13 Ways Your Resume Can Say 'I'm Unprofessional'

Hiring pros share the faux pas they find in real resumes, including wacky e-mail addresses, defunct phone numbers and cookie-cutter templates.

By Lisa Vaas

No offense, thebigcheese@domain.com, but if nobody has told you yet, we’re telling you now: That e-mail address is not making you look particularly professional.

Unprofessional e-mail addresses are just one way of sending hiring managers the wrong message. If you want to be taken seriously when you apply for jobs, you need to put some polish on your resume, your cover letter and everything contained therein. Hiring professionals repeatedly run across these red flags that scream “unprofessional.” A number of recruiters and HR managers shared with TheLadders common errors from their own professional experiences.

1. Random/cute/shared e-mail accounts

E-mail accounts are free. There’s no reason not to sign up for your own. Yet many mid-career professionals share an e-mail account with a significant other or the entire family, generating addresses such as dickandjane@domain.com or thesmiths@domain.com. Also stay away from cutesy addresses. After all, butterfliesaremyfriend2010@domain.com, you can always share your admiration of Lepidoptera with colleagues after you’ve been hired. Ditto for offensive, flirtatious or sexual e-mail addresses.

Think we’re exaggerating? These are actual e-mail accounts cited by Jillian Zavitz, who’s responsible for hiring as the programs manager for TalktoCanada.com, an online English language-training course based in Canada. (We’ve changed the domain names to protect the innocent.)

Instead, adopt an address that incorporates the name you use professionally on your resume and cover letter.

2. Failure to proofread

Deidre Pannazzo, executive director at Inspired Resumes, said it’s “amazing” how many people submit resumes that contain “numerous typos and misspellings.” Even better than spell check, she said, is to have a friend review the document for you.

“Make sure your dates are consistent, and that you don't confuse your story with overlapping time lines,” she said. (For an in-depth look at how to tackle proofreading your resume, click here.)

3. Bikini pictures

Resume experts advise against attaching pictures or any image files to a resume. They can “choke” an applicant tracking system (ATS), the software that automatically scans and parses resumes. (Click here for an in-depth look at how your resume is handled by technology after you press submit.) In addition, hiring professionals warn against giving anyone a reason to prejudge and form a negative opinion based on your appearance. Indeed, some HR departments will immediately discard resumes with photos to avoid any possible accusations of discrimination on this basis.

But still applicants send photos. Most troublesome of all, said Zavitz, are the beach shots. “(No) pictures where you are in a bikini at the beach (real story, and it wasn't a flattering picture either) or at a New Year’s party with your friends (obviously drunk). Not cool.”

4. Unprofessional voicemail

If your resume is strong enough to convince the recruiter or hiring manager to reach for the telephone, be sure what he finds at the other end of the line represents you in the best light – that means your voicemail or whoever might answer the phone.

Marlane Perry, managing director of the Executive Search Division of Magill Associates, said she is unimpressed when a phone number on a resume leads her to an unprofessional recorded voicemail or a conversation with a third party who can’t be trusted to take a message. “If you don't trust your roommates to answer the phone and take a decent message, then only list your cell phone,” she said.

5. Lazy words, ‛etc.’

Perry said that use of “etc.” on a resume is a sign of laziness: The job seeker obviously “can't even take the time to list out all of [his] duties.” She has seen the error on both junior- and executive-level resumes. Another no-no is saying "same as above" anywhere on a resume. “If you had similar job functions at your last two jobs, summarize the responsibilities and then bullet out some of your accomplishments,” she suggested.

6. Cookie-cutter resumes

Samantha Goldberg is a celebrity event designer and TV personality who’s always looking for employees for administrative duties or to help plan an event. She said she often reviews resumes and cover letters that aren’t even vaguely customized for her business.

“It’s more like ‛Mad Libs’ — they just fill in our name as they send them off!” she said. “Just once, I would love to have them describe me on the cover letter instead of saying that they respect my career status and have been following my career.”

On many occasions, Goldberg said, she specifically lists a prerequisite of at least three years’ experience with planning events that does not include friends, family or applicants’ own weddings. “They obviously don’t read my prerequisites and send an e-mail stating that even though they haven’t orchestrated events for anyone they have always been told they should be in the industry if I would just give them a chance.”

