ARE TODAY’S HIRING MANAGERS MORE LENIENT WITH RESUMES?

Job seekers have always placed immense priority on their resume, with this short document holding the power to make or break their application. As such, many candidates go to great lengths to make sure that every single word in their CV is accurate and that it is free from errors.

This is especially understandable given that hiring managers seem to have a reputation for being notoriously unforgiving to resumes with even the smallest of mistakes. According to a recent survey from recruitment firm Accountemps, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of senior managers in the US they would eliminate a candidate from consideration for a job if they had just one or two errors on their resume.

The figure certainly seems harsh, but Accountemps did point out that manager seem to be more forgiving when compared to results from past surveys. In this year's poll, 17 per cent of managers said a solitary resume mistake was enough for them to remove a candidate from consideration, compared to 40 percent in 2009 and 47 per cent in 2006.

Accountemps Chairman Max Messmer said that despite the speedy and often hurried nature of communication today, job seekers still need to take care in a professional setting.

“The quick and casual nature of communication today shouldn't extend to the job application process,” he explained.

“Job seekers should take great care in crafting, proofreading and submitting their resumes. Attention to detail is required for most jobs, and a resume should showcase this skill – not detract from it.”

Hiring managers will know well that resume screening represents just one component of the recruitment and selection process – and the fact that a candidate has a CV that is completely free from error does not always indicate success.

As such, organisations would do well to take advantage of recruitment consulting services that can assist with a range of in-depth measures, such as behavioural interviewing and personality profiling.