Mistakes
are an understandable part of life, but there
are some errors so crazy they just make no
sense. Here are some real resume’ and cover
letter blunders shocked recruiters have seen
over the years. Ask what you can do for your
employer -- not what they can do for you, says
senior consultant Mic Fleming. He once saw an
email with a resume that said: "Due to time
constraints, I require a phone interview with a
representative of the company who is
knowledgeable in the position being offered and
its requirements, before setting up a formal
interview to ensure there is a proper fit for
the prospective company and myself." No recruiter or manager wants to sit down to a resume that feels as long as "War and Peace," says Lora B. Poepping, founder. "Typically a resume will be read for a total of 6 seconds. That means a three-or four-page resume is likely going to lose impact as the reader's eyes glaze over while reading your novella." Think brochure, not narrative,
when you’re writing your resume. "Use bullets,
tell stories of success and keep it easy to
read," Poepping recommends. "I have been able to
take a resume’ from six pages to two pages." Your victories in your personal life are significant, but not to your employer. In another resume Bowitz reviewed once, the "applicant included winning his Fantasy Football league as a major accomplishment under his achievements section. Unless applying for a job at ESPN this is a pretty ridiculous inclusion." Making a Bomb Threat There’s nothing worse than making your prospective boss and co-workers fear for their lives. "The most bizarre resume blunder I've ever encountered actually came on the cover letter, certainly one of the strangest cover letters of all time," says an author and speaker. A man who wanted a marketing or PR job at a local charity decided to show his potential employers how well he could grab their attention, says Maher. "He sent each board member a series of letters. The first had just his first name ‘John.’ The second read ‘John Smith.' Then ‘John Smith Is,’ ‘John Smith Is Going,’ ‘John Smith Is Going to,’ and ‘John Smith Is Going to Blow’," eventually reading "‘John Smith Is Going to Blow You Away!’ Which is when the police showed up at his door. Before he had the chance to send out the next letter with his resume that explained just how his expertise was in fact going to blow everyone away." |