5 Things that Can Kill a College Graduate’s Résumé

5 Things that Can Kill a College Graduate’s Résumé

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), close to 1.9 million students in the United States will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in 2016. Unfortunately, many of you who are graduates will apply for jobs using résumés with the types of mistakes that can severely hurt your chances to obtain the job of your choice. Why? Because most recruiters and hiring managers spend fewer than 15 seconds visually scanning a résumé, and are on the lookout for ways to screen out the ones who won’t make the first cut. Here are 5 things that can “kill” your résumé: The e-mail address creates the wrong impression. While “KegKing.com” may seem cool to your college buddies, it does not convey the best image, nor does it send the right message to potential employers. Solution: Evaluate your e-mail address through the perspective of a potential employer. Using a respected e-mail provider, such as Gmail, create an e-mail address that uses your full name: e.g., chris.taylor@gmail.com. You can’t tell what s/he wants to do. As a recent college graduate, you are at somewhat of a disadvantage: you may not have a great deal of relevant work experience, and your college major may not indicate a career direction. The challenge – and what’s most important – is for you to lead the reader’s thinking in a particular direction. For example, if your major was Finance and Accounting, it would be fairly easy to assume that you want a job in Finance or Accounting. If, however, your major was in Sociology or English, the career path or identity may not be as obvious....