Career Pros Share Resume “No-No’s”

The impact of a good resume is truly immeasurable and can translate into positive outcomes for job seekers, including shortened job searches, higher employment, or increased salaries.

In comparison, the impact of a poorly written resume is the same, but with damaging results  long, frustrated job searches…no interview calls… and missed opportunities.

As a Master Certified Resume Strategist at Career Impressions, I see a lot of red flags or “no-no’s” in resumes that generate poor outcomes for job seekers. To help job seekers avoid job search frustration I asked 5 prominent Canadian resume writers – and members of Career Professionals of Canada  – to share common resume red flags along with advice on how to rectify them.

The Wrong File Type

“There are multiple problems with using an unacceptable file type for your resume, including that the file may not open properly on a hiring manager’s computer, the text within the file may be difficult to read, or the file will not be “scannable” by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).  In one particular case, I saw a client’s resume written in an Excel file with dense text and sections that were cut off by cells that were not large enough.Resumes should always be presented as either a Word or PDF file. I recommend Word files for anyone applying for jobs online.  PDF files work well for networking resumes. Recruiters want to see creativity, but straying too far from the norm with an odd file type could mean immediate elimination.”  – Jennifer Miller of Professional Edge Resumes 

Discrepancies Between Career Tools

“A big red flag for me is when I uncover discrepancies between a client’s existing resume and their LinkedIn profile. One of my clients’ resume showed a different job title (HR Manager) for her current job versus the title of Director of HR on her LinkedIn profile. As well, there were conflicts regarding when she started with the current company (2012 vs 2015 – that’s quite a wide margin). Lastly, the resume showed a career gap which was only explained on her LinkedIn profile. Why are these contrasts a red flag? They cast doubt in the mind of the potential employer and possibly could be the sole reason why an applicant is quickly rejected. The fix is easy. Tell the truth and always update both your resume and any online profiles (social media or personal websites) at the same time. Show the authentic you, not who you think you should be (as in altering job titles) or who you were (five years ago when you last updated your online profile).”  – Brenda Collard-Mills of Robust Resumes and Resources 

Mistakes, Mistruths, or Outright Lies

“From my experience as a Certified Resume Strategist, the most serious resume red flag is the job seeker not telling the whole truth or discrepancies in dates, certifications, degrees, gaps, or omitting of relevant information. This is a serious misdemeanor that can lead to the candidate being excluded from the interview selection process or terminated if the falsified information is ever uncovered by the employer upon hiring. Job seekers need to tell the absolute truth and present all areas of the resume as honestly and accurately as possible”. – Lori Jazvac of Creative Horizons Communications 

Too General, Generic, or Vague

“Many, many job seekers believe that they can submit a general, one-size-fits-all resume for any opportunity whatsoever.  A returning client of mine wanted to know if his existing Stonemason resume (the one I wrote for him in 2010) would qualify him for a Technical Trainee job with a large-city transit operation. He was surprised to find out that his resume – as it currently stands – would never “make the short list” because the hiring decision-maker won’t take the time to connect his Stonemason experience with his technical attributes. Instead, job seekers should locate actual job postings they wish to apply for, list the actual job title (and – where applicable – the Job ID # that needs to be quoted) on their resume and cover letter, and customize their skills and abilities according to the job posting qualifications.  If a job seeker doesn’t feel confident in their ability to do this or feels overwhelmed by this herculean task, they are more than welcome to seek out a CPC member for assistance.”  – Marian Bernard of The Regency Group

Stories that Miss the Mark

“Lately, job-seekers are attempting to put value in their documents by using the recently popular trend of career-storytelling in place of the objective statement.  When used correctly, career-storytelling on a resume has great value. However, the concept behind storytelling is increasingly becoming misunderstood. Career storytelling isn’t about long and wordy statements or dense paragraphs. It is about putting your accomplishments into context by specifying the challenges you faced and how you successfully overcame them. It is about anchoring your resume with quantifiable results that reinforce your credibility.Just telling a story isn’t enough – you need high impact SAR (situation, action, result) statements that outline the strategic impact you have previously made in your industry…like: “Launched company-wide beta test for an Associate Sales Program that fostered profitable customer accounts and grew revenue from $4.5M to $12M in 18 months.”At the end of the day, job seekers need to remember that resume storytelling isn’t about writing a book. Write short and concise accomplishment statements in your qualifications summary and throughout your resume that take an employer through the strategic impact you can bring to them.” – Skye Berry-Burke of Skye is the Limit Resume and Career Solutions

Job seekers – keep in mind that although some approaches are not acceptable, there is truly no one way or right way to compile a resume – just resume best practices (which these red flags don’t fall into). Always qualify resume advice from an established, certified career professional.

– Adrienne Tom is a Master Certified Resume Strategist with Career Professionals of Canada.