Having a résumé riddled with errors is like shooting yourself in the foot before the race even starts.
There are minor problems that hiring managers might overlook or forgive.
And then there are the mistakes that will get your application thrown out faster than you can say, “It was a mistake to put my CV in Comic Sans font.”
Here are several devastating résumé errors that will get you immediately tossed into the rejection pile:
Vivian Giang contributed to an earlier version of this article.
An abundance typos and grammatical errors tell the hiring manager one thing -- you didn't care enough to take two seconds to double check your résumé. So why should they take the time to read it?
Don't link to your crazy, opinionated Twitter or racy Instagram account (unless, for some reason, you're applying for a job that requires one).
'Candidates who tend to think their personal social media sites are valuable are putting themselves at risk of landing in the 'no' pile,' executive career coach and founder of Resume Writers' Ink Tina Nicolai says.
Don't lie on your résumé. You'll get caught -- immediately or eventually -- and it will be super awkward for everyone involved. If you're really concerned that you have no experience relative to the role, it's better to just be honest and hope for the best.
'Some people include past hourly rates for jobs they held in college,' Nicolai says. This information is completely unnecessary and may send the wrong message.
Amy Hoover, president of Talent Zoo, says you also shouldn't address your desired salary in a résumé. 'This document is intended to showcase your professional experience and skills. Salary comes later in the interview process.'
Don't get fancy with your font choices.
Curly-tailed fonts are also a turn off according to J.T. O'Donnell, a career and workplace expert, founder of career-advice site WorkItDaily.com, and author of 'Careerealism: The Smart Approach to a Satisfying Career 'People try to make their résumé look classier with a fancy font, but studies show they are harder to read and the recruiter absorbs less about you.'
Less is more when it comes to the font you use on your résumé.
This one's pretty basic, but if you don't meet any of the minimum qualifications, your résumé's probably going to get tossed (especially for management-level positions). Hiring managers don't have all day to pore over CVs that don't meet their criteria.
You don't even have to be unqualified! Your résumé might just be so bad it fails highlight any of your actual strengths and experiences, leaving the hiring manager feeling like you're not a good fit.
There's no reason to get creative with your formatting (unless you're in a design-based industry and you really know what you're doing). Everyone else, use a standard template. Anything too complicated will just annoy the reader.
How does that waiting job you had in high school apply to the financial internship you're applying for?
Clogging up your résumé with useless tidbits is a surefire way of landing in the 'no' pile.
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