The factors that can detrimentally affect the candidacy of a person when found in the resume or the cover letter are called screen-out factors. So, these can be called death factors occluding the chances for your resume's being accepted. It should be mentioned that the screen out factor for a resume isn't necessarily a negative point or a disability, but the thing that may be considered as a qualification in a viva board may also be counted as a screen out factor for resume. Employers are often harsh about resumes because they use those factors to shortlist their candidates.
With some attention, anyone can get his/her resume rid of screen-out factors. It only takes the eye to determine what's required for the post, what's appropriate and what should be the qualifications the employers are looking for. That indicates screen out factors vary depending on the post you are applying for.
Though screen out factors aren't always the same for different positions there are a few common points those might be considered as negative ones in most of the cases. One needs to have a clear idea about them.
Multiple job experience without much relevance
When employers find a resume with a background of working in different fields and different companies they are more willing to take it for a negative point as it reflects the candidate's diverting mentality and having no clear goal or lacking expertise in any specific field. Therefore it's not wise to list all your work experience from all fields irrelevant to each other. Rather it needs careful planning about which experiences should be given and if the examples are going to be a plus for the applying position.
Short duration of previous positions
Resume with examples of multiple work experience with short duration indicates the lack of stability and changing tendency of the candidate. So employers looking for reliable and permanent employees are definitely going to screen out those resumes.
Misspelling, typing mistakes, and grammatical errors
All of the above can be lethal for resume writers. When these occur it talks about the quality of service negatively. Typos can occur due to lack of concentration, lack of awareness whereas grammatical and technical errors reflect lack of communication skill, command on the language and carelessness about the job. No candidate would like the resume to have those errors. However, it's imperative to avoid typical grammatical structures of sentences as the presentation of a resume should be concise to highlight the plus points.
Long gaps in someone's career
Your past is a document to assess your future performance. So if there is a gap in your professional career, it's not unusual that they will raise the further question about your commitment and the employers will sense a possibility is there of repeating the same breach of career. However, there can be gaps in many cases coming from health-related issues or other personal reasons. Where it happens inevitably convey your assurance of a more permanent and committed effort this time.
Inappropriate dates and time
This can be again a killing factor. If your resume isn't up to date the resume may lose its weight. It happens invariably when someone uses the same resume to apply for the same sort of jobs over a period of years. Meanwhile, the positions of senior executives or likes demand longer work experience in your position which might be of 15 to 20 years. When all of the above screen-out factors are taken care of you can be more confident and expect a better response for your resume.
