Resume Critique: Signs That Your Resume Is Not Working

Landing an employment in a today’s tough market is a challenge; and the resume’s job is to ease this thorny path for you. Not every resume does its job well, though. Sometimes, it’s your resume that prevents you from getting interviewed for the desired positions and holds back the entire job-hunting process. Below, you’ll see the clear signs that your resume doesn’t work.

Hire a professional to critique resume for you

Applying for jobs for weeks or even months and not receiving the desired results is incredibly frustrating. However, this situation is easy to fix by seeking professional help. Resume writers of Resumeperk.com can have a look at your resume from the employer’s perspective and explain what discourages the hiring manager from inviting you for an interview. We’ll also provide some helpful tips so you could improve your writing and self-presentation. Sometimes a few tips from a professional is all it takes to help your resume stand out. You can also get a cover letter for CV written if you don’t have one.

However, how do you tell if it’s the competition or your resume isn’t really up to scratch? Below you’ll find a list of indicators showing that the problem is your resume.

8 signs that resume doesn’t work

A good resume serves as a presentation of your core skills and competencies. Your resume needs to have an easy to read format and layout and make your background and strengths clear in minutes. The failure to present your career history and communicate your career goals often results in one of the following consequences:

You apply for jobs and never hear back from anyone

Probably, it’s the most surefire indicator that your resume is completely off the mark. If you apply for jobs you’re qualified for and meet the required criteria and don’t receive any feedback, it means that your resume is of no use. It doesn’t show your fit for the role nor it informs the employer that you’ve excelled with similar type of job before. In either case, you need a new resume – otherwise, you’re at risk of staying unemployed for another month or two. 
It might be hard to interpret what exactly makes your resume ineffective – online resume review services can help here. However, if you feel like working things out by yourself, try fixing the following mistakes in your resume: https://resumeperk.com/blog/top-30-common-resume-mistakes-you-should-avoid.

You are getting interview calls – but they are off the point

Let’s say you’ve posted a resume online or submitted it to the company’s website. However, when someone gets in touch with you, they want to interview you for a different kind of job. For example, your target position is finance analyst, and you are constantly getting inquires about the administrative assistant position. This is a surefire sign that your resume lacks focus – it either includes your entire career history or doesn’t contain any information about what type of role you’re after. Unfortunately, such a confusion doesn’t let you go forward in your career.

The interviewer asks you obvious questions

You’ve come for an interview prepared and stuck to the job interview dress code. However, the interviewer starts the conversation by asking about your previous roles, responsibilities and projects. Your resume should answer these questions clearly – and if it doesn’t, it adds no value to your job-hunting since the interviewer has to look for connections between your background and the expectations from the role.
One of the proven ways to distinguish yourself during an interview is to ask the right questions. Here are the examples of good and bad questions to ask your interviewer: https://resumeperk.com/blog/10-best-and-worst-questions-to-ask-your-interviewer.

You give out the resume to acquaintances, but nothing happens

You’ve heard that networking is the king, and constantly ask your acquaintances to pass your resume to someone in their companies. Unfortunately, this tactic doesn’t bring results, although you seem to have the right experience and skills. If it sounds like you, then your resume doesn’t communicate your background not it highlights your relevance for the role.
No hiring manager is going to tell you that your resume looks vague and poor – they’ll simply reject it leaving you wondering where you did wrong. To change the situation, you can take advantage of our review resumes service – an experienced professional resume writer will check your resume and point out at what to improve.

You apply with the same version of your resume

If you’re in a hurry, customizing your resume for every job posting is probably the least thing you feel like doing. Nevertheless, due to the ATS sending the same resume to all job postings no longer works – such applications are eliminated before the hiring manager takes a look at them. So, take your time to customize at least the job title, summary and skill set for each job. Tailored applications get more responses.

Your resume doesn’t make your background clear

If everyone you hand your resume to ask the questions about your goals, background or wonder what exactly you’re good at, then reading your resume is just a waste of time. A good resume should get all the reader’s questions answered. On the contrary, your resume is probably too generic or shows no connection between your experience and the next job, leaving the reader wondering how they relate. In either case, such a resume minimizes your chances for an interview – many recruiters won’t be guessing and will simply pass to another application.