7. Everything but the kitchen sink

“I don't care, nor have time, to read about your life story,” Zavitz said. “If you can't whittle your resume down to a page or two at max, I will not read it. If it's not related [to the job or your work history], don't include it.”

8-13 ad infinitum...

Larry Lambeth, president of Employment Screening Services Inc., which helps companies review job applicants, offered a laundry list of professional gaffes he’s seen on resumes and job applications:

• Listing a spouse as a reference
• Not spelling out the name of an employer or school (“LSU” instead of “Louisiana State University” or “ZDE” instead of “Ziff Davis Enterprise”)
• Not providing a city or state for an employer or school
• Omitting the area code from a phone number for a reference or employer
• Providing only a first name for a supervisor or reference
• Including phone numbers that are no longer in service for references or employers

Is Hoarding Hurting Your Employees’ Careers?

Being perceived as a hoarder may cost workers a promotion, new CareerBuilder survey shows

By: Mary Lorenz

It may get you a cameo on a TLC reality show, but hoarding don’t do nothing for your career, y’all.

A new, very scientific survey by CareerBuilder shows hoarding can have a negative impact on your career.  Nearly three-in-ten (28 percent) employers say they are less likely to promote someone who has a disorganized or messy work space.

This doesn’t bode well for the 33 percent of workers – men and women equally – who say they tend to be hoarders. And even though companies have shifted to a more digital workplace, more than half of workers (51 percent) say they still have paper files in their office/desk.

But let’s back up a touch, shall we? What exactly makes someone a hoarder? Survey says…

• 38 percent say that, currently, between 50 to 100 percent of their desk surface is covered with work and other materials, while 16 percent of workers said 75 percent or more of their desk is covered. For shame!!
• 36 percent of workers say they have paper files from more than a year ago, 13 percent have files that are five years or older and six percent have files dating back more than 10 years. Heathens.

Is it really that big a deal? Well, yes, according to the survey. It seems employers don’t think any more of hoarders than they do of tattooed employees.

Nearly two-in-five employers (38 percent) say piles of paper covering a desk negatively impacted their perception of that person; 27 percent feel they are disorganized, while 16 percent say they are just messy.

Public service announcement: If you or someone you know is a hoarder, there IS help.

Rosemary Haefner, CareerBuilder’s Vice President of Human Resources, offers the following tips to get your work area organized:

• Schedule time with the office recycle bin –Set a calendar reminder for Friday afternoon to take completed projects to the recycle bin.

• Work on one project at a time – While you may have 20 things on your “to do” list, prioritize what needs to be done that day when you arrive at work and take care of one project at a time.

• Don’t be a digital hoarder – Just because nobody else can see your clutter, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, especially in your email boxes. Delete unneeded emails on a weekly basis.

Are You Emotionally Tone-Deaf?

By Barbara Reinhold, Monster Contributing Writer

There's a reason women get such good press for their abilities to manage complex relationships at work, and hence for their skills as managers. Women tend to tune in to what people around them are feeling and experiencing, thus making communications and collaborations go more smoothly. This is not to suggest that meetings ought to be therapy sessions, but rather that unless the emotional issues in interactions are understood, they'll surely derail your best efforts.

Obviously, not all women are adept at reading emotions. And of course not all men are deficient in this area. But regardless of your gender, it's important to know whether you're getting the emotional signals around you or whether you're manifesting a degree of tone deafness in this regard. This will be impossible to figure out on your own, so you'll need to enlist the cooperation of one or more people at home or work to help you gauge your ability to perceive the emotional tenor of various interactions. Once you know what's going on, you can make moves to acknowledge and/or work around the land mines.

Practice is a key part of this. After every meeting or social interaction, write down the names of the people in the room, and try to attach an adjective or phrase to that person's demeanor. For example, "Jack was angry today; Myron was sad about something; Gail was anxious." Then check your perception with someone else who was in the room. Perhaps you and your consultant will disagree. ("No, I don't think Jack was angry. I think he was feeling out of his depth and needed more information. He came across as frustrated and angry, though.") What a difference that awareness would make in designing an effective intervention. Does Jack need you to find out what he's mad at, or does Jack need reassurance that this material is hard to get at first and that you'll be happy to work with him on it?

This task of learning to incorporate emotional acuity into your workplace tool kit will take some time, so don't get impatient with yourself. Working in an emotionally aware way is actually a three-step process:

·   Read the emotional signals correctly.

