How To Get Your Resume Thrown In The Trash – Or How To Avoid It!

Posted March 7, 2014

You know all the basics of how to put together a resume: a clean layout, no weird fonts or graphics, and an outline of your accomplishments, not your duties. But most recruiters receive dozens, even hundreds, of resumes each week, and they don’t have time to go through each one. Would your resume make the cut, or will it  get tossed? Ask yourself if it meets the following standards:

1. Do You Meet the Basic Requirements?

Be honest: do you have the skills and experience that are listed in the job description? Are your skills a match? While you shouldn’t be afraid to aim high, if you only have three years of management experience and the hiring manager is looking for 10, you’ll be counted out. Or if you have the basic requirements, but your resume obscures this fact with extra or unnecessary information, whittle it down. Tailor your resume to focus on the information that is relevant to the job.

2. Do You Look Like You’ll Fit In?

Recruiters are looking for candidates who will be cultural fit for their company. If you come across as someone looking for a job, any job, they’ll toss your resume aside. Do a little research to see what their employment brand is, where they’re located, how they dress—and tweak your resume accordingly. Make connections to how your experience, skills, and personality are a perfect fit for that specific company.

3. Did You Pay Attention to Detail?

Recruiters want to see everything the job posting asks you to send. That might be just a cover letter and resume, or they may ask for work or writing samples. Be sure to include everything requested. And use the exact title referred to in the job posting—don’t abbreviate it or skip any elements, like Senior or Junior.

Also, don’t rely on spell check and grammar check alone. Proofread your own resume and ask family or friends to take another look at it for you. One type or spelling error could mean your resume ends up in the recycling bin.

Applying for a job can feel like a huge challenge, but if you follow these simple rules, your resume should make it past the first hurdle. And if you tailor your resume to make sure it’s an easily read fit to the company and job, you’ll definitely increase your chances of getting to the top of the pile.

Is your resume in great shape but you’re still not getting interviews? Give Team Ambassador a call. If you are looking for job opportunities we have plenty on our website, apply today!