Filling a job vacancy usually involves sorting through hundreds of resumes before deciding which candidate to interview. The problem is that most hiring managers only spend a few seconds looking at a resume before moving on to the next. This can lead to interviewing unqualified candidates, a process that wastes time and builds frustration.
The fact is that it takes more than a few seconds to really understand a candidate. However, if you don’t have time to spend 10 minutes on every resume, it’s vital to at least use those precious seconds to weed out the wrong candidates. Learn about several of the most telling resume mistakes and red flags to watch for so you reduce the time you spend pursuing the wrong candidate.
1. Grammatical Mistakes
There are several common grammatical resume mistakes, including the following:
● Incorrect verb usage and punctuation
● Verbosity and/or run-on sentences
● Misuse of homonyms (e.g. to, two, and too; then and than)
Grammatical and spelling mistakes on a resume are extremely telling. The reason may be lack of motivation, laziness, or poor language skills, depending on the candidate. Regardless of the reason, grammatical mistakes indicate a jobseeker who is not right for the job.
2. Lack of Content and Organization
Before even looking at the details of job history and education, you can learn things about the candidate from the organization of the resume. Are some of the work experience entries missing dates? Is the education section incomplete? These can indicate someone who may be trying to hide something or simply lacks good professional judgment.
You should also look out for too much of the wrong kind of content. According to MightyRecruiter, use of crazy or distracting fonts, graphics, colors, or non-standard templates is not a good sign. Likewise, excessive information about personal interests or details not related to the job can indicate a person without enough career experience or someone who doesn’t have a solid understanding of a professional environment.
3. No Career Progression
A qualified candidate should show a clear career progression of moving up the corporate ladder and gaining more professional responsibility. A candidate with a stagnant career history or a string of short jobs at multiple companies is most likely not a qualified candidate worthy of pursuit.