5 Resume Red Flags For

8/6/2019 5 Resume Red Flags For

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5 Resume Red Flags for Employers

What Employers Need to Review in an Applicant's Resume and Cover Letter

Do you know who you are hiring? Always, but especially during tough job searching times, you need

to review each resume,cover letter andjob application that you receive with care. You want to ensurethat the candidates you consider hiring are who they say they are and that their credentials are validand match your needs.

In my comprehensive review ofbackground checking priorities and procedures for employers, Icovered how to spot fraudulent claims and credentials. Here, Ill review the resume red flags thatshould spark an employers concern about the credentials of an applicant for your open position.These five additionalresume red flags deserve your attention, too.

Compassionate employers recognize that during a bad job market and a recession, people aredesperate for jobs. Consequently, they may use shades of gray in describing current experience andreasons for unemployment. In all cases, go back to consider your candidates employment historyduring better economic times. You may not want to forgive current obfuscations, and they may be

unforgiveable, but do consider them in the context of the applicants total career and backgroundexperience.

Also, as you look for these red flags, recognize that they may reflect the current job market, badadvice from career or placement experts, or desperation. They may not represent the applicantsentire career. That said, certain flags, you cannot ignore. I would never hire an individual who lied tome.

While none of these resume red flags are the kiss of death for an applicant, except possibly thecareless resume, and the lies, all require serious resume review by the employer as you considerpotential employees for your open job.

Resume Red Flags That Nix Hiring Or, At Least Require Serious Review

These are five resume red flags that you need to spot and question when you review resumes fromyour job applicants.Employment Gaps

Catherine Yeulet

With all due respect to job searchers who have experienced gaps in their employment either because

of their choice or circumstances beyond their control, an employment gap is a red flag for anemployer. Employers need to watch for gaps in an applicants employment history. These gaps include

dates of employment listed only in years so that the actual day and month of employment ending aremasked. An additional red flag is afunctional resume which avoids providing dates at all. Anemployment gap is not an impossible obstacle when you are hiring an employee, but if the applicantfails to explain the gap on the resume or cover letter, ask. In fact, this is a critical question to ask inyour telephone interview before you invest staff time in an interview onsite.

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TATA Hiring for July 201110,000+ Job Openings across India Upload Resume.Apply to TATA Now!TimesJobs.com/TATA-Hiring

Jobs for FreshersCompanies Hiring Freshers Now. Sign up for Free to Apply.MonsterIndia.comAre You a Fresher?Join Placement Oriented 4 Month IT Course Designed for FreshGradsNIIT.com/IT-TrainingSpelling, Grammar, and Punctuation Challenged Resumes

Pali Rao

You can accuse me of being an old fuddy-duddy, but attention to details such as appropriategrammar, spelling and punctuation do set a candidate aside from the pack. Failure to shine in thesedetails on their resume and application are red flags for an employer. They are indicative of what youcan expect from the candidate as an employee. Looking for careless, sloppy, or unconcerned? I doubtit. Your evidence is sitting before you on your desk or on your computer screen. If an applicant cantget it right for the most important opportunity for which he or she will ever have to make a positiveimpression, take a pass. Based on this evidence, why would you have any faith that he or she wouldget it right when you employ them?Attention to Detail Failures

Stock_IMG Business

Attention to detail will yield an overall impression of your candidate's carefulness. Attention to detaildoes provide a picture of the candidates potential success as an employee. Are words missing insentences that a quick proof read would have caught? How about cut-and-paste errors? The applicant

is applying to company x for the job posted but the name of the company, the job title, or thesalutation on the cover letter are incorrect. Dates of employment are obviously wrong or missing datawas never substituted for xxxx used as a place marker. None of these errors are earth shaking, butthey radiate an overall unprofessional appearance of an applicant during your resume review - andthey should.Evidence That a Career Has Gone Backwards or Plateaued

John Howard / Getty Images

In a career that is progressing successfully, an applicant's resume will show evidence that hisjob titlesandjob description have grown more responsible as the years progress. Evidence of decreasingresponsibility and / or a career that has reached a plateau or gone backwards is a red flag foremployers during resume review. Review the resume with care, however, so you dont makeassumptions and miss out on qualified candidates.

If the applicant has changed employers, for example, a vice president's titleat one company may

carry equivalent responsibilities as a director in a larger organization. A manager may have accepted arole as an individual contributor because a layer of management was eliminated in a restructuring. Or,she may have been laid off and has chosen to work a job in a less responsible role rather than collectunemployment. Sometimes, a parent with child care responsibilities has chosen a less responsible roleor a part time job until the children are attending school full time.

