3 types of red flags to avoid on your resume

Just like in a relationship, a red flag is never a good thing on a resume. Remember that boy whose possessiveness kept telling you to run in the other direction back in high school? Employment gaps, short-lived jobs, and sudden terminations on your resume say the same thing to hiring managers. While the hiring manager won’t unfriend you on Facebook or block you from their phone, they will definitely throw your resume in the bin if they notice any of the following red flags on your resume:

Employment gaps

This is one of the most common resume red flags that we get to see on our clients’ resumes. More often than not, we see job seekers who have been out of the workforce for more than a year. While there may be perfectly justifiable reasons behind the career break, it is a disadvantageous thing to appear on your resume. Lengthy employment gaps on your resume make hiring managers think that your struggled to find work due to some sort of shortcoming. Explain career gaps on your resume by:

• Listing the career gap upfront on your resume.
• Describing what you did during the employment gap concisely.
• Highlighting the experience you gained if you were volunteering, working, or attending to a project on your career break.
• Emphasizing continuing education and certifications you have earned during the career gap.
• Focusing the resume on the freelance work and side hustles you engaged in during your career gap.

Job hopping

Are you a job seeker who has held multiple jobs over a short period of time? Then, potential employers may think twice, or even thrice, about hiring you. Job hopping on a resume will raise many concerns for a hiring manager. They will have to consider why you had to move jobs with such rapidity, whether you have chronic performance issues, or why you struggle to commit to one role. For jobs that require the employer to provide additional training and development, job hopping will be a serious concern. If you quit this job in a few months, your employer will believe that you will be short-staffed in addition to the loss of training resources. If you have a history of job hopping, these tips may help you:

• Talk about how working under different management styles has enhanced your experience.
• Highlight how your experience with different leaderships has made you a fast learner.
• Always emphasize your achievements in the role instead of the time you spent on the job.
• Direct the recruiter’s attention towards your business acumen fed by your time in various facets of the industry.

Unplanned departures

Another red flag that seriously affects your chances of getting hired for a job is a sudden termination or an unplanned departure from a previous job. Generally, strong candidates do not leave a job without having their next stint lined up. If you are unemployed at the time of your job search, a recruiter may wonder why you suddenly left the previous employer. If you quit a job because of a toxic workplace or if you are one of the unfortunate individuals fired in the recent massive tech layoffs, you can provide a concise explanation for your termination on your resume. Some things to keep in mind when discussing your layoff with the next employer are:

• Never blame your previous employer as it sends a negative message about your loyalty.
• Reflect on how the company culture was not the right match for you.
• Identify how there was a lack of options for career advancement within the organization.
• Highlight the experience you have gained from the previous workplace which will help you in your career.