Your résumé tells potential
employers a lot more about you than
you think.
The way a résumé is written and
the information it includes can
reveal a lot about job candidates.
Your résumé can answer questions
employers cannot legally ask, such
as those related to age and religion,
as well as details about your work
ethic. These details give employers
a vivid look into your background.
With so many candidates applying
for the same jobs, it is critical to
ensure what you're saying on your
résumé doesn't keep it from
getting a second look. Here are
seven things your résumé can reveal
that could be costing you an
interview:
1. Age: By law, employers are not
allowed to ask candidates how old
they are. However, that doesn't
mean they can't decipher it from an
applicant's résumé. Even without
explicitly listing an age, a
candidate's high school or college
graduation dates, or length of time
in the workforce, serve as good
indicators. If a candidate writes on
his or her résumé that he or she
graduated high school in 2001 and
college in 2005, chances are,
they're about 30 years old. And
even if someone doesn't include
graduation dates, a massive
employment history can still reveal
his or her age. If a résumé has jobs
dating back to the 1970s, it's telling
the employer the candidate is at
least in their 50s. While giving away
your age on your résumé might not
seem like a big deal, it can be if an
employer has an ideal candidate in
mind. If they're looking for
someone young, they might not give
the candidate who they think is in
their 50s a chance to interview. Or,
if they're looking for someone more
experienced, someone who
graduated in the early 2000s might
not have a chance to persuade them
in an interview that they would be
the best fit.
2. Children: Another question
employers aren't allowed to ask
candidates is whether they have
kids. However, there are ways your
résumé can answer this question.
For example, men or women who
include volunteer positions, like
serving on their local PTO or PTA or
coaching Little League, give a clear
signal that they likely have kids and
are actively involved in their outside
interests. While they might not say
it, many employers might not be
looking for someone who will be
leaving early for a soccer game or
meeting at their child's school. So
while moms and dads might be
eager to bring up what great
parents they are, they should
remember that giving away such
information could be detrimental.
3. Religious or political affiliation:
The volunteer section on a résumé
also can give away other details you
might not want to share with
potential employers. Job candidates
who say they volunteer at their
local church or synagogue may be
quickly and inadvertently giving
away their religious affiliation.
4. Political affiliation can be
determined in the same way.
Candidates who say they volunteer
with the People's Democratic Party
(PDP) or All Progressive Congress
(APC) are giving away information
that employers may want to know
but aren't legally allowed to ask.
While it would be wonderful to live
in a place where people weren't
discriminated against for their
religious or political beliefs, that's
not always the reality. Knowing that
someone follows a specific religion
or leans a certain way politically can
be all a hiring manager needs to not
bring that candidate in for an
interview, regardless of how great
their résumé is.
5. Not detail-oriented: One quick
way to show a potential employer
that you aren't worthy of an
interview is to have spelling or
grammatical mistakes on your
résumé. Résumés need to be
perfectly written. When they
aren't, it sends a clear signal that
the candidate might be lazy or
doesn't pay attention to details,
neither of which are qualities most
employers are looking for in a new
staff member. While a simple typo
might not seem like a big ideal, it is
to the person doing the hiring. If a
hiring manager only has time to
interview four candidates, he or she
most likely won't waste time on
someone who didn't ensure their
résumé was error-free.
No career
6. Progression: Job
candidates should show potential
employers that their career is on an
upward trajectory. Having the same
or similar job titles throughout a
career doesn't give that signal.
Hiring managers who see similar
titles throughout a candidate's
career often quickly infer (either
accurately or inaccurately) that the
person hasn't been doing what it
takes to get promoted with their
current employer. While that might
not be a big deal for someone who
hasn't been in the workforce for a
long time, it will send the wrong
message for candidates with years
of experience. Employers are
looking for candidates who show
they have the skills to constantly
move up.
7. Not committed: It costs
employers thousands of dollars to
recruit, interview, hire and train
new employees. With so much at
stake, hiring managers are looking
for candidates who will be devoted
to their job. While just about all
applicants say they'll be 100
percent committed to their
employer, their résumés can
suggest otherwise. Candidates who
have worked for numerous
companies in a short period of time
imply they aren't going to be
committed to their employer when a
new opportunity comes their way.
Past studies have shown that having
five or more job changes in 10 years
can prompt worries that an
employee is a job hopper. Such a
red flag can be reason enough for
employers to not give the candidate
a second look.
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