So, question signs that a career is going backwards or plateaued. But, other circumstances can alsocause a career to appear derailed. The problem you need to weigh is that smart candidates know this.
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They dont make potential employers ask. They explain their responsibility differences or theappearance of a career going backwards in their resume or cover letter.

Failure to Follow Directions

Image Copyright Zsolt Nyulaszi

Not only does the applicants failure to follow directions give you information about his or her potentialsuccess as an employee, it invalidates the application. Many employers, who ask for a salaryhistory orwho request a resume and cover letter, automatically exclude any candidate who doesnt follow theapplicant directions in the job posting. A request for local candidates only means just that. Theemployer does not want to consider - or pay for - the candidacy of out-of-town applicants.

Failing to write a cover letter is often a sign that the individual applying is not qualified for theposition. The applicant knows this and doesnt want to waste their time or he or she is just plainlazy. The applicant thinks that resume review is a crap shoot and if they throw enough of them outthere, eventually one will yield ajob interview. Prove them wrong if they fail to follow your publisheddirections. You have the right to specify what you need from an applicant. Interview the candidates

who give you what you requested.SummaryThese are five resume red flags that employers should heed when they review job applications. All areindicative of the habits and characteristics of the individual applying for your job. They highlightstrengths and weaknesses. They focus your attention on career success and failure. And, theyhighlight personal and professional characteristics that you may or may not want in an employee.Heed these five resume red flags.Review a Human Resources Job Search ResourceWebsites, job boards, job search tools, and books help people successfully find jobs in HumanResources. If youve searched for an HR job, you've likely used these in your job search. So,you've encountered job search resources that you've liked and you've encountered job searchresources that haven't done the job. Here's your opportunity to tell us about your Human ResourcesJob Search Picks and Pans

The Human Resources Department As a Profitability FactorWhat would you do if you had a Human Resources employee who could improve the companys profitmargins, positively impact the cost of goods sold, lower the days sales outstanding, and increase theprice/earning ratio while liquidating overhead costs to the business - and still deliver flawlesstransactional and traditional HR services? Most CEOs would react in two ways:

Why is this individual wasting his/her time in an HR department?

Why didnt I demand this level of HR department performance five years ago?

The concept of the Human Resources department as a profitability contributor is fast gainingcurrency in U.S. businesses and bears closer examination. Professor David Ulrich of the Universityof Michigan, a leading expert on HR competency models, sees the changing business world as a 20-

20-60 proposition. Of executives surveyed, 20% currently use the HR department as active andinnovative business solution partners. 20% believe that the HR department should remain asadministrative overhead and only perform transactional work.

But, 60% of the executives are starting to expect the HR department to partner with othersdepartments to improve the companys core competencies and competitive advantages. And, moreHR people are stepping up to the plate and delivering the goods.
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Whats driving this thinking? The short answer is competitive pressure in a fast changing businessworld pressures for sales, talent, and profits. Most CEOs (and their CFOs) are held accountablefor three general but powerful results: Increasing revenue, generating cash, and reducing costs. Inorder to focus on these three accountabilities, executives are discarding paradigms that no longerwork as companies seek to stay in and grow their business.

The HR department as a strictly administrative overhead and resource consumer is one of theparadigms under justifiable attack. Transactional HR departmental activities such as payroll,benefits administration and records keeping are easily outsourced or digitized (or should be) withsignificant cost savings.

We have worked with companies who have digitized their current and past employee data bases. Inone company, they eliminated over 35 five-drawer file cabinets (and two rooms) and condensedthem into CDs that fit into a shoebox. With advances in technology, even the shoebox is injeopardy as a storage device.

To many CEOs and CFOs, the HR department as a revenue enhancer takes getting used to. Thatsnot the way they were taught. They are more interested in the payoff and are asking appropriatequestions: Whats in it for the company? Where is the improvement in the revenue stream? How

does this get us new customers and retain our current customers. Where is the proof of corporateperformance enhancement metrics?

Once they get solid answers to these questions from competent HR leaders, the CEOs are quick tochange their thinking. To answer the payoff questions, recognize that a continual company-widevalue chain analysis is critical to the success of any organization. Over the past decade, CEOsbegan demanding that their Human Resources departments deliver flawless functional work andbecome a knowledgeable partner with all other disciplines to advance the business plan of thecompany.

Individual professional silos are breaking down. Disciplines such as finance, sales, marketing,operations, and HR no longer exist as stand alone entities. They are inter-dependent with oneanother. Weakness of any one of the links inhibits other links from maximizing their efficiency andproductivity.

