{"id":9478,"date":"2016-07-06T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.com\/blog\/?p=9478"},"modified":"2023-05-12T11:27:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:27:06","slug":"7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the moment you advertise a vacancy in your company, the applications will come flooding in like The Letters from No-One<\/em> in Harry Potter and the Philosopher\u2019s Stone<\/em>. OK, well maybe not to the extent that the office will become as uninhabitable as the Dursleys\u2019 residence, but you get the idea.<\/p>\n

You then face the unenviable task of being able to hire only one of these candidates, so you\u2019ll need to be ruthless in doling out the disappointment<\/a> to all the others. In some cases, this can be a horrible process. In others, the applicants make it obscenely easy for you to toss their r\u00e9sume\u00a0in the nearest dustbin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are seven application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly file a candidate under \u2018Rejected\u2019.<\/p>\n

1. Typos and spelling mistakes<\/h2>\n

Unless Moses is applying for the job and he wrote his r\u00e9sume\u00a0on a tablet (the prehistoric stone version, as opposed to an iPad), the applicant will have had access to spell check.<\/p>\n

This is forgivable for obscure proper nouns, but if you see a r\u00e9sume\u00a0with blatant spelling errors (e.g. “Fixed car breaks<\/em> in a leading garage for 2 years”), you\u2019ll draw the conclusion that this is the type of candidate who could blankly send an email to the client with the intention of typing \u2018shut\u2019, except that the vowel is not a U.<\/p>\n

2. Overly casual tone<\/h2>\n

Applying for jobs\u00a0is a serious business. Applicants should be doing everything in their power to win over a recruiter, so the adoption of a casual, conversational tone that is more evocative of a friendly 11am chat at Starbucks is a perfect excuse to turn them down.<\/p>\n

After all, you won\u2019t have the same dialogue with a friend in Starbucks as you will with a client in the office.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

3. Snazzy borders and backgrounds<\/h2>\n

Colourful borders and backgrounds are great \u2013 if you\u2019re designing a poster for a community event, that is. Alas, R\u00e9sume\u00a0writing is a different matter entirely. In the incredibly unlikely event that the application guidelines come with \u2018Applicants must frame their r\u00e9sume\u00a0with a chunky orange border\u2019, then it\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, forget about them and move on to the next candidate.<\/p>\n

4. Use of clip art and emojis<\/h2>\n

Yellow smiley faces or frowns look cool on social media, don\u2019t they? Yep, but where they don\u2019t look cool is on a r\u00e9sume.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, people actually include emojis in job applications. You don\u2019t need to be told with a cartoony smiley face that an applicant is happy with their past achievements, so anyone who feels the need to \u2018embellish\u2019 their reesume\u00a0as such is probably covering up for crucial shortfalls elsewhere.<\/p>\n

5. Cringe-worthy quotes<\/h2>\n

Much like the clich\u00e9s that are hollower than an Easter egg, the use of gut-churning cringe in a cover letter<\/a> is a perfectly good reason to reject an applicant. This can include sugar-coated pandering that will fool no-one, as well as the overuse of high-brow buzzwords to frankly say nothing at all.<\/p>\n

You know, like the sort who says that they \u2018provided effective business solutions to improve the efficiency of company operations\u2019. Well done, you. Now, can you please rephrase that in something that won\u2019t hurtle aimlessly through my mind faster than a Harrier jet?<\/p>\n

6. An unprofessional email address<\/h2>\n

From time to time, we all like to embrace our inner stand-up and act the comedian when filling out forms. Sadly for any budding Jay Lenos, a job application is not the place for antics such as citing their email address as prettybaby123xxx@email.com, or something more vulgar and inappropriate.<\/p>\n

You should instantly shut the door on anyone who can\u2019t even take five minutes to create a competent personal email account.<\/p>\n

7. Inappropriate font<\/h2>\n

Bubbly font types make us feel all happy inside and are perfect for invitations to a party. Alas, r\u00e9sumes are intended to try to land employment, so you have every right to expect a candidate to use a formal font such as Times New Roman or Arial.<\/p>\n

So what if the applicant might think it\u2019s boring? It\u2019s professional, and that\u2019s what you want from the person who will ultimately be hired.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are 7 application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly reject a candidate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":9620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[110,119],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are 7 application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly reject a candidate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here are 7 application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly reject a candidate.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zippia For Employers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-06T16:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-12T18:27:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/7-Characteristics-of-Re\u0301sumes-Bound-for-Instant-Rejection.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bernadette Eichner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ZippiaInc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bernadette Eichner\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/\",\"name\":\"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-06T16:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-12T18:27:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc890877abc215fa4433ea366ebfb09\"},\"description\":\"Here are 7 application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly reject a candidate.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/\",\"name\":\"Zippia For Employers\",\"description\":\"How to find the best employees.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc890877abc215fa4433ea366ebfb09\",\"name\":\"Bernadette Eichner\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7938b269db25b4e4f2ebc75265cba92?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7938b269db25b4e4f2ebc75265cba92?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bernadette Eichner\"},\"description\":\"Bernadette Eichner has had a successful career in hospitality sales, real estate, and recruitment. In 1999, she founded HRM Resolutions, a strategic human resource consultancy, and later became a founding recruiter and investor at RecruitLoop.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bernadetteeichner\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bernadetteeichner\/?originalSubdomain=au\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/author\/bernadette-eichner\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection","description":"Here are 7 application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly reject a candidate.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection","og_description":"Here are 7 application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly reject a candidate.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/","og_site_name":"Zippia For Employers","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zippia\/","article_published_time":"2016-07-06T16:00:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-12T18:27:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":770,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/7-Characteristics-of-Re\u0301sumes-Bound-for-Instant-Rejection.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Bernadette Eichner","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ZippiaInc","twitter_site":"@ZippiaInc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bernadette Eichner","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/","name":"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-07-06T16:00:46+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-12T18:27:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc890877abc215fa4433ea366ebfb09"},"description":"Here are 7 application and r\u00e9sume atrocities that should prompt you to instantly reject a candidate.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/7-characteristics-of-resumes-bound-for-instant-rejection\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"7 Characteristics of R\u00e9sumes Bound for Instant Rejection"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/","name":"Zippia For Employers","description":"How to find the best employees.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc890877abc215fa4433ea366ebfb09","name":"Bernadette Eichner","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7938b269db25b4e4f2ebc75265cba92?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7938b269db25b4e4f2ebc75265cba92?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bernadette Eichner"},"description":"Bernadette Eichner has had a successful career in hospitality sales, real estate, and recruitment. In 1999, she founded HRM Resolutions, a strategic human resource consultancy, and later became a founding recruiter and investor at RecruitLoop.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bernadetteeichner\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bernadetteeichner\/?originalSubdomain=au"],"url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/author\/bernadette-eichner\/"}]}},"articleguide":"","showTableContent":"","showFeaturedImage":"","pageCategoryL2":"","authorsExperts":"","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/7-Characteristics-of-Re\u0301sumes-Bound-for-Instant-Rejection.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9478"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}