Recently ResumeDoctor undertook the immense project of interviewing several hundred recruiters/headhunters to find out what they are saying about resumes. These recruiters stemmed from varied specialties and industries throughout the US and Canada, (Engineering, Information Technology, Sales and Marketing, Executive, Biotech, Healthcare, Administrative, Finance, etc.). ResumeDoctor sought to find out what are the recruiter’s likes and dislikes in a resume they receive and what is going to get a resume read by them. Some of the "Pet Peeves" shared will be obvious, while others might surprise a job seeker.

Recruiter Trey Cameron of Cameron Crag Group states, "Recruiters must have employment dates. When I see a resume that doesn't even have dates within it, I just move on to the next one. For those that have jumped around a lot, it doesn't work. And for those who just think they don't need them, you are mistaken!"

Many recruiters shared with us that a resume that does not include dates sends up "red flags" about a candidate’s background and are immediately tossed out. The immediate assumption is that the candidate is trying to hide something.

Furthermore, be honest about your dates of employment. As previously discussed, lying on resumes is another area that recruiters and hiring managers alike despise! Inaccurate dates of employment were cited as one of the most common lies or misleading info stated in resumes. In today’s employment atmosphere, it is becoming more and more commonplace for companies to do extensive background and reference checks prior to hiring. Also, companies are demanding that their vendor recruiters do more extensive background checks. The chances of being caught are forever increasing.

Recruiter Tip: When providing dates, work history should be in reverse chronological order, (most recent employment first). The general consensus among recruiters is to place the employer info, title and location to the left hand side of the screen. Your employment dates should be aligned to the right so that your reader can easily “skim” down the page. Make it easy on your reader! And if you have a proven track record of staying with a job for a while, absolutely make sure that your employment dates JUMP out at your reader. This is a real selling point about you as a candidate. Make sure you use it to your advantage.