Why are resumes rejected?

First impressions

First impressions matter; if your resume does not attract the reader's attention in the first 20-30 seconds then your chances of obtaining an interview are greatly reduced. An employer may have a hundred or more resumes to look through and probably only a couple of hours in which to make their selection. So put your work experience at the start of your resume, not personal or educational details, unless you have only just left education.

What an employer really wants to know is why they should invite you for an interview. For this reason a short summary of your capabilities and/or a list of your major achievements can often be a good idea. This should make an employer want to invite you for an interview - but please be careful that you do not oversell yourself.

Poor visual layout

The visual layout of your resume is very important. Even though the wording you use may be correct, if people cannot find the information they want quickly they will move on to someone else's resume. You should use plenty of 'white' space in your resume and appropriate headings and section breaks.

Always use a word-processor/DTP package. Never use a typewriter as you will look old fashioned and out of date. Use good quality paper, preferably 100gram for both your resume and cover letter.

Length of resume

It is usually best to try and keep your resume to two pages, unless someone specifically asks you for a longer resume. If you cannot keep your resume to this length then you probably have not understood an employer's requirements. Employers do not want to know your whole life history - just enough to decide whether they should interview you or not.

If you would like to learn a further 7 major reasons why resumes are rejected then please click here now to get your copy of our FREE Report: Is your resume letting you down?: How to dramatically improve your CV