Those who review resumes ... Questions for u

Besides spelling errors, what do you look for when finding a new candidate?

What makes them appeal or stand out to you, and what turns you off?

What do you think when someone is applying to a job within a similiar industry but has little background in new position? For example, a legal secretary who worked for a science company but is applying for a legal position at a food magazine? (not my scenario, but you know what I mean)

What would you think if an applicant stated in their cover letter that they are willing to work for less money just to get his foot in the door? Bad idea or appealing?

And any dos or donts would be great.

Re: Those who review resumes ... Questions for u

Generally, it's important IMHO for their resume/skills to be tailored to the position you are applying for.

Same with cover letter.

I think instead of putting you would take a lower salary (why sell yourself short?!), you should indicate on the cover letter that you are interested in exploring entry-level positions.

This used to make my skin crawl back in the day, but nothing was a bigger turn-off to me then when someone applied for a SOCIAL WORK position, barely had a B.A. degree and stated that their salary requirement was $80K a year.



There are many knuckleheads out there that do this.

I just don't think it's good etiquette in general to list salary on a cover letter.

Maybe if they specifically ask for it, but make sure you are super-informed regarding the industry and what the salary tends to be (also factoring in benefits).

I am actually considering having someone do my resume professionally because I have not received ANY calls over the past couple of years when I have sent it out to places that I KNOW I am qualified for.

Good luck with your search!

Re: Those who review resumes ... Questions for u

If I don't know the person and their resume has nothing to do with the position, I toss it in a pile. They'd need a seriously compelling cover letter for me to look twice.

My biggest pet peeve is when I'm interviewing someone and I discover their resume is not accurate or updated. To me this speaks volumes about how much stock they put in the interviewing process.

Typos. It's also very obvious when I meet someone and they didn't write it themselves.

Re: Those who review resumes ... Questions for u

I hate hate hate when people have a resume over 1 page!

I also hate when they have no cover letter (happens a lot with careerbuilder & monster) or that cover letter is not specific to that position- I like it to list the position and then match the qualifications of that job to your own.

Do all that, and you are guaranteed to get at least the HR interview

eta- we specifically ask for salary requirements on all our job postings. If you ignore this, we dont contact you to find out if you fit our range- you go into the no pile automatically.

Message edited 8/29/2012 12:18:18 PM.