Imagine being a recruiter or HR personnel going through stacks of resumes – each a window into a potential hire’s life. But sometimes, these windows provide strange, surprising, or humorous views. This article reveals some of the most unexpected things recruiters have encountered in resumes. Prepare for some stories that blur the line between the professional and the downright odd!
The Overly Honest Applicant
“A finalist applicant for a senior software developer position checked the box for “yes” next to “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” Our work does not automatically count out felons, so I looked him up, only to find out his charges were from 10 years prior and had been lowered to a misdemeanor. This guy had been checking “yes” on those boxes for ten years and had never actually been convicted of a felony.”
What a surprise! This candidate was more honest than required, listing a misdemeanor as a felony. Such honesty is commendable, but the HR person was scratching their head.
Epic Resume or Epic Novel?
“A NINE-page long resume for someone with three years of work experience.”
A nine-page resume with just three years of experience is a sight to behold. With such an in-depth record, this candidate must have recounted everything, including their elementary school lemonade stand!
The Portfolio That Never Was
“Five years’ graphic design experience but no portfolio because of a crashed hard drive. This was before cloud backups were much a thing.”
Here, we have a graphic designer with years of experience but no portfolio to show for it due to a hard drive crash. It’s like saying you’re a great chef, but you’ve lost all your recipes!
The Linguist Who Wasn’t
“Had a buddy who said he could speak Japanese fluently on his resume and applied to a Japanese manufacturing company in the US. During the interview, the hiring manager asked him about it, and he promptly responded, “hai, nihongo ga wakarimashita.” So they went and got one of the Japanese QEs and said, “Ok, Mr. Honda, have a conversation with this guy.” All my buddy could say was “hai,” which was awkward for everyone involved. He is a dumbass, haha.”
Listing a language proficiency you don’t possess can lead to some pretty awkward situations. As this story shows, it’s not a good idea to overstate your language skills unless you want to end up saying just “hai” in a room full of Japanese speakers!
The Not-So-Subtle Political Stand
“Not in HR, but when I ran a small office years ago, I received a resume from a young woman who bragged she was a member of Mensa, had been a research associate at a prestigious university, etc. She also mentioned three times she was “Not A Republican.” I thought, well, cool, but that has nothing to do with the job. It took me about a day to figure out she was trying to say she was a “Notary Public,” which threw the whole Mensa thing into doubt.”
This one’s a real knee-slapper! Our Mensa member seems to have mixed up “Notary Public” with “Not a Republican.” A spell-check could’ve saved her some embarrassment. It just goes to show that autocorrect isn’t always your friend!
The Almost-Certified Professional
“Dude put on his resume “CCNA -1” under certifications. The CCNA is a Cisco network certification. During the interview, I asked what the -1 meant. He said, “Oh, I missed the certification by only one question.” I asked how we could verify that he sort of shrugged.”
Claiming you missed certification by one question is a unique strategy. Credibility matters and verifiable information is a key aspect of any resume.
The University Alumni…Not
“I once read one of someone who claimed to have a Sicology degree from my university. Since it was several states away, this stuck out. Since he didn’t know how to spell Psychology, I knew he was lying, but it was open panel interviews, so I spoke with him face to face anyway. The look of shock and terror in his eyes, when I said I was thrilled to see that we were alums from the same place and started discussing campus details was fun to witness.”
In this case, an ‘alumni reunion’ became a gotcha moment. It shows that being honest on your resume can save you from embarrassing situations.
The Over-Qualified Applicant
“The biggest one was when the person was waaaaay overqualified.”
This example reminds us that being overly qualified can also be a red flag for some positions. Sometimes, less really is more!
The Mystery References
“I was following up with references once on three employees (we are seasonal, so we do a big hire all at once). They were all nonsense.”
Your references should know that they are your references! Otherwise, you may be in a similar situation where a reference hasn’t talked to you in 30 years or thought she was your mom, not your boss.
The Amateur Boxer
“Just last month, I was hiring a receptionist team leads for a clinic, and one of our candidates spent a good quarter of a page telling us about his boxing career, including statistics that meant absolutely nothing to me.”
Unless you’re applying for a position in a boxing club, leaving your boxing stats off your resume is probably best. Stick to the experience that’s relevant to the job.
The Ghost Projects
“A looooot of people put projects on their CV that they have never built.”
Adding non-existent projects to a resume? That’s a new level of creativity! It’s another reminder to be honest because hiring managers can spot inconsistencies easily.
Copy-Paste Catastrophe
“I had a resume once where a guy had just copied and pasted job descriptions as his work history.”
Copying and pasting a job description is not the best way to describe your work history. It’s important to show your individual contributions and achievements.
The Delusional Ex-Boss
“I left my previous job due to a bad manager who would bully and belittle us; she made our work lives hell and tried to do the same with our personal lives. Then three years later, she was fired…she applied for the role- with a copy of my CV with her name attached.”
This tale is truly unbelievable! Imagine seeing your CV with someone else’s name on it – especially when that someone is your old boss!
Inappropriate Image
“There was a period where people would attach a photo of themselves on or with their resume.”
Attaching a photo to a resume can be a controversial practice, but it’s safe to say that attaching a photo of yourself in a bikini is probably not the best choice. It’s always best to keep things professional.
The Phone Interview Switcheroo
“A huge red flag but too late – the person who interviewed well over the phone but poorly in person, and the voice did not match. I suspected a ringer on the phone and did not hire him.”
This story shows the importance of honesty throughout the hiring process. You can’t hire someone else to ace your interview for you – or at least, you shouldn’t try to.
The Brief Stint Specialist
“Not doing any hiring/recruiting now, but when I did, a big red flag was when someone had a string of brief jobs, especially if they were all in the same field. If someone was young and worked six months at Big Hamburger and six months at Amusement Park X before entering the field, no big deal. If someone over 25 had a resume with every other mental health provider in the area and didn’t make it to any of those agencies, it indicated that they wouldn’t be a good fit for us, either.”
This anecdote is a reminder that your employment history tells a story. It might raise questions about your suitability or commitment if it’s a tale of short stints, especially in a specialized field.
The Diamond in the Rough
“The recruiting team at my company tossed away a CV from a guy because he had Domino’s pizza delivery driver on it as his current role. When hiring for my team, I make it a point to look at binned CVs just to check I’m not missing a diamond in the rough. When I looked at this guy’s credentials, it turned out that he was driving for Domino’s while completing his master’s degree and had technical qualifications up to his eyeballs. I hired him after bringing him in for interviews, and he’s now my right-hand man.”
What a heartwarming story! This shows that a candidate’s current job sometimes doesn’t tell the whole story. Taking the time to dig a bit deeper could unearth some unexpected gems.
The Subtle Claimant
“I keep a fairly low profile in my organization, and when interviewing to promote within, I have had people attempt to subtly claim responsibility for work they didn’t know was mine. Usually, people who do this don’t intend to lie; they just don’t recognize the depth of some things we do.”
In this case, claiming credit for someone else’s work (especially when someone is interviewing you) is not a good strategy. Understanding the full scope of the projects you’re involved in can help avoid this embarrassing situation.
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