What Recruiters Like & Dislike to See In Resumes

Q4 is here, and that means the new year will be here before you know it.

The new year is the most popular time for people to look for new roles. The new year, fresh start attitude hits both employers and employees during this time. As job seekers, it's important to start getting your cover letter, interview preparation, and most importantly, your resume ready going into this season.

To further help you out with this step, we asked a local Tampa Bay recruiting firm what they dislike to see (and like!) on resumes. Here's what they said!

Elm:

"I hate when the timeline is missing. Each job should have month/year – month-year of when you worked.

My second least favorite is when you do not include any description of your job. Give me a starting point and we can go from there. No one knows what a candidate did every day at a job better than the candidate."

Bob:

"Personally, I love to see clear and concise descriptions of what someone's day-to-day looks like. Additionally, any kind of direct results they had a hand in (i.e. increased efficiency percentage, hit x sales number.)

But, what I hate is seeing a resume that isn't in proper chronological order. Or, seeing people skills with a rating next to them, versus just listing the skill. I think it diminishes the skills you bring to the table."

Carolina:

"One thing I hate to see is when people just put their job title and what the company does instead of giving clear examples/bullet points of what they do as an employee on a daily. So many people can be given the same job title and have very different responsibilities. That or when people post the job description in their resume instead of actually writing down what they do.

One thing I do like to see on resumes is your location with zip code, accurate education mentioned (for example, if you are still getting your bachelor's degree, put your highest level completed, and then for the BS say “in progress” or something), I think it saves people a lot of time both as recruiter and as job seeker."

Delanie:

"Resumes written in 1st person – lots of “I” and “me” and “my”!!"

Dan:

"Hate: not explaining big employment gaps, poor formatting, not having job responsibilities under each job, crazy long resumes

Love: good formatting, a brief summary at top of resume for the job you are applying to, easy to read."

We hope this helps you curate the resume that lands you your dream job! Remember that it is important to not only have a resume tailored to the role that you're applying to but also make sure you are putting a focus on your formatting, having a clear description, and accurate personal details.

Best of luck on your resume building!