Resumes and Cover Letters

Resumes and Cover Letters • Sample comprised of 351 randomly selected HR professionals. • Analyzing 351 responses of 2264 emails sent, 2178 emails were received (response rate = 16%). • Survey fielded July 19 - 25, 2005; presentation generated on August 1, 2005. • Margin of error is +/- 4.0%

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Cover letter without resume n=349

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Gaps in employment history n=350

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Missing detailed job history n=348

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Missing specific employment dates n=342

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Resume in narrative format n=346

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Resume presented in chronological (most recent last) order n=339

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Resume that is more than two (2) pages long n=347

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Resume/cover letter with grammatical errors or typos n=346

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Resume without cover letter n=345

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Salary history not included (if specifically asked for in the ad) n=339

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Salary requirement not included (if asked for in the ad) n=335

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters? Other

Which of the following mistakes have you seen job applicants make on their resumes and/or cover letters?

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Cover letter without resume n=259

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Gaps in employment history n=344

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Missing detailed job histories n=327

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Missing specific employment dates n=332

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Resume in narrative format n=294

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Resume presented in chronological (most recent last) order n=298

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Resume that is more than two (2) pages long n=333

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Resume/cover letter with grammatical errors or typos n=342

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Resume without cover letter n=335

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Salary history not included n=305

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Salary requirement not included n=296

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate? Other n=55

Of the mistakes you indicated you have seen, which have caused you to not look at a particular candidate?

- Other (Please specify) • Resume is directed to the wrong employer • Wrong Company in Cover Letter • Wrong company name/position in resume/cover letter • Applying for wrong job, or to wrong company (merge error, probably) • Resume that is too busy (heavy use of clip art, brightly colored paper, non-standard font, etc) • Weird paper - not professional • Resume written with Monotype Corsiva font; over copied resumes to blurred to read • Resume submitted in pencil • Resumes sent on decorative paper, resumes sent as email and not attached. • Resume copy quality was poor, and the applicant filled in portions of missing letters. • Background did not appear to match what we were looking for, and the candidate didn't 'connect the dots' for me in the cover letter • Candidates trying to make a "statement" by using some grandiose quote or other type of "I am YOUR Candidate!!" . In some types of positions this may be appropriate, most however, not so. • Fax without resume or letter, unable to open electronic resume • wrong information for position applied • Vague career objective indicated in cover letter and/or resume • Beyond resumes presented in the narrative format, I have bypassed resumes that are in other formats that are difficult to read. Readability and attention to spelling and grammar are the most significant components of resumes that get read • Regarding whether to look at a candidate or not because of mistake is always a "depends"

- Other (Continued) • Depends on position applying for • Vague education or certification listed • Position that candidates is looking for not indicated • Format too difficult to read. No bullet points. • Resumes not related job applied • right job ad but wrong Co. name and vice versa/ include a picture/cover letter or application disparages former workplace/applies for my job but lives out of town and wants me to fly them in for interview and pay Out of area candidates when my ad says local candidates only • Resumes that list jobs in chronological order with skills and abilities listed separately. It is impossible to tell what the candidate did where. • The cover letter is not signed. They simply type their name. • included photo or other irrelevant personal information such as marital status, SSN, etc. • omitting request to list position desired and where saw ad • Photos of applicant; punctuation was bad so phrases at the top read...Married Daughter 190 pounds! • Year of employment only, and not months • Resume was handwritten • I do not consider a chronological resume to be a mistake. • Cover Letter advising applying for a different job. • Not for a specific position • Obvious lies in resume

- Other (Continued) • Lack of specifics in experiences • Wrong position in the Objective line • not professionally produced • including photographs of self • Specific talents/skills required for job and not addressed or mentioned in resume or cover letter. • Handwritten resumes • Photographs, inappropriate personal information • Cover letters that begin with Dear Sir! • Poor formatting making it difficult to follow • Responses to above are dependent upon level of job seeker/position. If Housekeeping position, I would not be concerned by typos, etc. as much as I would be if resume was for position such as secretary or other "professional" type • Misspelling my name or using wrong name on cover letter • Submitting resume with objective line not relative to the open position. In other words the sender hastily forgot to change the objective. I pass on this candidate. • Resume sent for job they are not at all qualified to do • Objective not matching position applying for • Response to blind ad, when the ad was from the Company they worked for • **A lot depends on position • Resumes with Date of Birth on them • Threats of lawsuits if not considered • A number of these items I would have answered 'sometimes' which would be based on the level of the position. • Resume submitted in pencil

- Other (Continued) • No indication why they left employer and are unemployed • When a salary range is provided in the ad and they still send a resume with a cover letter indicating their required salary that is higher then salary mentioned in the ad. • Education/Professional/Affiliations missing • Addressing correspondence with a reference to male gender, i.e. Dear Sir instead of Dear HR Professional or Hiring Manager • Qualifications not included to address requirements • Career changer with transferable skills that doesn't use a skills-based resume to highlight what he/she can bring to the new field. • ALL applications received by my organization are online only! • College degree received and date missing • Educational requirements, if required for the job • Certifications, Awards, and pre-written copies of references included with resume

Resumes and Cover Letters