Expectations of the Human Resources Department Have Changed

These three emerging concepts in the practice of HR bear examination:

What value does the HR department bring to the organization. Many HR teams lack a

vision that includes their value to the organization. Do the HR departments activities directlyhelp the company achieve its broad business objectives? Are the HR teams arguments for oragainst a business strategy credible to the other department heads at the decision makingtable? How are the HR department strategies, that benefit the employees, the shareholders, thecustomers, and all other stakeholders in the organization, selected and implemented? [

What value does the HR department generate for the customer the end user of the

companys product or service? Sales and quality are no longer restricted to the sales and qualityassurance teams. Edwards Deming taught organizations that quality and value must be built intoevery step of the process. The HR department doesnt just hire a salesperson based upon amanagers request. The end result of HRs recruiting and hiring efforts is that the customer whointeracts with the new sales person receives continuing world class service from the company.HR shares the quality of the new hire with the other departmental silos to insure that thecompany is, or becomes, the vendor of choice for that customer.


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The final of the three emerging concepts for the Human Resources Department is: What core businesscompetencies must HR leaders possess in order to be credible strategic partners with the rest of theexecutive team? Each company and each industry can generate its own list of core business skills theirteams must have that go beyond their individual specialties.

This issue has become so critical that in graduate and undergraduate level business programs, new

editions of Organizational Development textbooks are including chapters on financial calculations andratios, corporate social responsibility, globalization, and major workforce diversity challenges, amongothers.

The biggest barrier to profitability is ignorance ignorance by many people about how the companymakes money and how it achieves its objectives, and how all of the departmental silos areinterdependent on each other. The myth that only finance people need to know about finance or thatmarketing people are the only people who need to know about marketing is fast disappearing. Intodays business environment, profitable organizations require highly skilled employees who can solvecomplex problems using multi-disciplinary teams.

The Human Resources Department and Profitability

Can HR be linked to profitability metrics? Yes. Here are three examples.

A well known global company formed a group of HR professionals who developed processes

and training programs in sales, customer service, workouts, project management, processimprovement and leadership development that focused on critical performance issues for theirinternal and external customers. By partnering with operations, sales, and customer service theyserved as a catalyst to forge alliances, partnerships and agreements.

Many of their efforts resulted in improved relationships that translated into Preferred ProviderStatus, which increased sales and lowered costs. All of their costs were liquidated by charging afee for the service while creating net revenue. After two years, this HR group generated sales of $4million and a profit margin in excess of 30% which was returned to the division budget at the end

of each fiscal year.

Secondly, an HR team, partnering with the Audit staff, discovered that the accounts receivable

turnover had moved from a preferred 30 days to 45 days during the past two years. They decidedto let the chief credit officer go. The HR staff established criteria to identify candidates with theability to reduce the ratio from 45 days back to 30 days. The HR staff recommended one candidatefor hire. Within six months, the companys DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) ratio was reduced to 35days.

In a third case, while designing and negotiating a new health care and 401(k) plan, the HRleadership partnered with the sales and marketing team to determine if the cost of the programwould erode the companys market share and competitive pricing strategy. The resulting benefitprogram design achieved its cost/benefit objectives without jeopardizing the companys marketshare and pricing metrics.

Transition the Human Resources Department to a Profitability Factor

How do HR leaders and CEOs make the transition? Here are suggestions based upon our belief thatthe more employees become knowledgeably involved in the business, the better they will be able tobecome a more productive asset.


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Develop a leadership development program that includes hands on training in all of the

functional disciplines. For example, in the production department, identify the barriers that preventmanagers from achieving efficiencies and savings;

Insist that Human Resources staff receive financial training so they understand the impact of

cash flow, receivables, billing cycles, and so forth. If youre a public company, teach them how toread and understand your companys annual report or 10-k. Reading the proxy statement is alwaysinformative even if the information contained in it is reluctantly revealed, and occasionallymasked with arcane accounting jargon;

Have HR staff participate in sales strategies, customer visits, and technology reviews.

Encourage them to learn quality methods, process improvements techniques, terms and conditions,and contract negotiations with suppliers and customers. Engage them as process consultants (havethem trained if necessary) so they can assist with growth initiatives;

Most importantly, hold all employees accountable for achieving the critical numbers

established for your company. A superb HR department becomes irrelevant if the company issliding into bankruptcy. The HR department's powerful value focuses on its contributions towardreversing the slide.

Include your HR employees as full business partners. They will rise to the occasion and surprise youby building your bottom line and becoming a profit center contributor as well as maintaining theirtraditional responsibilities - and they will be better at both. The intense and brutally competitivebusiness environment of our global and digital world needs the help of everyone in the company. Towhich group of 20-20-60 does your company belong?

