{"id":637,"date":"2013-01-24T20:49:34","date_gmt":"2013-01-25T04:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637"},"modified":"2020-12-13T11:54:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T19:54:00","slug":"3-things-that-will-get-your-resume-thrown-in-the-trash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637","title":{"rendered":"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meghan Casserly<\/strong> Forbes Staff <\/cite><\/p>\n

You know all about getting your resume noticed. (Clean layout!\u00a0Accomplishments, not duties!)\u00a0But do you know what\u2019s on the flipside? What you might be doing that could cause recruiters to overlook your resume\u2014or worse, toss it in the trash?<\/p>\n

Gasp! The trash? I know what you\u2019re thinking, but the truth is, recruiters have dozens, even hundreds, of resumes to comb through every day. So, in an effort to cull them down to a reasonable amount, they\u2019ll simply toss any that don\u2019t meet what they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

To learn more, I sat down with a few recruiters and asked them about the resumes that make the cut and those that get tossed. Here are three of their deal-breakers.<\/p>\n

1. You Don\u2019t Meet the Basic Requirements<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First and foremost, review the requirements listed in the job description and confirm that you have the skills and experience the recruiter is looking for. This is the \u201cfirst knockout factor\u201d for many, says Christina Lord, a technical recruiter at\u00a0Dealer.com. \u201cMake sure you look at the requirements before applying to the job, and identify if your skills are a match,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Sounds basic, but job seekers make this mistake more often than you might think, thanks to career counselors and advice websites that say to go ahead and apply for a job even without all of the qualifications. And while you shouldn\u2019t be afraid to aim high,\u00a0no amount of resume tailoring\u00a0will cover for the fact that you only have three years of management experience, not 10, or don\u2019t have the technical skills required to do the job.\u00a0\u201cResumes just won\u2019t be considered if the basic skills aren\u2019t there,\u201d agrees Joanna Thomas, a human resources professional at an agency in Burlington, VT.<\/p>\n

A similar mistake: You have the basic requirements, but they\u2019re obscured by extra or unnecessary information. \u201cLay it out simply for me\u2014that means less investigation I\u2019ll have to do,\u201d says Thomas. For example, if you\u2019re applying for a position in marketing, but your experience is a combination of marketing and sales, tailor your resume to focus on your marketing experience and skills, and minimize\u2014or even remove\u2014the sales information.<\/p>\n

2. You\u2019re Not a Culture Fit<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s of utmost importance to recruiters to find a candidate who\u2019s a \u201ccultural fit as well as a skill set fit,\u201d according to Thomas. They love when a candidate \u201cgets it\u201d\u2014and they\u2019ll toss your resume if you look like \u201cjust someone looking for a job.\u201d (Think summary statements that cover a wide range of skills and industries, or\u00a0cover letters that don\u2019t mention the company by name\u2014or at all.)<\/p>\n

To avoid the circular file, you\u2019ll want to tweak your resume based on the position and company, making deliberate connections of how your experience, skills, and personality are a perfect fit for the job. Use industry terms, spell out accomplishments that you know will make an impact,\u00a0and don\u2019t be afraid to let your personality shine through. Thomas remembers an applicant who listed, \u201cI\u2019ll drink an iced Americano any time, day or night\u201d under the interests section, which not only revealed the applicant\u2019s \u201cpersonality and sense of humor,\u201d it was a great fit for Thomas\u2019 agency, a highly creative design firm with its own specialty coffee shop in the basement.<\/p>\n

3. You Don\u2019t Pay Attention to Detail<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When it comes to your resume, the devil is quite often in the details. Recruiters get annoyed by small things that you may not think of\u2014like whether or not the text on your cover letter and resume is the same font and size (it should be), if your margins are off (makes it tricky for us to print), or to whom you\u2019ve addressed the cover letter (it should be the recruiter\u2019s name, not \u201csir,\u201d \u201cmadam,\u201d or \u201cto whom it may concern\u201d).<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll also take note if you don\u2019t include everything the job posting asks you to send. A cover letter and resume? What about work or writing samples? Be sure to include everything that\u2019s asked of you. Also, does the job posting refer to the position as Project Manager II? If so, state that in your cover letter, exactly\u2014don\u2019t write Proj. Mgr. or Project Manager. Companies put a lot of time into determining job titles, and when a recruiter is looking to fill both the Project Manager and the Project Manager II positions, any ambiguousness from you will make it harder for them.<\/p>\n

