4 Things Recruiters are Tired of Seeing on Resumes

4 Things Recruiters are Tired of Seeing on Resumes

Cut the gimmicks and focus on what you have to offer a prospective employer.

By Catherine Conlan

Monster Contributing Writer

Recruiters look at resumes all day long and they’ve seen it all, including quite a lot they’d rather not see again. If you want to impress recruiters and increase your chances of getting hired, start by eliminating these four things recruiters are tired of seeing on resumes from yours.

Too many meaningless details

If you think you’ll impress people by spinning your barista work into a big deal job by using more words to describe it, you’re mistaken, says Tracy Vistine, a lead recruiter with the Messina Group. Being a barista warrants no more than three bullet points, but “it is not uncommon to see resumes for these positions with 15 bullet points.”

If you’re in the early stages of your career, you may feel like you need to pad your resume to make it look more impressive, says Vistine, but recruiters can see right through this. “We often see entry-level candidates detailing bridge positions with more enthusiasm than necessary.”

Instead, focus on what you’ve accomplished in your jobs, not just the duties you had to fulfill each day, says Don Tebbe, who spent 20 years recruiting executives for nonprofits and who now focuses on exit planning. “Show me, don't tell me, the difference you made in that job, the impact you had on the organization or the world.”

Vague dates 

Life happens, and you may have gaps in your employment history. But unexplained absences can be problematic, says Abhi Trehan, recruiting consultant at McNeill Nakamoto. “About two years ago, I started realizing a growing trend in applicants taking out the months from their employment history, making it very vague and up to the reader's judgment. To me, this raises an immediate red flag and makes me think they are hiding gaps in their employment.”

Generic objective statements
 

Deanna Arnold, founder of The People’s HR, says the objective statement must go, because the information it shares is already obvious. “Here is what everybody puts as their objective: To find a position in a dynamic and growing company to fully utilize my years of skills and experience.”

An objective statement doesn’t talk about your skills and experience, nor does it set you apart, Arnold says. And finally, “It is obvious that you are looking for a job, otherwise you wouldn't have applied.”

Mark Slack, career adviser and hiring manager at Resume Genius, says it’s not the objective statement that’s the problem it’s that people don’t do a good job of writing theirs. “No one wants to read a brief sentence from an applicant about how he or she would like a job in your company.” But a well-constructed career objective can make you stand out.

“A good career objective allows a candidate to briefly describe the main skills, qualifications, and experiences that make them an excellent candidate to forward the company's goals,” Slack says.

“References available on request”

This line just isn’t necessary, says Julie Desmond, an IT and software recruiting manager at George Konik Associates. “I have yet to see a resume that says, ‘No references available, no matter how much you beg.’”

You can always include references with your application from the beginning, but if you don’t and the recruiter or company you’re applying to wants them, they’ll ask.