Did You Find at Least 21 Errors . . .

When a job is advertised, a hiring manager will receive an average of 600 to 800 resumes. Giving each resume about 20 to 30 seconds for a preliminary review, each error found increases the chance that James will not be considered a viable candidate.

By learning from James' mistakes, you will know how to craft a better resume for yourself, one that gives hiring mangers what they are looking for.

Resume Challenge #1 - If you haven't already done so, take resume challenge #1. It will show you a different set of success factors that impress hiring managers.

Get your own professional resume assessment, at no charge, and benefit from the same kind of professional critique in resume challenge #1 and #2. You can see how this kind of information is invaluable to your resume's improvement.

Job hopping

Too many jobs in a short period of time. Employers and recruiters do not trust this type of job seeker and do not want to be the next employer on the resume next year. This job seeker recognizes that he's had too many jobs but all of them were either not his fault or he moved.

This job seeker will explain the circumstances of each position and why he moved at the interview. What he doesn't know is that he won't get the interview because of this lethal defect!

Job Hopping? Through no fault of their own, many job seekers evolve a resume that makes them look like a job hopper. Employers and recruiters look for this and are quick to blame the job seeker as an unstable worker. This label can vanish with proper formatting, structuring and combinational techniques. A job seeker does not have to live with this resume defect. Other job seekers apologetically explain why they left and give plausible reasons.

Industry sector changing

Notice the government agency this job seeker worked for? Sector changes, i.e. public to private sector, academic / research to private sector, military to non-defense private industry, etc. does not work in the resume. His experience in the public sector goes back some years, but the 'stigma' lives on, albeit at a lower level.

His public sector experience can be 'translated' or re-communicated, showing his transportable talents and not his sector-specific experience.

Sector Changing from the military, academic or public sector to the private sector? Sorry, but the private sector does not value the experience in other sectors. No disrespect. Employers tend to hire within their own culture, similar to marriages, and both have exceptions. Camouflaging the sector to showcase his transferable skills and background is the most successful approach in marketing his talents. Another exemption: executives in the military are recruited by large employers for their leadership and management experience.

Unrelated jobs

This job seeker is showing that he is working outside his career path, probably an interim position. The choices for the job seeker: Either show that he's not working, a major defect, or show that he is, but out of his career. He chose the less destructive, but there is a 'perfect' solution.

He's showing his resourcefulness and strong work ethic but employers and recruiters tend to be apathetic because of the talent glut.

Unrelated Job Common in many careers is working outside the established career path for a variety of reasons: 1.) The industry-specific local economy has eroded and jobs have vanished; 2.) immediate financial needs required accelerated employment; 3.) or a new job opportunity failed to meet expectations. These aberrations corrupt a resume and distort the all-important theme, causing confusion and even concern by the employer or recruiter. Exclusion of the unrelated job creates a gap — another impediment. Trading off weaknesses does not resolve the defect. There are ways to correct this unrelated job issue without introducing another weakness.

Consultant

Consultants are not desirable as full-time, permanent employees. To prevent disqualification, his consultancy engagement(s) should be re-cast to remove this type of halo.

To resolve this issue, several solutions are available including changing the title.

Consultants Consultants, contractors and free-lancers are at a great disadvantage when searching for full-time, permanent employment. These job seekers are assignment / engagement driven, have a different mind set and exhibit a different culture. It is not necessary to diminish employability with this type of employment status. Employers and recruiters are disinclined to hire this type of job seeker for several reasons: They tend to be independent, albeit nomadic, and accustomed to high compensation; project flow may not be sufficient to maintain continuous interest; and they exhibit entrepreneurial attributes.

Size of employer

This job seeker has only work for small organizations but his direction is to work for a large, multi-national employer. Including information about his previous employers can backfire.

Reference to size, in this case, of employers should be removed.

Small employer versus large employer Small employers will hire large employer experienced job seekers but large employers will resist hiring job seekers with small employer experience. Culturally, the small employer believes that they can utilize the large employer mentality in the hopes of becoming a large, or larger, employer. In contrast, the large employer has no to little interest in the small employer job seeker unless the job seeker has a specific, well-defined skill unavailable anywhere else.

Immigrated to the US?

Immigrating to the US can put a job seeker at a disadvantage. Employers and recruiters hire within their own culture. To remove this weakness sounds impossible.

To level the playing field, the immigration halo can be removed.

Immigrant? Because employers and recruiters hire within their own americanized culture, immigrated job seekers need to circumvent this disqualification. Hiring authorities also question communication skills, fearing that the job seeker will be unable to thrive in an alien environment. This unfair disadvantage and bias can be dissolved, and successfully, but extreme care must be applied. Educational credentials and employers from other countries need to be examined and changed. To "push the envelope" more, a name, under certain circumstances, can also be changed if the country of origin is reflected in a resume. A resume is not a legal document and, as such, a middle name can be used if it's more Americanized; a nickname can be used. Other more creative options are also available.
Alternatively, if a job seeker wants to leverage international, multilingual and multicultural experience for a US-based employer with global operations, the reverse approach would be applied.