·   Make a gesture that shows you understand what someone's feeling. For example, say, "I know you've been working hard on this project, but there are still some problems we need to address."

·   Frame solutions that the individual or individuals will be able to take in and work with.

For example, if your assistant is someone who values relationships more than results and you're a results-oriented person, you could give a lecture on the fact that work is work in this deadline-driven environment and relationships have to come later. Or you could join with him and say something like, "I know it's important for you to feel a sense of camaraderie as you work, but it will be better for all of us if we try to be really focused on the project at hand now to meet this deadline by 4 p.m., and then take time at the end of the day to relax a little together."

But the very first step to all of this is becoming aware of the emotional agendas we all have. That's your homework. Be brave enough to ask some people who know you and will be honest with you about how well you seem to read emotional signals. Ask them for some examples they might remember of times when you missed something. Then hook up with some folks you think are good at reading the signals and ask them to help you learn to do it, too. You won't be sorry, and neither will your boss and direct reports.

10 Questions to Ask a Recruiter (And 1 to Avoid)

Are you so flattered when a recruiter rings you that you forget to ask them critical questions? Take this quiz to see if you’re covering your bases.

By Andrea Sobel

Every once in awhile, the phone rings, and it’s a recruiter on the other end. While you might not be interested in what he is offering, you have to admit that it’s flattering to get the call. (“Someone thinks I might be right for a job!”)

Once you get past the initial compliment, though, you have to get down to the serious business of determining if you are interested. The recruiter wants to know about you, but before you turn over your resume, there are things you should know about him.

Here are 10 questions to ask a recruiter and one question to avoid. See if you can figure out which is which. (Answer at bottom.)

1. “What are the three main qualifications the recruiter’s client (the employer) is looking for?”

The recruiter probably has a one-page laundry list of what the perfect person looks like. The truth is, however, the client/employer most likely has only a few ( three to four) key requirements that are the deal-breakers. Get those on the table first to see if you’re even in the ball park. You probably don’t need all the requirements. If you don’t have the basics, you might as well say thanks and cut the conversation short. Especially in a tough economy, managers are not generally willing to massage the basic requirements because they believe they will find someone who has them. Here’s when you tell the recruiter to call you if she finds another job that matches your skills and desires.

2. “What’s the job description?”

Hearing what the client/employer expects you to do is important. While the job may entail more money or a higher title, you have to show up and do that job every day. Is it something you want to do? Will it stretch your skill set? Will it represent more of the same at a moment in your career when you’re ready to do more? (Don’t give up yet. This might be a company with rapid promotions, and a lateral job is just what you need to get you leverage to climb the ladder. See #6.)

3. “Are you working with this employer exclusively?”

Here’s where you find out what has gone into the search so far and maybe what your chances are. If the recruiter has the job exclusively or is sharing it with only one other recruiter, you have a better chance to get your resume reviewed by the hiring manager. If it’s out to a zillion agents, your chances just dropped, but it doesn’t make it impossible. It just requires you to stay in closer touch with the recruiter to find out where things stand. The process will probably go more slowly because the employer will be wading through more resumes. Make sure your recruiter believes in you for the position and is doing everything she can to get you noticed. Also, make sure the resume you present really highlights the experience the employer is looking for. Here’s where you need to really stand out from the pack.

4. “How long has the job been open?”

This is bit like Goldilocks: The right answer is not too long and not too short. If you are the first candidate interviewed and you are really great, the employer may conclude the search will be easy and want to see more for comparison. That’s not to say everyone else won’t pale by comparison, but it is a waiting game for you.

5. “Why has the job been open a long time?”

If the recruiter says the job has been open a long time (and especially if he then sighs ), you need to get him to get more info. It would make lots of sense if the recruiter would go back to the client/employer and find out what has been wrong with the people they’ve interviewed. When you hear the answer, you can begin to determine if you’ll be another in a series of misses or a better fit than the candidates who have come before.

6. “What is the reason for the open position ?”

You’re going to have to do a little digging here. People turn over, but it is only meaningful if you can see a pattern. Do a lot of people turn over? Was it a promotion? (A good thing!) What is the longevity of the rest of the team? You might not get all the facts from the recruiter, but if it brings up a red flag, keep your eyes open doing the interview (and be sure all your questions are answered before you accept ).

