Recruiters’ Biggest Complaint About Applicant Resumes

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Q: I know you also do HR Consulting. What’s the biggest dissatisfier that you hear about from companies when it comes to recruiting?

A: I was recently speaking with the Head of Talent Acquisition for a major tech company, and she confirmed something that I hear all of the time from my corporate clients and contacts. Recruiters are inundated with resumes that make it perfectly clear the applicant has not researched the role or company. 

In this specific conversation, my colleague was sharing how frustrated she was that a very qualified candidate – someone that her team really had an interest in – had turned in a generic set of job search documents that didn’t even address specific requests outlined in the job posting. She echoed a sentiment that I have shared on this blog before: the application process is a potential employee’s first deliverable and this candidate – because of lack of attention or ego – had not met some basic expectations. As a result, she was not going to pursue this candidate any further; an unfortunate outcome for both parties. 

Target your documents toward each specific position, research the company to which you are applying, and make sure you are addressing the specific requirements outlined in a requisition. If you don’t, you might miss out on a great opportunity even if you are perfectly qualified for the position.

Not Including an Address on Your Resume

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Q: I am not comfortable putting my address on my resume. Is it okay if I leave it off? 

A: Whether or not you list an address on your resume is completely up to you. However, not listing your address could make it more difficult to get considered for positions. Here is why: 

• Not including an address will leave many readers to believe that you are not a local candidate, which – with many positions still receiving a glut of clearly local candidates – could be a big hurdle to overcome. 

• As old-school as it may sound, a physical address adds a level of credibility to your resume. 

• Many screening systems will automatically reject or “red flag” resumes that don’t include an address. That means your resume might not even make it through the system. 

If you can stomach it, include your full physical address. If your simply too uncomfortable with that, consider at least listing your city, state / province, and postal code. This compromise at least lets readers know that you are a local candidate without fully disclosing your address. 

For readers who are omitting an address because your are not a local candidate, check out these tips for communicating to an employer that you are willing to relocate.

Achievements vs. Responsibilities on a Resume

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Q. I get it. I am supposed to only speak to achievements on my resume. The problem is, how does the reader know what my responsibilities were?

A. Given that speaking to achievements is about as close to a "silver bullet" as there is when it comes to creating an effective resume, I am glad to hear that the message is coming through loud and clear. I am also glad that you asked your question, because I think a lot of readers probably share that concern.

Firstly, you don't have to completely eschew speaking to responsibilities. I think it is a great idea to include a brief overview of each position that speaks to your highest level responsibilities in a position.

Having said that, there is a bit of an error in your question because it assumes that achievements do not communicate responsibilities. That could not be further from the case. Let's use the role of Corporate IT Manager as an example. Here is a straight-forward responsibility:

• Manage vendor relationships and negotiate vendor contracts.

Now let's see an associated accomplishment (from a very impressive Corporate IT Manager I recently worked with):

• Achieved 60% cost reduction for wired Internet services across all sites by negotiating more cost effective broadband contracts.

See how that achievement makes it perfectly clear that the candidate was responsible for managing vendor relationships and negotiating vendor contracts. I mean, how could she have achieved that cost reduction if negotiating vendor contracts wasn't part of her role? 

As you develop your resume, keep this is in mind. People hiring for a position will have a pretty good handle on the requirements for that role, so don't waste critical space speaking just to responsibilities. Instead, tell readers specifically how you have performed those duties by speaking to clear, specific achievements.

How Do I Say "I'm the Best" on My Resume?

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Q. I want readers to know that I am the best. I want to tell them I'm awesome and that they would be crazy not to hire me. How do I do that?

A. Short answer: Don't tell, influence.

Long answer: Your question makes it clear that you already understand that you can't simply say "I'm awesome." Readers' eyes would roll so far back in their heads that they'd have to go out on benefits. 

Your only real option is to influence readers to come to their own conclusion that you are awesome. And that is achieved by speaking to clear, specific achievements. Tell readers about the awesome things that you have accomplished and the awesome ways in which you made a positive impact on your past employers, and they will decide for themselves that you are awesome.

This may seem like an over-the-top question, but it's not. Desperation brings people to say a lot of ineffective things on their resumes. Resist the urge to blurt out superlative statements.

You Wouldn’t Be in the Top 50% of Applicants…

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I recently received an email from a client who was applying for positions via LinkedIn. Despite being extremely qualified for the roles, he was receiving the following message: “You wouldn’t be in the top 50% of applicants for this job.”

Because I know that many other Premium LinkedIn users are receiving the same alarming message when applying via LinkedIn, I thought I would share what I told this client:

1. LinkedIn’s main goal is to gather as much information from you as possible. Remember, you are the product. Fear-basing the application process is a perfect opportunity for them to extract more information. 