Names of employers

Names of employers often reflect their industry, to the detriment of the job seeker. Why should a job seekers be disqualified because (s)he worked for industry-specific employers, different from a new career path?

To prevent disqualification, somehow the employer 'names' need to be changed.

Names of Employers Employer names gives a typecasting, industry-specific effect, which reduces marketability for opportunities in other industries. There are ways, some very creative, to change an employer's name, essentially circumventing the industry disqualifier effect used by employers and recruiters. Many options are available but caution is in order

Advertising for the employer

Details of an employer in a resume displaces valuable job seeker information and only serves to advertise for the employer. Some employer information can be useful but it can also typecast a job seeker.

The type of industry a job seeker is targeting will affect the amount of information to be included, if at all.

Employer Advertisement To use valuable resume real estate to describe an employer in detail is deflecting the purpose of the resume: It’s a marketing piece that showcases the talents and abilities of a job seeker. Proper balancing is in order but overdoing it can weaken the resume, and even pigeon-hole the job seeker.

Resume oversights

How do you remember something you forgot? Exclusion of experience that would bolster a resume is illogical and costly in terms of career progression. In this job seeker's resume, he managed the entire office start-up and succeeded under budget. This skill, unknown to him, is desirable by any expanding employer. But, he forgot; because he didn't believe it was that important.

Record keeping and safekeeping of evaluations, reference letters, awards, accolades and kudos are a prerequisite.

Oversights Human-error can happen but overlooking important components of skill sets will weaken a resume. Recollection of important employment events can be difficult and forgetfulness is unforgiving. Inattentiveness to this most important marketing piece will only cause frustration. Keep records and organize your thoughts continuously. The rewards are substantial

Didn't get the credit?

For one of his employers, the job seeker assisted an Operations Director achieve goals beyond expectations, but was never given credit, which, by the way, directly relates to his career path. It doesn't matter, even with a rigorous reference check.

Credibility and honesty will overarch these unfair attributions.

Didn't get the credit? It doesn't matter that credit for an achievement was not formally acknowledged. If an idea was conceived and implemented, (s)he can take the credit; if a boss grabbed all the credit for his or her hard work, (s)he should take the credit; or if the job seeker found a brilliant solution to a complex problem in a team environment, again, (s)he should take the credit. The explanation at the interview will validate the story. Conversely, be careful not to take credit when it's not due.

Graduation date on resume

There are no graduation dates in this job seeker's resume. He was told not to put in dates.

This can backfire: Employers and recruiters will believe that an age issue is being camouflaged, yet he's a perfect age!

Graduation Date There has been an irrational trend lately to exclude dates from education, which can backfire for job seekers who are at a perfect, or near perfect, age. Imagine a young job seeker who excludes the date of a degree but is disqualified because the potential employer believed that age was camouflaged. In contrast, if age is a factor, then the graduation date should be excluded. However, for job seekers who received degrees non-traditionally, albeit later in life, the date can be included if it camouflages the true age, and makes the job seeker younger.

Resume personality

The resume is almost lifeless, no theme, no continuity, disjointed, and difficult to 'connect the dots'. Like an ad that is well crafted, a resume can be exciting. Although the resume structure / format is somewhat appealing, interest is lost in the sea of defects.

Once the multiple errors are removed and a resume infrastructure is established, then layers of experiences, skills, achievements and other components of his unique background can crystallize. It'll be an interesting 'story' with a 'plot'.

Personality Most resumes are one-dimensional, somewhat amorphous, with no personality or life. An obituary-styled resume will undersell a job seeker and not present his or her unique configuration of skills, abilities, talents, credentials and talents. Remember it's as difficult to know what to include as it is to know what to exclude. The objective is to arouse curiosity and interest to generate an interview invitation. Offering too much resume information will extinguish any questions; offering too little information will cause confusion. A resume can be interesting and engaging, but not obtuse. Also, consider including unusual avocational achievements, athletic accomplishments, or expertise in a unique area. Be creative and bold, but careful.

Employer repetition

Employer repetition is unnecessary. Designed properly, this issue is resolved, saving valuable resume real estate and making it more appealing. Combining positions is one option that can also give the effect of longer experience in the more important position.

Primarily a design issue, other factors can be considered.

Repeating Employers Unnecessary to repeat an employer in a resume, even though there are multiple positions. Save this resume real estate for more important information. Try a different design or presentation, or try combining some of the positions.

Repetition of resume words

Notice the Operations Director has 3 "Developed" in a row. This does not make the resume interesting. Other words are available in our rich English language to convey powerful messages.

The Thesaurus may be a good place to start. From there, other ideas will germinate.

