No matter what the job market looks like, one of the key components in your toolbox is a well-crafted resume. If you’re not getting calls for interviews, the first place to look is your resume. Unfortunately, resume red flags could be sabotaging your job search without your even realizing it. Let’s change that and get you back on track by pointing out what could be taking you down the wrong path as well as how you can fix these errors to start creating better results.
Here are the 10 most common resume red flags I see when reviewing resumes:
1. Your Resume Reads Like a Job Description
Sure, you need to look at the job description of the position to which you’re applying to update your resume appropriately, but what you don’t want is your resume to look like it is a job description! Hiring managers don’t want to see a list of responsibilities; they want to see what you did and how well you did it. If your resume has a laundry list of bullet points that start with “responsible for” (the bane of my existence!), it’s time for an upgrade.
The Fix: Start each position with a three- to five-line paragraph of your overall job scope and follow that with bulleted accomplishments that start with the results you delivered and how you achieved them.
2. Your Contact Information Is Holding You Back
Does your email address connote your age? If it includes your birth year or is an AOL email, you’re not effectively hiding the fact that you’re a more mature employee. Likewise, don’t use that cutesy college email address (you might not get the response you want with [email protected]). Listing two phone numbers and a full street address are two other resume red flags.
The Fix: Your contact information should include city and state, mobile phone number, professional email address, and custom LinkedIn URL. Don’t label any of it.
3. You Lead with an Objective Statement
We stopped using objective statements on resumes when we flipped the calendars to the 21st century. No joke. If you are telling readers that you’re “Seeking a challenging position in a dynamic company…” it’s time to let it go.
The Fix: Delete the outdated objective in lieu of a targeted job title. That will be followed by a concise summary that highlights exactly how you fulfill the requirements of the position.
4. Your Resume Is a Novel
One or two pages are typically a sufficient amount of space to highlight your qualifications and the value you can provide to a potential employer. Occasionally, three pages will work just fine, but beyond that is just too much.
The Fix: Focus on the last 10–15 years and how your experience relates to the position to which you’re applying. Keep job scopes to 3–5 lines and accomplishment bullets to one short sentence. Remove superfluous information.
5. The Language Is Overused
Hiring managers and recruiters consider too many buzzwords to be one of those obvious resume red flags. Phrases such as “results oriented,” “proven ability to. . .,” “proven track record,” and “detail oriented” are very overused and, honestly, don’t say a lot.
The Fix: Stick to specific information and give examples of how you’ve done these things rather than using flowery language.
6. Your Formatting Is a Hot Mess
It’s fun to have a design that catches readers’ attention, but as with anything (especially in resumes) too much is too much. Your resume should be easy to scan quickly, and the important stuff should pop out and easily showcase the value you can provide.
The Fix: More than anything, be consistent. Use a simple font with consistent spacing a decent amount of white space. Make your name and section headers larger so they stand out.
7. The Resume Doesn’t Parse Well (If at All) into ATS
In today’s world, most companies leverage applicant tracking systems (ATS) to parse and store resumes. Certainly, your ultimate audience is a person, but you need to ensure your resume gets to them with a clean layout and the right information.
The Fix: Use standard headings, avoid anything too fancy (text boxes, tables, charts, graphs, images, and columns can create issues for parsing), build the resume in Word, and submit as Word or PDF. Skip Adobe or Canva.
8. Your Resume Isn’t in Reverse Chronological Order
Back before ATS was de rigueur, applicants could choose different approaches to better market themselves to employers, but today, anything other than a reverse chronological approach sparks some serious resume red flags.
The Fix: Avoid functional or combination resumes and, instead, keep to a straightforward reverse chronological order. That means your current or most recent position is first, moving backwards—in order—from there.
9. You Don’t Have an Up-to-Date Resume
Many of the resumes I review appear to have been written in the 2000s—or earlier—and haven’t changed much since then. In some cases, they still include positions from the 1980s, which certainly isn’t positioning you for success.
The Fix: It’s smart to review and update your resume at least once a year, even when you’re not in the midst of a job search. This provides you the opportunity to add new accomplishments, certifications, and skills.
10. Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile Aren’t Aligned
Whether you provide your LinkedIn profile URL on your resume or not, employers will look you up there. And when they see information that doesn’t jibe with what’s on your resume, chalk that up as another of the resume red flags.
The Fix: While you don’t have to mirror your resume on LinkedIn, they should absolutely complement each other and provide the same basic information, such as dates, experience, and education.
Avoid Resume Red Flags to Improve Success Rates
Certainly, a resume is not the end-all, be-all when it comes to your job search, but it can play a big role in your success. The goal is to avoid these common resume red flags so that, when your resume is in competition with hundreds of others, yours will make it through. Remember, though, that your best approach is not just to rely on your resume. Instead, create a comprehensive strategy that includes proactive outreach, LinkedIn engagement, networking, and leveraging your connections. But you should still have a great resume at the ready when you need one.
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