Imagine that the hiring manager for your dream job is reviewing your resume. At a glance, everything is relevant, valuable experience. The hiring manager looks over your contact email, ready to schedule an interview – and instead decides not to. What could be keeping the hiring manager from calling?
When you are looking for a job, every detail can come under scrutiny by the hiring manager or recruiter. Professionalism and formality in all communications are key to hearing back from the employer. Before sending out your resume, perform a quick check of the areas that candidates neglect the most and ensure that your job search documents are in excellent shape.
Email Address
Many candidates, especially first-time job seekers, do not realize the importance of the email address. Simply using an email with your name or initials is best. No matter what, avoid anything provocative as well as unprofessional hobby-based email addresses, like “soccergirl84.” For students, school email addresses are fine as long as they are professional.
Previous Employers
If you have worked or volunteered for a political or religious organization, you may want to evaluate the placement and descriptions of those groups on your resume. Unlike your email address, there aren’t many hard and fast rules for what to change and what to keep. It will depend on your situation, the role you had, and so on. If you\’re applying to a job that requires a specific affiliation, make sure to show that! The opposite is also true – if the organizations were not relevant, consider tuning them down a bit.
Social Media Profiles
What comes up when you Google your name? Be sure it’s something positive! In addition, clean up any social media profiles you have, especially Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You don’t necessarily have to make everything private, but make sure that what is visible to the public is what you want the employer to see. Remove any party pictures or otherwise office-inappropriate materials before sending your resume out.
A few quick checks will ensure that your resume doesn\’t get tossed into the \”no\” pile for something easily avoided! Remember to be professional across all documents.