just like the salary should be. It shouldn't be a guessing game for either side and just like recruiters don't want to do the guesswork, neither do job seekers. Hold the clients accountable for providing this information. #transparency
Load More Replies... PDF files also have a more important feature - Security. Executable files like Word documents can contain all sorts of IT nasties, while PDFs are only readable
If, by describing *.doc and *.docx files as "executables" you mean macros and vba code, I'm not sure your understanding of the threat is current. Most any company worth its salt today will leave enabled the warning upon opening that such content exists, and you have to click to allow that content to run.
Load More Replies... Most of it is good advice but there is one thing that bothers me.I had a good paying job at a well known company in my country.It is known as one of the most desirable companies here....The problem was that is was mentally abused and due to my mental health i had to quit.I still suffer from it to this day and i have a really hard time going out of my room and socializing.The problem is that all my jobs where less and less paid and i have huge gaps in my cv.So every employer will see that my career is going downwards and that there are gaps wich makes me a "unreliable and lazy worker".Talking about mental health during interviews is a big NO for me and for the company.Also talking bad about past coworker is also a big NO for them.So here i am in a mental health hell with no job and afraid of people AND big gaps in my cv.Pls don't give me advice on my mental health since i tried 4 different psychiatrists and countless ADs...I just need a advice for my CV and what to say in my interviews.Thx
You could shift your CV so that you focus on your skills and experience towards the top of the front page (list the experience under headings relevant to you and the job you're applying for eg 'Project management', 'Team Leadership' etc), and then list your roles and dates further down. That way if they're interested in what you can offer, they'll focus less on the direction of your recent roles.
Load More Replies... They use my location to see if they need to pay relocation or not, lady, if they can't afford to relocate me, they won't afford to give me a raise (or even pay what I ask of them). So please have them remove me from the potential employee list if that is the case. Also, if some business is described by "black owned" , that is racist. You're not promoting them using their skills, their experience. You're promoting them by being "black owned". If i did the same with a "white owned" company i'd be flagged as racist, nazi and a handful of other slurs.
also...make sure your email is a grown up one - hotsexxylips69@gmail.com is going to get you noticed for the wrong reasons.
Certain items are really opposite to what I know about resumes. I used to hire people and went through hundreds of them, read many tips and instructions and had many successful applications with my own resume and helped my friends draw up theirs, so: 1. No 2. Very specific, but generally No 3. Yes 4. Yes, yes, yes 5. No 6. Specific 7. Definitely yes 8. This can be achieved through a cover letter though. Bonus tip: No. Just in case someone wanted my opinion )))))))
Your desire to be helpful is appreciated, but I'd write that out again with references, not numbers, so we know what you are talking about.
Load More Replies... Tips for recruiters: Before you request a graduation date, I ask you this: Is the degree truly needed to be successful at the job for which it's required? Will experience suffice? If transcripts aren't required then a degree shouldn't be either. Stop leaving out underserved people because they don't have a degree but are just as qualified. You're the gatekeeper here. Do your part to elevate equitable practices. Post the salary/salary range. Evidence shows that withholding this information leads to income gaps amongst women/POC and their opposites, because women and POC are less likely to negotiate. Companies actually have a better candidate pool when they disclose the salary. Be transparent. Hold your clients to DEI. Don't accept postings without it.
This is information readily available in any simple “resume tips” search and is nothing new. The cover letter perspective is confusing since most recruiters or job applications request cover letters. Do you really want to be that one person who skipped it although it was requested? If they don’t want a cover letter they should stop asking for one!
Welp, my resume has two pages, yes TWO, and the only thing I was getting when I was looking for a job, was that the company's were able to see, that it's not hard for me to do new things, as well it's not taking lots of time to adapt. So I'm kinda 50/50 on keeping your resume on one page
And maybe do a spell check? There are plenty of spelling errors in this thread.
I started saving last.first.resume or cover letter but I should do PdF next time. True about the address, it is no longer needed - but consider if you want to work somwhere with multiple locations. One of my old jobs told me when I inquired about future work they are doing better at location placement so they did not placemin wage employees in beat up cars across town. But I could get around my address with telling them my preferred locations - but in my case it is a regional company (so semi-small) I worked many years for them prior they can have my address. I think I should redo description, too. it gets repetitive as it is the same thing and they understand what each desciption means. I also have my WPM, comouter skills, and certifictaetes on top. No pen,|habdwriting. Black, size 12 basic font, full words, no short hand. If you're well past graduation don't put it on there. They don't need to know your age and use it against you. Maybe for current-2 years post graduation.
I've interviewed hundreds of people. This article is dead on accurate.
It irks me when people write 'Resume' or 'Curriculum Vitae' as a big heading on the document. To me it's akin to writing the word 'envelope' on an envelope. If it contains your details, work history & education then you don't need to waste space on the page explaining what it is.
Never put your PHOTO on it. They don’t need to see your face. They need to see what you’ve done and can do for them.
Using AI as a tool! As an oldie and once a recruitment administrator, it was impossible to accept a resume. A completed application form was required. And after 25+ years I will now own up to something - and I have no regrets. Requests for application forms were left on an answering machine. If anyone left a message asking for a form for job number so and so for the post of Clerk/Typist but pronounced clerk in the American way, I somehow lost all those requests.
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