And, it should go without saying, but \u201cone spelling error and I\u2019m out,\u201d says Thomas.\u00a0Proofreading your own resume\u00a0is a must, but don\u2019t rely on spell check and grammar check alone\u2014ask family or friends to take a look at it for you. Lord recommends that you \u201calways, always have several eyes look at your resume.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applying for a job can often feel like a huge challenge, and knowing that there are so many applicants out there can be daunting. But if you follow these simple rules, you\u2019ll make sure your resume gets past the first hurdle: the trash can. Better yet, if you tailor your resume and make sure it\u2019s a fit to the company and job, you\u2019ll definitely increase your chances of getting to the top of the pile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meghan Casserly Forbes Staff You know all about getting your resume noticed. (Clean layout!\u00a0Accomplishments, not duties!)\u00a0But do you know what\u2019s on the flipside? What you might be doing that could cause recruiters to overlook your resume\u2014or worse, toss it in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[66,67,65,68],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash - TargetSuccess: Articles and Information<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash - TargetSuccess: Articles and Information\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meghan Casserly Forbes Staff You know all about getting your resume noticed. (Clean layout!\u00a0Accomplishments, not duties!)\u00a0But do you know what\u2019s on the flipside? What you might be doing that could cause recruiters to overlook your resume\u2014or worse, toss it in … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TargetSuccess: Articles and Information\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-25T04:49:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-13T19:54:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter Pillsbury\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter Pillsbury\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637\",\"name\":\"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash - TargetSuccess: Articles and Information\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-25T04:49:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-13T19:54:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/f7cf52d69fa695339ae22dbdf7d251a3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/\",\"name\":\"TargetSuccess: Articles and Information\",\"description\":\"Imagine... Each student, each day, experiencing positive learning\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/f7cf52d69fa695339ae22dbdf7d251a3\",\"name\":\"Peter Pillsbury\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash - TargetSuccess: Articles and Information","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash - TargetSuccess: Articles and Information","og_description":"Meghan Casserly Forbes Staff You know all about getting your resume noticed. (Clean layout!\u00a0Accomplishments, not duties!)\u00a0But do you know what\u2019s on the flipside? What you might be doing that could cause recruiters to overlook your resume\u2014or worse, toss it in … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637","og_site_name":"TargetSuccess: Articles and Information","article_published_time":"2013-01-25T04:49:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-13T19:54:00+00:00","author":"Peter Pillsbury","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter Pillsbury","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637","url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637","name":"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash - TargetSuccess: Articles and Information","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-01-25T04:49:34+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-13T19:54:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/f7cf52d69fa695339ae22dbdf7d251a3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=637#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/","name":"TargetSuccess: Articles and Information","description":"Imagine... Each student, each day, experiencing positive learning","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/f7cf52d69fa695339ae22dbdf7d251a3","name":"Peter Pillsbury","url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?author=2"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6S9hN-ah","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":78,"url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=78","url_meta":{"origin":637,"position":0},"title":"When Applicant Tracking Systems Bite Back!","date":"October 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Applicant tracking systems are wonderful contraptions, aren\u2019t they? Recruiters: what a great pleasure to behold to have a system where you can review, disposition, and index all of the extraordinary candidates who apply to our jobs. It sifts through resumes; it assesses the skills of candidates; it even allows us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":741,"url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=741","url_meta":{"origin":637,"position":1},"title":"How Do YOU Sort Your Job Applications Into The ‘NO’ Pile?","date":"March 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In a traditional paper intensive hiring practice, you may receive hundreds of applications and resumes for ONE job posting! I can remember after holding a day long Job Fair for a Call Center I would sit at my desk with the immense PILE of applications and began the 'sorting process'.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":206,"url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=206","url_meta":{"origin":637,"position":2},"title":"There IS a Better Way to Hire the Right People","date":"December 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 There is a better way to hire the right people. Companies hired people who looked great on paper, only to find they couldn\u2019t deliver because they didn\u2019t fit in. They spent a huge amount of time (and money) to land the right person, only to have them leave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Psychometric Assessments"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":404,"url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=404","url_meta":{"origin":637,"position":3},"title":"Scary Costs of Hiring the Wrong Person","date":"January 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201c80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions.\u201d \u2013 The Harvard Business Review. When it comes to deciding on your recruiting methods and selecting the right candidates, the amount of choices available to you is nothing short of daunting. Unfortunately, making the wrong hiring decision can cost you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":122,"url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=122","url_meta":{"origin":637,"position":4},"title":"Hiring Winning Talent","date":"December 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 In its most simple definition, talent is any individual who has the capability to make a significant difference to the current and future performance of the organization. It is no wonder that more and more organizations are realizing the importance of good talent as a competitive edge. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":106,"url":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/?p=106","url_meta":{"origin":637,"position":5},"title":"Potential Strategic Alliance Partner","date":"December 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"At TargetSuccess\u2122 we believe the foundation of the business world is changing every day. We embrace the change by thinking differently about hiring and developing people. The way we embrace the change is by creating innovative tools that capture intrinsic behaviors and making our products simple to use so good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Partners and Associates"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=637"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":999,"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637\/revisions\/999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.targetsuccess.biz\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}