Why I Threw Your Résumé Away

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for sending your recent correspondence in response to the position we posted. It might be polite for me to tell you that we had so many quality applications for this job (which we did), and that we needed to narrow the list down to a manageable number (which was also true), and unfortunately, you did not make the cut. But the truth is, I never read through your entire résumé, and in fact, I threw it into the trash about halfway through my review. The reason for this abrupt move on my part is simple. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you a specific answer, as this is a form letter and not an individualized response. Since I throw away nearly 1 of every 7 applicant packages sent to me, I really haven’t the time to be specific for each person who will never be considered for a job. I can tell you that the reason your submission ended up in my trash can is likely one of the following:

  1. You completely misspelled a word. Spell checking tools are built into every word processor on the face of the earth. There is no reason for any misspellings. Ever.
  2. You used a real word that looks or sounds like the right one, but isn’t. Your spell checker will miss this type of error, so it is important that you read over what you are about to send to make sure you picked the right one. Affect does not mean the same thing as effect. Stationary means something is not moving, and stationery is something you write on. Peek, peak and pique are decidedly different words with quite divergent meanings. There, their, and there are also so very different – same with then and than. You have to make the right choice!
  3. You may have used a word incorrectly when there was another that was the right choice. Systemic and systematic get confused by a lot of people, as do continuously and continually. Sympathy is a passive act, empathy is very active. Well is an adverb and good is an adjective, so they are just not interchangeable.
  4. The problem may have been one of punctuation. I can’t tell you how many people use it’s as a possessive article when you only put the apostrophe in if you are indicating a contraction (it is). Semicolons are not the same as commas or as colons, either; you probably learned that in high school and perhaps just forgot. And, although the occasional exclamation point does serve to denote emphasis, three in a row do nothing to enhance your message!!!
  5. Perhaps you went over the line by using expansive pomposity when diminutive verbiage would suffice. Or to put it more appropriately, you use big words when small ones would do. Use means the same thing as utilize, end is more direct than terminate, proof tells me what I need to know, but substantiation just makes me think you are unnecessarily puffing things up. Communication skills are important in pretty much every position, so be clear, not cloddish.
  6. Maybe you didn’t realize that your printer was running out of ink or toner but clearly from the different look of the text, fading out as your document progressed, this was the case. Or perhaps it was that food stain on page two…
  7. Clever non-words like “LOL” or “IMHO” or the smiley face – :) – are great when you are texting your friends, but they have no place in any business document.

By now you may be thinking “Wow, what a nit-pickier, I don’t think I would even want to work for that guy!” Please put yourself in my place. You are sending me a written document that is the only thing I have with which to evaluate you, particularly if we have never met (notice I did not use “meant”). It’s your one big chance to represent your skills, abilities and attention to detail – the types of things that could be crucial in a hiring decision. When you submit a piece that has one or many of the errors listed above the message that comes across most clearly is that you didn’t care enough to take the time to make sure your pages represent you in the best possible light. And, I heard that message loud and clear. So, I hope you will take a look at your copy of what you sent to me (you did keep a copy, didn’t you?) and next time use your spell check feature. Read over your résumé before sending it off, or better yet ask a couple of other people to check  your work for spelling, grammar, punctuation and readability before you ship your next batch out. Take advantage of online resources to become a more skillful writer (and speaker). You may not get the job, but at least someone will read your document to the end.