Heard even stellar candidates get axed early for resume issues. Beyond the usual ‘quantify results’ advice, what subtle red flags do hiring committees actually care about? I’m paranoid about formatting choices (e.g., hyperlinks) and vague verbs. Any horror stories or last-minute save tips?
2023 internal MBB data shows 63% of rejected resumes had inconsistent date formats (Q3 2022 vs. Aug-Sep 2021). Hiring teams equate this with poor attention to detail. Use YYYY-MM throughout. Also, 41% failed due to >22% white space on page 1 – indicates low content density.
‘Leadership experience’ sections with class projects. Congrats you led a 4-person group – now delete that. Real red flag? Using the word ‘spearheaded’. Instant trash can. Just say led.
Ambiguity around ownership. ‘Contributed to $5M cost savings’ reads as window dressing. Instead: ‘Led data collection for 3 modules (70+ interviews) in $5M cost optimization project, representing 30% of total workstreams’ – shows scope without overclaiming.