TMI on Résumés

February 24, 2010

Yesterday, CNN.com published an article titled, “Weird things written on résumés”. This article highlights some of the funny things that recruiters and hiring managers see on resumes when candidates fail to consider their audience. For example, in Europe it is still the norm to put one’s picture, marital status, and even things like height and weight on a resume, but this information would not be considered appropriate for a resume submission in the US.

This article also made me thing of several resumes and cover letters I have seen while providing recruiting support to our expansion stage companies which are not geared towards the position a candidate is applying for. As an example, we were looking for candidates to provide lead generation services for one of our portfolio companies, but one candidate’s resume was divided into sections including “Human Resources Experience” and “Education Related to Human Resources”. Clearly, this person wanted to work in HR, yet when applying to a business development position, their entire resume was geared towards a different position.

I have also seen similar errors in cover letters, which quickly tell me that a candidate has put little thought into the position being advertised, and in expressing his/her interest in it. As an example, I have posted positions such as “Content Creator/Strategist”, and received cover letters expressing interest in our “Marketing Manager” position.

If a candidate does not pay attention to detail in his/her resume and cover letter when applying to a job, should you consider this person a serious candidate for your company?In most cases, probably not.

VP, Human Capital

<strong>Diana Martz</strong> is Vice President, Human Capital at<a href="http://www.ta.com/">TA Associates</a>. She was previously the Director of Talent at OpenView.