You know all about getting your resume noticed. (Clean layout! Accomplishments, not duties!) But do you know what’s on the flipside? What you might be doing that could cause recruiters to overlook your resume—or worse, toss it in the trash?
Gasp! The trash? I know what you’re thinking, but the truth is, recruiters have dozens, even hundreds, of resumes to comb through every day. So, in an effort to cull them down to a reasonable amount, they’ll simply toss any that don’t meet what they’re looking for.
To learn more, I sat down with a few recruiters and asked them about the resumes that make the cut and those that get tossed. Here are three of their deal-breakers.
1. You Don’t Meet the Basic Requirements
First and foremost, review the requirements listed in the job description and confirm that you have the skills and experience the recruiter is looking for. This is the “first knockout factor” for many, says Christina Lord, a technical recruiter at Dealer.com. “Make sure you look at the requirements before applying to the job, and identify if your skills are a match,” she says.