This is Part 1 of a two-part series; Part 2 will be "Red Flags from the Applicant's Point of View".
Lying in any way.
Employers want to hire people they can trust. This trust starts with your resume and cover letter, which represent you and therefore must be written by you. Plagiarism is dishonest, and as the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, it is a bad way to try to start an employer-employee relationship. And dishonesty can absolutely get you fired.
Being high maintenance/entitled during the job search.
Employers will assume that you are on your best behavior during the job search, and if that includes calling to ask for more information about the job when the job posting says “no calls”, or following up repeatedly and aggressively after an interview, or any other kind of entitled or difficult behavior, you are likely to lose your chance to be considered for that position.
Lack of references.
Hiring is always a risk for the employer. Having others who know you from a workplace setting and who will speak highly of you to a potential employer is important, as this endorsement makes hiring you less of a risk. If you have no one who will vouch for you, the employer will wonder why.
Repeated gaps in work history (COVID-related gaps are less of a concern though) and/or a history of multiple very brief employments.
Again, as past behavior predicts future behavior, if you don’t stay at any job for very long, and/or you have multiple significant gaps in your previous employment, this will raise questions for the employer. They’ll likely pass on hiring you if they are looking for someone who will stay around for a while.
Resumes and cover letters that don’t include and address job requirements, and/or include a lot of info unrelated to the job.
Employers want to know why you are interested in the specific job they are hiring for, and how well you match the requirements of the position. If you are talking about other things in your resume and cover letter, you are unlikely to get an interview. General (that is, not customized) application documents, sent to each employer regardless of their open position’s requirements, are also unlikely to be effective in getting you interviews.
Resumes and cover letters that are full of errors: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and/or sloppy formatting, etc.
Employers can get dozens or even hundreds of applications for a single position, so they can be very unforgiving of any mistakes. Take the time to make sure your documents are error-free, and remember that spell check and grammar check don’t catch every mistake!
A functional format for the resume.
A reverse-chronological format (most recent job first) is very strongly preferred by most employers, and works better with ATSs (Applicant Tracking Systems) too.
Knowing nothing about the employer.
Do your homework and demonstrate what you know in the cover letter and interview.
Being interested in salary more than anything else.
You should be prepared to discuss salary, but you want to focus on your qualifications and what you have to offer the employer rather than only on what you can get from them. Also, you should be aware that in NYC, employers must now include a salary range in their job postings.
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Did you know that you can submit your resume and/or cover letter via email, for review by one of our librarians? Send your documents to [email protected]. Please note: this is an advisory service; staff do not write or re-write resumes or cover letters or other documents for patrons.
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