Sample Human Resources Generalist Job Description

Human Resources Generalist Overall Job Description

The Human Resources Generalist manages the day-to-day operations of the Human Resource office.The HR Generalist manages the administration of the human resources policies, procedures andprograms. The HR Generalist carries out responsibilities in the following functional areas:departmental development, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), employee relations,

training and development, benefits, compensation, organizational development, and employment.

The Human Resources generalist is responsible for all or part of these areas:

recruiting and staffing logistics;

organizational and space planning;

performance management and improvement systems;

organization development;

employment and compliance to regulatory concerns and reporting;

employee orientation, development, and training;

policy development and documentation;

employee relations; company-wide committee facilitation;

company employee communication;

compensation and benefits administration;

employee safety, welfare, wellness and health; and

employee services and counseling.

The Human Resources Generalist originates and leads Human Resources practices and objectives thatwill provide an employee-oriented, high performanceculture that emphasizes empowerment, quality,
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productivity and standards, goal attainment, and the recruitment and ongoing development of asuperior workforce.

The Human Resources Generalist coordinates implementation of services, policies, and programsthrough Human Resources staff; reports to the Human Resources Director, and assists and advises

company managers about Human Resources issues.

Primary Objectives:

Safety of the workforce.

Development of a superior workforce.

Development of the Human Resources department.

Development of an employee-oriented company culture that emphasizes quality, continuous

improvement, and high performance.

Personal ongoing development.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Development of the Human Resources Department

Assists with the developent and administration of programs, procedures, and guidelines tohelp align the workforce with the strategic goals of the company.

Participates in developing department goals, objectives, and systems.

Participates in administrative staff meetings and attends other meetings and seminars.

Assists to establish departmental measurements that support the accomplishment of the

company's strategic goals.

Assists with the monitoring of an annual budget.

Human Resource Information Systems

Manages the development and maintenance of the Human Resources sections of both theInternet, particularly recruiting, culture, and company information; and Intranet sites.

Maintains employee-related data bases. Prepares and analyzes reports that are necessary tocarry out the functions of the department and company. Prepares periodic reports for management,as necessary or requested.

Fully utilizes Human Resources software to the company's advantage.

Training and Development

Assists with the implementation of the performance management system that includes

performance development plans (PDPs) and employee development programs.

Assists with the establishment of an in-house employee training system that addresses

company training needs including training needs assessment, new employee orientation oronboarding, management development, production cross-training, the measurement of trainingimpact, and training transfer.

Assists managers with the selection and contracting of external training programs and

consultants.

Provides necessary education and materials to managers and employees including workshops,manuals, employee handbooks, and standardized reports.

Assists with the development of and monitors the spending of the corporate training budget.

Maintains employee training records.
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Employment

Manages the recruitment process for exempt and nonexempt employees and interns using thestandard recruiting and hiring practices and procedures necessary to recruit and hire a superiorworkforce.

Conducts therecruiting planning meetingswhen needed staff is identified.

Reviews resumes for all candidates and interview nonexempt, and exempt when assigned,candidates for employment.

Serves on employee selection committees or meetings.

Employee Relations

Assists with the development of Human Resources policies for the company with regard toemployee relations.

Partners with management to communicate Human Resources policies, procedures, programs

and laws.

Recommends employee relations practices necessary to establish a positive employer-employee relationship and promote a high level of employee morale and motivation.

Participates in the conduct of investigations when employee complaints or concerns arebrought forth.

Advises managers and supervisors about the steps in the progressive discipline system of thecompany. Counsels managers on employment issues.

Assists with the implementation of company safety and health programs. Tracks and postsOSHA-required data and files reports.

Compensation

Assists with the monitoring of the company wage and salary structure and the variable pay

systems within the company including bonuses and raises.

Provides competitive market research and prepares pay studies to help establish pay practices

and pay bands that help to recruit and retain superior staff. Provides payroll processing backup support. Partners with accounting and payroll to maintain

the payroll data base.

Participates in one salary survey per year.

Benefits

Provides day-to-day benefits administration services. Assist employees with any claim issues.

Develops and schedules benefits orientations and other benefits training.

Administers the 401(k) plan and completes yearly compliance reporting.

Administers disability and worker's compensation claims.

Recommends changes in benefits offered, especially new benefits aimed at employee

satisfaction and retention.

Law

Complies with all existing governmental and labor legal and government reporting

requirements including any related to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), the AmericansWith Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Employee Retirement IncomeSecurity Act (ERISA), the Department of Labor, worker compensation, the Occupational Safety andHealth Administration (OSHA), and so forth. Maintains minimal company exposure to lawsuits.
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