Looking for a job isn’t easy. And as a job seeker, you’ll do just about anything to stand out from the crowd. Of course you will—you want the job. I remember being there, too.
My most recent career move, however, took me to the other side of the table. And here, I’ve been quite startled by some of the mistakes I’ve seen job seekers make. In some cases, it’s a seemingly naïve applicant trying to stand out in the wrong way. And in others, perhaps it’s just someone being lazy.
But I can guarantee you—steer far clear of these five mistakes, and you’ll do yourself a huge favor. They may seem small, obvious, or unimportant (come on, the hiring manager won’t really stop reading your resume after one page, right?)—but many people still get them wrong.
So get them right, and you’ll already be one step above your competition.
The number one most-repeated job search tip I’ve heard, from the time I was a college junior applying to internships, is to keep a resume to one page. In fact, when I was screening consulting applicants for my first company, I was told to throw out anything that went beyond one page.
So, I thought that “one-page resumes” had been beaten into everyone as they had into me. Not the case. When reviewing applications for the last position I was filling, I was startled to find that about 30% were two pages. Did I actually throw out the second page (like my consulting bosses once told me to)? No. Was I annoyed as I read it though? You bet. And more importantly, not once did any of the information included on the second page ever make a meaningful difference in how I thought about a candidate. By the end of page one—or, honestly, by about halfway down page one, I usually had all the information I needed.
No matter how much you want to squeeze a few more bullets in on your first job, your last internship, or your interests—keep it on one page.
Resumes aren’t works of art. They’re 8.5 x 11” pieces of paper that are designed to help your potential interviewer—quickly—understand your past experience and accomplishments, and how they’ve prepared you for the job you want.
When skimming resumes (yes, I admit it, I skim the first time through), these are the things that make it easy to identify good candidates: Succinct bullet points that describe your accomplishments. Numbers that substantiate those accomplishments. Clean formatting that makes the page easy to read.
These are the things that don’t (ever) help: Colored fonts. Colored backgrounds. Non-linear layouts.
During my last round of reviewing applicants, I recall reading a cover letter that I thought was actually rather good. But when I went to open the applicant’s resume, I was startled to see a baby-blue-and-brown page pop up in front of me, with colored rectangular sections spread around the page like post-it notes. Let me be honest: No matter what was on that page, I wasn’t going to like that applicant.
You’ve probably heard the advice, “Don’t use a creative resume unless you’re applying for a creative job.” I would amend that to say only use a creative resume if you are a designer applying to a design job. Anywhere else—even in “creative” fields like fashion or writing—stick with a traditional resume.
If I’m hiring you, I want you to like my company. I want you to be excited about what we’re doing and our mission. And not just to impress me: We’re probably going to be working together—at this company, on this mission—for a while, and I want to work with someone who’s happy doing so.
Yet, every time I’ve put up a job posting, I receive emails and cover letters from applicants telling me they’re interested in “the job I saw on your site.” Not even a mention of the job title! I have to wonder—do they even know what job they applied for?
Worse, though, are the cover letters that go on about how passionate the applicant is about the job and our company’s mission, and his or her desire to be a part of it—but, despite this professed enthusiasm, doesn’t mention, even once, the company by name. If the former situation is the equivalent of the guy at the bar who indiscriminately tries to buy every girl he meets a drink—this is the guy who professes his deep love to each of them while he’s at it. It never works.
Enthusiasm is good—particularly when you make it specific—but doing nothing but singing your interviewer’s praises to the sky will also score you surprisingly few points. Come on, I know my company isn’t “the most amazing organization in the entire world.”
The best applicants I’ve interviewed are the ones who show me that they can apply their critical thinking skills to the job they’re trying to get. One of my favorite questions to ask interviewees is, “If you were in this position, tell me about one thing that we currently do that you would change.” I know this catches some interviewees off guard. But, I’ve also gotten some truly stellar answers to this question that have turned the interview into a conversation about where this person could help us take the company—and that is the person I want to hire.
I will caveat this one: It’s tricky, and you have to read your interviewer well to do it right, but it can also make the difference between a good and an outstanding interview.
Now, here is the caveat to #4. Never, ever insult the company you’re interviewing with. Of course, you know that. But it really comes down to language and nuance, and a slip-up can be a lot more subtle than you realize.
