10 Ways Your Résumé Irks Hiring Managers

Fashion designer Coco Chanel had a personal rule: Before she left the house, the style icon always removed one piece of her ensemble to avoid the faux-pas of wearing too many accessories.  Were Chanel alive today and working as a hiring manager, she would likely offer similar advice to job seekers: You don’t have to include everything.

Job seekers do themselves a disservice when they send out résumés with more information than they need. Most employers don’t have the time or patience to sift through the irrelevant details. Here are 10 things your résumé could do without:

1. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
“If you are careless enough to send out this most important document with a mistake…I immediately assume you’ll never care enough about the work you send out representing my company,” says Jose Bandujo, president of New York-based Bandujo Advertising. He recalls one candidate who misspelled Manhattan, despite having worked in the city for a decade and another whose great educational background didn’t compensate for the fact that he couldn’t spell “education.”

2. Opening objectives.
“These are generic…They do nothing to differentiate one candidate from another,” says Donna Flagg, president of The Krysalis Group, a human resource and management consulting firm in New York.

3.  Personal attributes.
Listing personal information such as height, weight and age and providing photographs is a pet peeve for Heather Mayfield, vice president of training and operations for Snelling Staffing Services.  “It is amazing that we still see this on the résumés of today, but they are out there.”

4. Interests and hobbies.
If these points of information don’t pertain to the job in question, there’s no need to include them.  “Create a mystery and save these kinds of data points when you start the job,” advises Roy Blitzer, author of “Hire Me, Inc.: Résumés and Cover Letters that Get Results.”

5. Details of every task you’ve ever performed in every job you’ve ever had.
“It’s too much information. Managers and recruiters need to know at-a-glance what makes a candidate special,” Flagg says. Focus on those details that pertain to the job for which you’re applying.

6. Excessive bragging.
Stating one’s accomplishments can be helpful, but when it’s overdone, the candidate can come across as narcissistic, a huge turnoff for employers, Flagg says.

7. Outdated information.
Leave off the activities that you did in high school if graduation was a few years ago and omit jobs you held 10 or more years ago, as the information is probably irrelevant to the position you’re trying for now.

8. False information.
“Putting [that you have] a B.S. on a résumé when you do not have one is ‘BS,’” jokes Stephen Viscusi, author of “On the Job: How to Make it in the Real World of Work.” Not only is lying on a résumé unfair and dishonest, it’s also not very intelligent.  “Companies verify dates of employment – often after you start. If you have lied, they fire you…Nobody wants to hire a liar. Nobody.”

By Mary Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com writer

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55 most frequently asked interview questions

Dan Johnston from PPR Career shared the following list of frequently asked questions on a job interview, as well as advice on what to be prepared for.
1. Tell me about yourself. Use “Picture Frame Approach”
Answer in about two minutes. Avoid details, don’t ramble. Touch on these four areas:

* How many years, doing what function
* Education – credentials
* Major responsibility and accomplishments
* Personal summary of work style (plus career goals if applicable)

Prepare in advance using this formula:

1. “My name is…”
2. “I’ve worked for X years as a [title]”
3. “Currently, I’m a [title] at [company]”
4. “Before that, I was a [title] at [company]”
5. “I love the challenge of my work, especially the major strengths it allows me to offer, including [A, B, and C]”.
6. Second, help the interviewer by focusing the question with a question of your own: “What about me would be most relevant to you and what this company needs?”

2. Did you bring your resume?
Yes. Be prepared with two or three extra copies. Do not offer them unless you’re asked for one.

3. What do you know about our organization?
Research the target company before the interview. Basic research is the only way to prepare for this question. Do your homework, and you’ll score big on this question. Talk about products, services, history and people, especially any friends that work there. “But I would love to know more, particularly from your point of view. Do we have time to cover that now?

4. What experience do you have?
Pre-interview research and PPR Career will help you here. Try to cite experience relevant to the company’s concerns. Also, try answering this questions with a question: “Are you looking for overall experience or experience in some specific area of special interest to you?” Let the interviewer’s response guide your answer.

5. According to your definition of success, how successful have you been so far?
(Is this person mature and self aware?)
Be prepared to define success, and then respond (consistent record of responsibility)

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