With Fred Coon
20 Pet Peeves Recruiters Have About Resumes
Courtesy of Mike Worthington, ResumeDoctor.com
# 9 – Candidates Who Apply to Positions for which They are Unqualified
In order to gain experience in an area, you need to start out somewhere, and recruiters understand this. However, recruiters are buried up to their eyeballs in resumes. Recruiters do not have time to sort through hundreds of resumes that are in no way a match for the requirements they are trying to fill.
Steve Kendall of Management Recruiters of Atlanta West shares the following comment: “When someone submits an obviously unqualified resume, the person receiving it resents them wasting their time. It also delays the consideration of other applicants who ARE qualified. This resentment doesn’t help start a good relationship with that recruiter.” Make sure to read the job description. If the requirements are, ‘must have US citizenship and ability to obtain top security clearance,’ do not submit your resume to this position if you require H1 sponsorship.
Steve further adds: “All recruiters receive unsolicited resumes. If you are from the same profession or industry as a job posting, and do not fit that particular job, your background may fit other current or future jobs that will be worked on by that recruiter. Sending your information to them makes sense, however, don’t try to pretend that you are qualified for a job when you are not.”
Jennifer Baker of Inter*Link Technology Solutions in Daytona Beach, FL added, “Candidates who may not have direct experience in a particular area may still be a good match, however, it is this group of candidates who need to go the extra mile when presenting their resumes. Tell the recruiter in specific terms why your background makes you a good fit for this job. Otherwise, the recruiter is going to be puzzled as to why you have sent your resume.”
Recruiter Tip: Phil Dubois of Pride in Personnel in Markaham, Ontario offered this advice: “My initial reaction, (receiving resumes from unqualified candidates), is negative. The easiest remedy is to provide a simple introductory statement ‘while my qualifications do not match your requirements, please accept the attached for your files in anticipation of future, suitable opportunities.'”
Recruiter’s likes and dislikes in a resume were surveyed nation-wide by Mike Worthington of ResumeDoctor.com. FACE to FACE will publish all twenty pet peeves in this column over the next months.
ResumeDoctor.com is a service provided by Personnel Department Inc. PDI is Vermont’s largest independently owned staffing agency. They have been locally owned and operated for over 14 years. They have been featured in many publications, TV news programs, and radio broadcasts. You may contact them at: http://www.resumedoctor.com.