During a recent interview, an applicant told me how she thought my company was in a “cool niche.” My team has fought hard to position ourselves as a real competitor in what we see as a very large market, so hearing an applicant tell me she thinks we’re “niche”—well, it actually stung a little. In the same vein, if you’re interviewing for a position at an “old media” or internet 2.0 company—please don’t say those words to your interviewer. It will—probably unintentionally—make it seem like you’re looking down on them.
And if you’re talking about ideas for the company to improve (or rather, “build on its successes”), or trying to communicate that you understand how the company fits into its market (particularly a market where it isn’t dominant), just always be careful to avoid any language with diminutive or dismissive connotations.
Interviewing isn’t easy. But armed with a solid (clean, 1-page, black-and-white) resume, a positive attitude, and a smart, critical eye toward the company and it’s potential, you can make yourself stand out as a cut above the pack. And trust me, do that, and your interviewer will be as thrilled to meet you as you are to meet her.
Angela Quinn is an Upper West Sider who loves nothing more than spending an afternoon writing over a good cup of Stumptown coffee. A former management consultant, she's now flexing more creative muscles, and all the while trying to train for her first half marathon.
Hi Angela,
Great post! I think one page resumes will not work, especially for Professionals. They have lot to add on about their experience, skills and companies they have worked. From my experience I can figure out that mainly Freshers have errors in their cover letter or via addressing by email.
Ankita
One page resumes are not going to work for many people. Especially for someone who has many years in the work force. Typically, these resumes show a progression of different job titles and responsibilities. Also, for who may have taken a job hit due to the economic downturn since 2008 there may be 2-4 temporary roles or a mix of temp. and short perm roles since 2008. Just the space needed to list each role and the job responsibilities could use up 1/2 of a page. Add in the most significant recent perm role and page one is filled.
Most people with substantial work expreience typically include an entire section of significant accomplishments and or cost savings. Add this section plus a few lines to at least identify a college and degree and you are well into page 2.
Angela, I have to disagree about resumes being only one page. In the work I do (IT project manager), people who are interviewing me want a list of all my projects right from the get-go. So my resume is 5 pages long, and I get callbacks from just about everyone that I've applied to. Someone who has over 20 years of experience can't put it all in a one-page resume. I do have bullets at the top explaining my qualifications, so I'm sure that helps. Otherwise, I agree with all of your other points.
Angela, I love this piece! Your comment about an interviewee who called your company "niche" completely resonated with me. I, too, work at a company where we're proud of attacking a massive problem on a large scale, yet I speak to a surprising number of jobseekers who use words about our "niche" that unintentionally turn me off. You make a very astute point!
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As a hiring manager, here are 3 other things that have turned me off from applicants:
- Cover letters that are addressed to a "Dear Sir". I make it clear in the job postings to send all cover letters and applications to me (first and last name), and my name is feminine. The use of a gender-specific salutation is presumptuous in this day in age. The use of a generic salutation ("Sir" versus my name) indicates that the candidate just didn't follow instructions, or uses a thoughtless generic cover letter for all apps. I usually send these to the "no" pile.
- Resumes or cover letters that include irrelevant information: "Single mother with 4 children," "cat lover," "Grandfather of 7 who can still keep up with the kids". These detract from the professional qualifications of the individual, and actually bias the hiring manager. As an example, I am allergic to cats and the knowledge that a candidate loves cats does nothing for improving his/her professional image in my eyes. I don't care if a person is a "single mother with 4 children"-- I care if she can excel at her job, has the track record to prove it, and will not bring her personal life inappropriately into the workplace.
- Email correspondence from candidates that are too casual. I occasionally reach out to candidates whose resumes and cover letters seem promising. Sometimes their replies are a complete turn off. No salutation, bad structure, no closing. As an example, I might email someone, "Hello ____, Thank you for your interest in the ____ position at ____ company. Do you have a link to an online portfolio that we can review? Thank you again. I look forward to hearing from you. My Name, title, company, etc." Their response: "Here it is: www._________.com." Gee. Ok. Thanks. Turn off. No professional etiquette. He/she goes into the "no" pile for a bad company fit.
@Nancy Great points. We were recently interviewing candidates for intern positions and cover letters that were addressed to a "Dear Sir" or even a "Dear Sir or Madam" seemed too generic and didn't imply an excitement about the position.
