Applying for jobs is never an easy process. With technology, finding and submitting job applications is getting easier, but it has also led to more competition. As a result, most job openings are flooded with applicants: the average job posting receives 250 responses, and only about five of them get asked to interview.
Keeping up with the massive flow of candidates requires an efficient review process. As a solution, much of the job screening process is now automated. Still, even when a person is reviewing applications, they are spending on average less than ten seconds on each applicant before making a decision.
With so little time spent on each application, hiring managers are looking for quick and easy reasons to discard a candidate and reduce the pool. Resume mistakes are one of the quickest ways to be eliminated from consideration. For candidates that want to break through and get their resume seen, avoid these seven resume mistakes that HR departments will not tolerate in the new year.
Ignoring the application instructions
An easy starting point for staying on track is to follow the instructions that you’re given. Hiring managers put a lot of thought into creating application processes, and each component is there for a reason. Resume mistakes such as leaving fields blank or not following instructions could lead to immediate dismissal.
Making sloppy mistakes
Almost every hiring manager says that careless resume mistakes like spelling errors, typos, or punctuation mixups are the cause for immediate dismissal. These mistakes indicate a lack of attention to detail, which signals a lack of interest or care for the work that you are submitting, and are a bad sign for the work you might produce as an employee.
Inconsistent wording
Another common resume mistake is inconsistent wording. It’s best to start bullets describing your experience with verbs to highlight your actions. Since readers are skimming resumes, you want to put the most important part of each bullet in the first five words or so, and keep bullets from being too long.
Forgetting keywords
Your main goal as a job applicant is to convince the company why you would be a valuable addition to their team. To do so, you have to be specific and make sure to use the keywords in the job description — this will help you beat ATS systems as well.
Focusing on responsibilities not results
A common mistake made in writing resumes is to focus on the duties of each job. The result is that the resume reads like a series of job descriptions, which doesn’t tell a hiring manager more than they already know from your title. Instead of listing the tasks that you performed in a given role, focus on what you achieved in that role: show, don’t tell.
Oversharing
If HR is only spending about six or seven seconds on an application, they don’t have time to read much. Though it may be tempting to include as many details and experiences as possible, it is much better to keep it brief. Resumes should be no more than two pages and usually just one is best.
Getting too creative
Though you want to make sure that you distinguish yourself with your application, you also don’t want to get too crazy. It’s a question of balance and consistency, and your experience accomplishments should be the focus of your application, rather than flashy formatting or fonts.
There’s no question that the job application process is competitive and complicated. Every company is looking for something different, and there is no easy formula for success. However, using these seven tips, you can avoid some of the most common application errors. Avoiding these distracting resume mistakes will keep the focus on the expertise and abilities that you bring to the role, and keep you in the hiring pipeline until you get the perfect offer.