7. “What is the compensation package?”

Here’s where you ask about starting salary range. But also ask about bonuses (and more importantly, the last few years of achieving them) and any other perks that might be included. Half-day Fridays always sounded good to me, but someone else might care about child care, gym membership, stock options, a car allowance or the health-insurance co-pay.

8. “What is the interview process?”

How many steps till the decision? I had one client who required candidates undergo nine interviews! Will you get to meet the senior management in the process? It’s just good to know what you’re getting yourself into, and it’s also a good way to gauge how you are doing. (Are you almost to the finish line?)

9. “What information do you have about the company?”

You can check out the financials on the Internet, but is there any insider info you should know that may not be as public? For example, I am working with a company right now that is bringing its SEC work in-house and is planning on going public within two years. This info is very valuable to someone looking at an open position. This is also where you can learn about company culture. Do they wear jeans? Is there flexibility to work from home sometimes?

10. “Where is the job located?”

For example: Los Angeles jobs that are eight miles from your home can mean an hour longer on the road. If it’s a crazy commute, is there any possibility to work remotely a couple times a week? If it means relocation, what does that include?

11. “How did you get my name?”

It’s always great to think one of your colleagues thinks enough of you to refer you for this job. In some ways, you don’t feel like you need to investigate quite so much, since someone who knows you thinks you’re a match.

Don’t shy away from asking these solid questions that help you decide whether to move forward. Watch out for #11. (Did you guess?) While you can certainly ask, you may not get a solid answer. Recruiters often get referrals with the promise of not revealing their source. (Very Deep Throat.) So, let the recruiter slide on that one, and make him work to give you great answers to all the rest.

How Tough Times Open Doors

At current rates of unemployment, being without a job bears less stigma. It’s called "candidate forgiveness," and companies are in the mood to practice it.

By Andrea Sobel

Where do you find the silver lining in the darkest economic cloud since the Great Depression?

It’s hard to think of positives. Supposedly, the roads are less crowded as fewer commuters make their way to and from work. (Although that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case here in Los Angeles!) Those of us who are employed might have a better selection of office furniture and supplies to choose from now that the competition is diminished. But all in all, there is very little to celebrate when more than 15 million Americans are unemployed.

There is one upside for current job seekers: Being unemployed has become so common that recruiters and hiring managers are less likely to consider it a negative. We call it “candidate forgiveness”; while it’s traditionally easier to find a job when you have one already recruiters today are more willing to overlook the fact that a candidate is unemployed when he applies for a position.

As a recruiter, I can attest to the difficulty I have had selling an unemployed candidate to a top-notch company when employment numbers are more robust. In a strong economy, recruiters prefer “passive” candidates — those who were employed and not looking. I’ve drawn a lot of analogies to dating in my articles about the job search; this scenario would resemble the guy who already has a girlfriend and seems like the perfect boyfriend. If you missed last year’s dance, you need not apply for prom king.

But circumstances have changed, and so have the sentiments of recruiters. With so much great talent on the streets, finding the right candidate is more about finding the right skill set and less about whether the candidate employed or unemployed. In fact, it’s harder than ever to poach an employed candidate away from seemingly stable employment.

But this period of candidate forgiveness won’t last forever, and some of the circumstances of unemployment are more forgivable than others. Take advantage of candidate forgiveness while you can by framing your employment in the best possible way for the recruiter.

Some key points:

§   It is important to clarify that it was a company-wide layoff. It’s even better to know the numbers — “50 percent of the staff” or “over 1,500 people.”

§   Have strong references lined up (preferably supervisors) who can back up your story. Obtain their personal e-mail addresses before you part ways so you can stay in touch down the road.

§   Contact your references so that they know who might be calling and the position you are considering. Get their permission to use them as references. (If you are hired, be sure to follow up with a thank-you note.)

§   Be prepared to compromise. Decide what benefits or working conditions are important to you and which are superfluous. Set standards where you think they’re important, but be realistic, too. It’s not 2007 anymore.

§   While it is most important to get back to work, if you have a choice, pick the job that will continue to enhance your skills. This will be of value in your next job search or if you are ever laid off again.

Yes, this recession has leveled the playing field for unemployed candidates, but you should use this to your advantage while you can – before the economy recovers. Let’s hope that’s soon.