How to avoid red flags on a resume

Getting a good job requires you to show the recruiter or hiring manager that you've got the skills and personality to succeed in that role. Your first chance to do so is by creating a well-written resume. There are many things you can do to make your resume more attractive to employers, but in this article, we'll focus on the things you shouldn't do when drafting yours.

Companies often have to go through hundreds of resumes or more when hiring for an attractive open position, so even a seemingly minor issue could cause them to pass on your application and deprive you of an excellent professional opportunity. Let's explore some of the most common resume red flags, plus why they're important to recruiters and how you can avoid them.

Making spelling and grammar mistakes

This is one of the biggest red flags on a resume but also one of the easiest to avoid. Bad grammar, spelling mistakes, and typos on your resume can instantly take you out of the running for the job.

Being so easily avoidable is what makes it such a big deal — it shows that the candidate didn't take the time to make sure they made a good first impression. If you're not going to make sure that your resume is well written, it's safe for employers to assume that you won't be putting much effort into doing a good job if they hire you.

Ensuring that your resume is error-free is a major step that you should never skip. Some things you can do are:

Proofread it repeatedly. Read your resume multiple times after drafting it. Take it slow, read every sentence carefully, and do it again after a few hours just to make sure your mind is fresh and focused.
Use spellchecking software. There are many online tools and apps to help you find and fix spelling and grammar mistakes on your resume. Find one that suits you and use it to help you catch any errors that you may have missed while proofreading.
Ask someone else to read it. Having another person look at your resume may help you spot subtle details, such as awkward phrasing or a poor choice of words.

Formatting your resume poorly

It's also important to format your resume in a way that helps the recruiter immediately find what they're looking for. This usually involves creating separate fields for your personal info, job experience, relevant skills, and educational milestones. Each field should clearly and succinctly tell your story without including irrelevant details.

Doing so will help the reader assess your suitability for the role while also suggesting that you're well-organized. If the information is all over the place, the recruiter will probably assume that you didn't take the application seriously enough to put time and effort into structuring it properly.

Not customizing your resume to fit the open position

Job hunting can be a repetitive and exhausting process, so it's understandable that you may be tempted to send a similar resume for multiple open positions. But that isn't a good idea and may be a red flag for hiring managers. Job descriptions usually include specific requirements for previous experience, skills, and education.

Customize your resume to match these requirements. You can do that by analyzing the job description and drafting your resume to emphasize how your experience, skill set, and education meet the employer's expectations. Besides showcasing your suitability, this will also demonstrate that you're serious about getting the job.

"Companies often have to go through hundreds of resumes or more when hiring for an attractive open position, so even a seemingly minor issue could cause them to pass on your application and deprive you of an excellent professional opportunity."

Having large unexplained employment gaps

Having one or more employment gaps throughout your career isn't necessarily a bad thing. Life happens, as they say, and you may have stopped working for a while for reasons such as childbirth, travel, further education, volunteering, business opportunities, illness, and other such situations.

However, it's important to be transparent when explaining your employment gap on your resume to avoid making it look like you're hiding something from the reader. Having a few months between jobs doesn't necessarily require an explanation, but when it goes on longer than that or occurs multiple times, you need to address it.

Having too many unrelated jobs in your work history

Having a diverse work history can be a professional asset, but it may not be a good idea to showcase it in your resume's work history section. Listing too many roles that have no relevance to the one you're applying for may make it difficult for the reader to assess your qualifications. It can also make you seem like someone who finds it difficult to settle in a particular role or industry.

Before sending your resume, it may help to analyze the job description, take note of the employer's specific requirements, and only include previous professional experiences that suggest that you meet those requirements.

Including too many personal details

Employers are interested in a candidate's personality, as it may provide them with insight into whether they'd be a good fit with the company culture. However, oversharing personal details may make you seem unprofessional. It may also expose you to whatever conscious or unconscious biases the reader may have. Keep the personal information to a minimum to avoid such issues. Some things that you should leave out include:

Your age and date of birth
Your religion and cultural background
Your political affiliation
Your marital status
Any current or previous medical conditions and health issues

Having an unprofessional online presence

When drafting your resume, you may want to include links to your profile on professional networking and social media websites. This isn't necessarily a red flag by itself. Employers tend to check candidates' social media profiles to get an indication of whether they'd be a good cultural and personality fit.

However, this may act against you if any of your online and social media profiles include content that may be interpreted as aggressive, discriminatory, or generally unprofessional. Having this type of content not only paints you in a negative light as a job candidate but could also affect the company's image later on, should you get the job.

Lying or exaggerating

This should go without saying, but it's important to tell the truth on your resume. This also means that you shouldn't embellish your skills and job experiences. Even though it may be tempting to do so whenever you encounter an attractive open position that you're not quite qualified for, it can have negative implications for your career.

The person reading your resume is specifically trained to assess job applications, so they'll probably do some digging to discover whether the information you presented is true. If they find that you've misrepresented, hidden, or exaggerated various parts of your resume, they'll lose trust in you. Even if you get away with it, you'll likely end up in a job that you aren't qualified for, resulting in bad performance. Either way, you're better off being honest and open about your career and accomplishments.

Job searching can be a stressful and unrewarding process. Working on creating attractive resumes and cover letters and not getting called for interviews is frustrating, but staying positive and resilient will eventually pay off. Sooner or later, you'll find a role that suits both your skill set and personality. If you'd like to maximize your chances of that happening, it's essential to stay clear of these resume red flags. Upload your resume to CareerBuilder to help find jobs that fit your needs.