How not to get the interview

After 20 years in the journalism business, I’ve seen my share of bad resumes. Considering it’s a career in which correct spelling is Job 1, you’d be surprised how many typos appear on applicants’ resumes. (Or maybe you wouldn’t; I suppose that depends what paper you read.)
 

 

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Then, of course, there’s the completely irrelevant job experience (a favourite of mine was “bra specialist,” and I was almost curious enough about what that job entailed to arrange an interview), but you have to start somewhere, so, especially for entry-level positions, that comes with the territory.
 
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None of these meets the standard of egregiousness set by the resume gaffes chronicled in this slide show from Forbes magazine. Like the applicant who used the expression “LOL” on his cover letter. Or the guy who supplied as his career objective “to make dough.” Or my personal favourite: The woman who insisted in her cover letter that her resume be sung to the tune of The Brady Bunch theme.

 

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Dave Webb
Dave Webb
Dave Webb is a freelance editor and writer. A veteran journalist of more than 20 years' experience (15 of them in technology), he has held senior editorial positions with a number of technology publications. He was honoured with an Andersen Consulting Award for Excellence in Business Journalism in 2000, and several Canadian Online Publishing Awards as part of the ComputerWorld Canada team.
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