I am writing this article as a business owner / manager with several years of experience in which I have meticulously reviewed thousands of resumes. I am also one of the applicants who has had a significant gap in employment or one that was very short term. Here is the list of some of the most common “rejections” of the resume and how to address them before or during an interview.

1. Non-professional email address

Let’s get started with ease. Non-professional email addresses are a big problem for employers because they can indicate that you don’t know professionalism or job etiquette in other areas if you can’t just present a professional email address. Your name at the dot com email provider takes less than 5 minutes to register on any free email provider’s website.

2. Resumes longer than 1 page

Very few professions require a resume of more than one page. It’s a huge detour for a number of reasons. As I said earlier, it shows a lack of knowledge about professional etiquette. It may seem disrespectful or rude not to summarize your skills and personality on one page and wasting your reader’s valuable time, risking your consideration for the position. The last reason is that a long resume will read like a fabrication, or like you’re trying to overcompensate for something you lack. Google templates and follow the recommendations for the profession you are applying for and you will get your first impression.

3. Blatant fabrication or excessive hype about accomplishments

Don’t make up your job title or make up your awards. If you are hired based on either of these two things you’ve lied about, you may be hired for a position that you are barely qualified for. Lying about these two things is a very serious crime. It can result in immediate release from your position and tarnish your reputation and future resume.

4. Employment gaps

If the reason you have an employment gap is honorable, such as being a stay-at-home parent or studying abroad for a semester, you don’t need to explain your gap in great detail or go to great lengths to explain it. absolutely. unless asked in an interview. If there is a space in the application that requests it, you can provide it. To be honest, the gap will likely go unnoticed, unless the hiring manager is looking for a blemish (possibly after finding another, such as the unprofessional email address). If your gap is dishonorable, such as serving time in jail, if your record is clear of the incident, and you can extend your last employment date to make up part of the gap, you might consider it. I only suggest this if the previous employer is unavailable due to company closure or something like that. If there is any chance that you will get caught or that you will repeat the mistake that left you with a job gap in the first place, don’t start this fight with karma.

In an interview, when asked about the job gap (whether it’s an honorable or dishonorable reason), be honest, but brief, and end it on a positive note. For example, “I was in jail for disorderly conduct, but that was before I was sober. I was blessed by AA’s 12-step program and it changed my life.”

Do the best you can. Don’t be discouraged. Many employers love to give “second chances.”

5. Short-term positions

Acceptable reasons for having a short-term position are if you were offered a job with a significantly higher salary, if the position was simply not suitable for you, or if you felt that you were somehow in danger in the workplace. If the reason is not something like this, I would consider telling a potential employer something like this. I don’t like anyone telling big lies, but to make money and survive in this sometimes tough workforce, you have to do what you have to do. As long as you are otherwise, an honest person who plans to give the company your loyalty and hard work, I think that’s what matters most to them too.

Know your rights

It is illegal in most or many states to release any negative opinion or information about your employment other than the actual dates of employment.