Repeating Words Repeating words weaken a resume and it should be corrected. If you struggle in this area, or if your vocabulary is limited to an industry sphere, a resume can have "life" by using more interesting words. The English language is full of exciting words; try using some different or unusual words to "spice up" your resume. Do not confuse this with embellishment or a "flowery" approach. It does make a difference: It would make a resume interesting and it will set you apart from your competitors. Using a dictionary or a Thesaurus can help, but be sure the meaning nuances fits your style.

Non-degreed?

Non-degreed job seekers are unfairly rejected by employers and recruiters to make the 'weeding out' process easier. Ever hear of Bill Gates? Bill Gates is non-degreed. So, now the emphasis is on your talents and abilities, not your weaknesses. Isn't that what a marketing piece is all about?

There are enlightened employers who recognize non-degreed talent. In fact, non-degreed talent can be more advantageous: They know that perseverance and hands-on developed skills displaced the educational deficiency. They also know that educational credentials can be over-rated and leveraged by untalented job seekers.

Non-Degreed? Certifications, courses, workshops, seminars and other educational programs can be used to deflect the non-degree appearance. Yes, there are employers that value hands-on experience and realize that a formal degree is not the only indicator of competence, skill and intellect.

References

References should not be included in a resume. References should only be proffered when a mutual interest has been established.

Keep in contact with your references. They are your allies.

References Reference information should never be included in a resume. This information is confidential and could sour with over-usage. References, as a rule, are always happy to provide information, sometimes laudatory. But, if too many reference checks are made with the same reference, the enthusiastic response is lost, and lost forever. So protect references and cherish their responses for those important job opportunities.

Salary

Salary history or expectations should not be included in a resume. The resume is reserved to promote your talents.

Requests for salary is a delicate situation and should be handled accordingly.

Salary Salary in a resume is taboo and a no-win situation: It's either too high or too low, and it's confidential until salary negotiations are underway. When posting a resume online, there usually are fields for salary history and expectations. However, posted resume should not contain salary information.

Resume typos

There are 2 typos in this job seeker's resume. Did you find them? Typos are human-error issues and none of us escape.

In the resume, 'planning' was spelled as 'planing' — both of which pass the spell-check test. The other typo was '6 month' which should be '6 months'.

Typographical errors Inexcusable with the advent of spell check, but it lives on. Human error creeps in and our eyes play tricks on us. We have found errors on billboards, TV ads, expensive marketing brochures, and, yes, even the dictionary where an 'i' was masquerading as a '1'. Some are almost invisible, such as Power Point or PowerPoint (both misspelled; should be PowerPoint); PC's should be PCs (many people confuse plural with possessive); or Manger for Manager (both are words that escape spell check detection). What is the difference between principal and principle, capital and capitol, or compliment and complement? These human errors can aggregate and disqualify the job seeker. Reliance on spell check helps but people mistake it as the perfect tool. It's close, but it will accept the incorrect word out of context even if the word is correctly spelled.

Concurrent jobs

Notice the overlapping jobs, 2002/3 - 2004. Wasn't he satisfied with his employer? This causes confusion and questioning of dual-employment. When your disqualified, you will not have a chance to explain why you worked both jobs.

Both jobs can be included! But with a different and much more effective approach.

Concurrent Jobs Holding more than one job can be impressive — resourceful with a strong work ethic. This usually backfires in a resume: Which employer is the job seeker disloyal to? To circumvent this, the second job can be included but in a more creative fashion.

Multiple degrees

In this job seeker's resume, he has a degree but he did not state it because it's known by a different name. It's equivalent to a Bachelor's degree. In fact, he's has a Master's 'equivalent' degree. He actually has multiple degrees but it's unclear.

Better is to 'risk' Americanizing his degrees which can be explained at the interview.

Multiple Degrees If a job seeker has a Bachelor's degree, most of the time (s)he does not need to include an Associate's degree, unless (s)he wants to show another related discipline that is aligned with a present career path. Or, if (s)he excelled academically in the Associate's degree program, it would be advisable to include the GPA to show consistent, long-term academic success. High school diplomas should not be included in a resume even if non-degreed. Of course, advanced degrees beyond the Bachelor's level should always be included. If age is a factor, it can include the date of the latest degree but exclude the date for the previous degree. Consistency rules do not apply if age hints would weaken a resume.

Resume exclusions

This job seeker excluded his high GPA because he thought it was irrelevant. Thousands of examples could be made. Before excluding information, re-analyze it and give it reconsideration.

He also was Vice President of a large charitable organization. Including it would show leadership and even give more 'personality' to the resume.

Exclusions It’s as difficult to know what to include in a resume as it is to know what to exclude. Many job seekers will, for instance, exclude a high GPA, believing that it’s too old to state. Although perspectives on this vary, we believe that intellectual level is always impressive, validated by an outstanding academic achievement. Using very few characters, why not include it? Other examples are professional athletes who change careers and believe that their experience is irrelevant. These experiences bolster the resume — even though it doesn't’t directly relate to the new career path. An infinite array of examples abound and subjective judgment is prejudiced.

Would you like to try again? Resume Challenge #1 will help you learn even more success factors that impress hiring managers.