The Résumé Mistake That Could Cost You Big

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The majority of hiring managers say they spend less than one minute reviewing each résumé they receive. So, how do you make sure yours doesn't end up in the recycling bin? First, make sure you don't make any mistakes. According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, silly résumé mistakes are the quickest way to get passed over for a job, even if you're the perfect candidate.

There are many things that might prevent you from getting the job, but none are more frustrating to hiring managers than simple typos on a candidate's résumé. More than 60 percent of hiring managers in the survey said that they would automatically dismiss a candidate when seeing typos in their résumé. 

While typos were overwhelmingly the biggest problem area for hiring managers, 41 percent also said they would dismiss résumés from candidates if they copied large amounts of wording from the posting and put it into their résumé. Other reasons for ruling out a candidate included:

• Résumés with an inappropriate email address.
• Résumés that don't include a list of skills.
• Résumés that are more than two pages long.
• Résumés printed on decorative paper.
• Résumés that detail more tasks than results for previous positions.
• Résumés that include a photo.
• Résumés that have large blocks of text with little white space.

Even though those mistakes may not seem dramatic, the research found that even the smallest mistake is enough to automatically disqualify job candidates from a position.   

[Job Hunters Beware: Don't Make the Following Résumé Mistakes]

"One-in-five HR managers reported that they spend less than 30 seconds reviewing applications and around 40 percent spend less than one minute," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.  "It's a highly competitive job market and you have to clearly demonstrate how your unique skills and experience are relevant and beneficial to that particular employer. We see more people using infographics, QR codes and visual résumés to package their information in new and interesting ways."

The information in this research was based on the responses of more than 2,298 hiring managers from across the country.

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