You’ve used a sophisticated resume format

Bright and sophisticated resume templates are increasingly used by job-seekers. However, not all of them do good to your resume – sometimes such visual resumes are not viewed correctly on the recruiter’s computers or cannot be opened at all. Moreover, most of fancy templates are ATS-unfriendly and won’t make it to the human reviewer they were created for. So, it’s a better idea to stay on the simpler resume formatting – but be sure to keep it neat and clean. For hands-on tips on effective resume formatting, read our guidance.

You think you could look better on paper

Have you finished writing your resume yet it doesn’t ‘wow’ you? Are you waiting for an interview to show off your talents and demonstrate your fit for the role? In this case, you need to rewrite that resume right now. The truth is, it’s your resume that needs to show that you make a good fit for the role. Even if you cannot provide figures for your accomplishments, there’s always a way to describe results you’ve delivered for a previous employer. What isn’t on the resume doesn’t exist for a prospective employer – so make sure that the resume represents you at your best before you hit the “Apply” button.

Take charge of your social media presence

You’ve probably heard the stories how social media can build career or ruin your chances for interviews. Before blaming it to your resume, have a critical look at your social media accounts and try to figure out how you look from the employer’s perspective. Party pictures, racist jokes, signs of alcohol abuse, bad temper in comments don’t contribute to your image of a reputable professional. So, delete or hide anything which might be misinterpreted by recruiters before you start applying for jobs. By the way, having no social media accounts is considered a bad sign, too.

Resume critique checklist

For years of successful experience in the sphere of career documents, our expert writers have learned the most popular weak places. Most job seekers make similar mistakes.

Don’t for job seekers

⛝ Accomplishments separated from the job description

⛝ Too many personal pronouns

⛝ Grammar mistakes, syntax errors, typos in companies referred (such references can be considered as useless as they do not give correct information)

⛝ A lack of keywords in the resume title and text

⛝ Mentioning non-relevant recent job

⛝ Chaotical text without any structure and logic

Do’s for your resume

☑ Focus on a new job and career goal

☑ Well-structured content flow, logical text

☑ Resume sections labeled properly

☑ ATS-friendly text and titles (in accordance with your dream job titles)

☑ Both hard and soft skills (right qualifications, ability to control your own work, team skills)

☑ Reverse chronological order of the work history

☑ Enough ample white space (bullet points, text break formatted correctly)

☑ Action verbs for a persuasive tone

☑ Visually appealing design (it usually makes the first impression)

☑ Do not forget to mention your marital status

☑ Implied first-person voice

Constructive criticism from our resume writers

Does your resume provide enough facts proving that you are a worthy candidate? Is the writing style suitable for this document? Is it perfect enough to impress hiring managers? Get answers to these and many other questions from true experts. We offer a competent resume review, which implies:

• detailed feedback on the core aspects of your career document;
• unbiased perspective on the resume;
• solid listing of helpful recommendations and other concrete measures on improving your career development.

We are glad to offer resume's content support and hints on how to improve the design of your document. Importantly, in our work, we are guided by the requirements of your job ad, your preferences, as well as general rules of resume building.

What if resume critique is not enough?

If you do not have enough time to study the rules of a successful resume, constantly edit and rewrite your text, our specialists will do everything for you. Alongside competent resume review, we are ready to build a powerful career document. Whether you need a cover letter, LinkedIn profile, a professional resume, answers to potential questions of the job interview, we’ll do it with skill. This service is much better than using a common resume builder or sample resume as we guarantee a personalized approach.

Our agency successfully works with any career level and business field. Be it a simple typing job or a super-serious scientific post, our experts will cope with this challenge. Due to vast knowledge and past experience, we’ll get your resume ready in the shortest possible time.

A resume inviting our client to the job interview is what our team strives to create. Get closer to your career goals with our service! 

Your own resume is only one click away. Please, place your order here!

Improve your resume with professional resume reviews

If your resume doesn’t generate results and you’re breaking your head trying to figure out why, it makes sense to seek professional help. Staff resume writers of Resumeperk com can critically access your resume, point out at the deal-breaking mistakes and suggest how to fix them. Forget the generic resume tips – you’ll receive advice that will work in your particular career situation. The writer will send you a report with detailed comments on every aspect of your resume, from writing and grammar to layout and structure.

Is resume strategy, keyword optimization and resume formats all Greek to you? Consider getting your resume written by a professional writer – at an affordable fee, you’ll receive a brand new resume created as per the modern standards of resume writing.