10 dumbest resume blundersHaving trouble finding a new job? Cheer up. When it comes to resumes, a new survey reveals just how clueless some of your competition is.(Fortune) -- You've worked hard on your resume, trying to squeeze all your experience in and make yourself stand out from the crowd, and chances are you've done a pretty good job. But even if your resume isn't perfect, it's unlikely to include any real howlers. Not everybody can say that. Job site CareerBuilders.com recently asked pollsters Harris Interactive to survey hiring managers and find out the wackiest resume items they've seen lately. Out of 2,627 responses, here are the top ten: A job candidate... 1. ... attached a letter from her mother. 2. ... used pale blue paper with teddy bears printed around the border. 3. ... explained a three-month gap in employment by saying that he was getting over the death of his cat. 4. ... specified that his availability to work Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays is limited because the weekends are "drinking time." 5. ... included a picture of herself in a cheerleading uniform. 6. ... drew a picture of a car on the outside of the envelope and said the car would be a gift to the hiring manager. 7. ... listed hobbies that included sitting on a levee at night watching alligators. 8. ... mentioned the fact that her sister had once won a strawberry-eating contest. 9. ... stated that he works well in the nude. 10. ... explained an arrest record by stating, "We stole a pig, but it was a really small pig." Feel better now? What's the dumbest resume mistake you've seen? Or, eek, committed? Post your thoughts on the Ask Annie blog. Business 2.0's 101 Dumbest Moments in Business Does a resume have to be one page long? A retirement question. Have you recently retired from a job at a big company? What is retirement teaching you so far? For a future story, Fortune would like to hear from people who retired at least six months ago (but no longer than two years ago) who'd like to talk about their nest egg, how they spend time, whether life on the golf course is all it's cracked up to be and more. Please send replies to ellen_florian@fortunemail.com. |
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