Why Was My Resume Rejected? 4 Mistakes You Can Correct

Writing a resume is not exactly rocket science, but creating an effective one for the first time can be a real struggle. We’re lucky to find almost everything on the internet nowadays so we can have some guidance while writing it.

Sometimes, even if you make sure everything was on point, you might still have your resume rejected. Here are 4 common reasons why your resume has failed to bring you your desired job.

Improper Proofreading

Believe it or not, this is one of the most common reasons people get their resume rejected. It’s easy to misplace a comma, add an extra letter on an essential word, or to fail to align all the bullet points, and your resume will be left unread by the recruiter.

Be sure to proofread as most recruiters use ATS software to tailor the resume first, so they can check out the best of the best. Fortunately, there are a few ways to “beat” most of today’s ATS software that your recruiters might leverage.

Too Long

Usually, a good resume has one page; no more, no less. It can be hard to fit all your relevant information, skills, and experience in just one page, but sending a 3 to 4-page long resume is too much for potential employers.

Hannah Johannes, HR manager of the company that’s considered to be the best essay writing service in the UK, suggests that “The purpose of a resume is to show your competencies but also your ability to synthesize and prioritize only the most essential information about your professional life. If you succeed to do it wisely, you’ll get the chance to get into details during the interview.”

Bad Formatting

When you write your resume, you should keep everything as simple as possible. There’s no point in choosing a “diverse” or unusual font as you don’t want to make it hard to read and digest. Stay away from fonts like Comic Sans and use Arial or Calibri instead. Try to keep the font point between 10 and 12.5 as well.

Along with font choice, you’ll want to make sure that your formatting stays intact. When it is moved to another platform (say from Word to PDF), its formatting might be altered. If you fail to take care of this aspect, this could be the reason why your resume was rejected. Just save it as a PDF – it will spare you all the trouble.

Lies, Lies, Lies

Do you ever lie on your resume? You might think that nobody will take their time to check all the information you wrote in your resume, but someone is fact-checking. Employers don’t want to risk hiring an incompetent candidate. Most resume lies are about scores on important exams, about their education, or about how long they’ve been working for a company. Always remain honest and eliminate any of those white lies that have accumulated.

If you want to stand a chance against the competition, next time you write your resume make sure you avoid all these common mistakes. Your resume is your only shot to get the interview, that’s why it’s crucial to be flawless when it reaches the recruiter’s hands. Just pay attention to details, give your best, and if you’re still not confident about your work, ask for some professional advice. 

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