2. LinkedIn’s analysis is not a company’s automated screening system. This analysis is, as far as I can determine, not being shared with potential employers and is not related to those employers internal screening process. That alone should bring much relief.

3. The very premise of LinkedIn’s application analysis is that your profile uniquely match a specific position. Because you can’t target your profile toward each specific position, it would then suggest that you either pursue a very narrow range of positions or that you have a profile that speaks to every potential opportunity and industry, which would make your profile a bloated, unfocused mess.

4. Your profile is not the only thing an employer will see. Most potential employers are not going to solely evaluate you based on your LinkedIn profile. Your resume and cover letter, which you are targeting toward each specific position, will hold significantly more weight than your LinkedIn profile.

5. The criteria LinkedIn are evaluating don’t really speak to qualifications. This is a biggie. For one, they are evaluating the extent of your network (and probably weighing that heavily!). They are also evaluating your time of application, which is not something you can do much about and is almost certainly less critical than they make it out to be.

6. The evaluation of “skills” is not dynamic. Here’s the thing, if LinkedIn is suggesting skills that you have but have not included on your profile, include them (you can add up to 50, so you still have to be strategic). However, in the case of this client – a brilliant software development executive – LinkedIn was suggesting keywords like Construction Management. A background in Construction Management might make this client an incredibly unique fit when developing software solutions for a construction company, but it is highly unlikely that it is a key qualification for an SDLC executive.

Feedback is great, but you’ve got to consider the source and be mindful of motivations. If you don’t, every comment and piece of advice – regardless of merit – will shake your confidence and have you questioning yourself.

Does Overlapping Experience Look Bad on a Resume?

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I’ll be very honest, most potential employers will be freaked out by overlapping experience, especially if you are showing freelance experience overlapping with your full time employment. It is easy to understand why; a reader will see that you have a side hustle and think, “either this applicant isn’t going to be able to give us 100% or they are just going to leave once they get this freelance gig off the ground.”

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t show “side” experience if it is directly relevant and bolsters your qualifications. It just means that you have to get creative on how you present it so that readers are seeing the benefit and not the potential conflict.

If you are having difficulty figuring out how to honor all of your experience without spooking readers, I can help.

Do I Need to Disclose That I Was Terminated From My Last Position?

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Short answer: No.

Longer answer: Don’t proactively disclose being terminated but be prepared to tactfully address it if / when the topic arises. A best practice is to keep your response very concise; never dwell on the topic and make sure to rapidly transition into sharing how your qualifications and the impact you would like to make align perfectly with the position before you.

Let the Past Be the Past

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Open up your resume and have a quick look at your past jobs. Are they being communicated in the present tense? If so, you are not alone. I'd say that 80% of the resumes that I read (and I read A LOT of resumes) communicate past work experience in the present tense. That might seem like a very minor issue, but it can have big ramifications. Here's why:

It's a mistake – Even the smallest mistakes on a resume can undermine your credibility.

It makes your past jobs read like job descriptions – Listing past experience in the present tense makes the information you include for those roles sound like a list of items that are expected of someone who currently holds that role. 

It sends a weird message to readers – "It says here that this candidate left this job two years ago, but it also says she 'manages a team of 8.' Why is she still managing that team of she is no longer in the position?" Of course readers know that you are not really still managing that team, but you can understand the very subtle, confusing message tense issues can cause.

Average Length for a Job Search

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Q. What is the average length for an executive-level job search?

A. Like so many of the questions I answer on this blog, I have to start with a very unsatisfying "it depends." Given the myriad factors in play – candidate qualifications, professional sector, economic climate, etc. – I doubt that answer comes as a surprise. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the typical job search takes one month for each $10K in desired income. That's a very loose guideline, but it provides a way to start thinking about average job search times.

Since this questions usually can be translated into "how long am I going to be unemployed or stuck in this unfulfilling job," let's talk about ways to shorten the job search process. Here is a starter-kit of tips that will get you on a path to make your job search as short as possible.

Things to Avoid Saying in Resumes and Interviews

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Something a bit off the beaten path this week... A little PSA from Christina Desmarais over at Inc.com

“#19. Peaked my interest
To “pique” means to arouse, so the correct phrase here is “piqued my interest,” meaning that my interest was awakened. To say that something “peaked my interest” might suggest that my interest was taken to the highest possible level, but this is not what the idiom is meant to convey.”

I can attest to the fact that many of these show up frequently in resumes, cover letters, and during the interview process. Admittedly, some of them are pretty tricky. I bet that you will learn a thing or two (like I did!). Check it out.