You decided to find yourself a new job, and you know you need a solid resume to make that happen. So, you find a nifty little template online, fill it with things you like to read about yourself, and send it to the company where you’d like to work. But you get rejected. So you send the resume to another company. Another rejection. And another. And another?
So you ask yourself one question: Why does my resume keep getting rejected by employers? If you’re living this scenario, then this article is for you. Here we will discuss the usual reasons behind employers rejecting resumes.
Your Resume Is Templated
Having generic, templated resumes is always a bad choice. With the resume, you’re trying to draw attention to yourself and be remembered by the hiring managers. By having a resume that’s quite similar to everyone else’s, it is very hard to accomplish that. Instead, make sure to focus on your accomplishments and achievements.
Your Resume Lacks (relevant) Accomplishments
First of all, you absolutely *must* list accomplishments and achievements in your resume. Even if you don’t have previous work experience, list what you did during education, or if you volunteered anywhere. Also, make sure you’re listing only the ones relevant to the position you’re applying for. If you are looking for a job as a software engineer, the hiring manager probably does not want to know about your achievements with the local amateur football club. Keep it relevant.
Your Resume Is Full Of Soft Skills & Fluff
Should you list soft skills in a resume? Definitely. But do you need to place a strong emphasis on them? Absolutely not. Soft skills are personal attributes, human traits that allow people to interact with other people on a ‘normal’ basis. They are a welcome addition to any employee, but they are not make-or-break stuff, and you can still get hired without them.
But without hard skills, the ones necessary to get actual work done, it is virtually impossible to land interviews. So make sure to focus your resume mostly on hard skills, even if that means eliminating most soft skills from the resume.
Your Resume Lacks Metrics
If you have any skills, or have made any achievements which are quantifiable, make sure to present them as such. The best resume writing professional resume service will confirm that metrics are a great way to quickly and effectively describe yourself as a professional. Hiring managers are very short on time, and metrics allow for fast and easily digestible storytelling.
Your Resume Is Not ATS Optimized
Many companies nowadays use Applicant Tracking Software systems to scan incoming resumes, discard invalid ones and sort the rest. That’s why it is crucial to know how to make a search engine optimized resume. In order to pass through various ATS systems, it is essential to have the right keywords, buzzwords and search phrases.
Wrap-up
The point is simple – your resume should never be about what you love reading about yourself. Instead, it should be about what the hiring managers *need* to know about you. Did you earn your former company any money? Or saved any money? Did you solve any problems for your former employer? How did you solve the problems? What were the results? But that’s not all.
It is also about the way you present that information. It needs to be easily digestible, for both humans and Applicant Tracking Software systems, so make sure to incorporate metrics, wherever that is possible. And last – but not least – try to avoid generic, templated resumes. Hiring managers see so many of those that they forget about them in an instant. After all, you want to be remembered fast, not forgotten fast.