Jobs That Give Pause: Resume Red Flags

There are some jobs that give recruiters pause. Oftentimes these jobs look fake, or else they indicate that you’re not someone who will be a good employee. While it might not be the case in your instance, the fact remains that most recruiters and employers tend to have a bias against certain careers.

Now, the following list of red flag jobs isn’t for all types of career paths. If you are working in a blue color trade or a medical profession, then your resume is not going to be as scrutinized as if you were working in corporate America.

Someone who graduates from nursing school does not have to worry about a resume being examined in much details. On the alternative side, if you are applying to work in Finance or Marketing or in an Account Executive role, then any of the following jobs will be red flags for recruiters and hiring personnel.

Real Estate Agent

The statistics are clear when it comes to real estate agents. Most do not make any money. It’s called a “hobby” job or a “weekend” job by many people. It’s ultra-competitive and only the cream of the crop make money from it.

Many people who list that they are real estate agents are not really out there making deals and closing. It’s become a fashionable thing for people who want to say they work to list as their job.

In many instances, the person is not even licensed and is just a part-time assistant. Unless you are someone who is working constantly selling and listing properties and rentals, then an experienced recruiter will know you’re inflating your work experience.

Successful real estate agents are excellent salespeople and will not try to send their resumes in for basic administrative work or other roles. They are only interested in high end, huge commission type sales roles. And even in that space, a real estate sales person will not be able to pivot into tech sales, pharma, ad space, or anything else.

Most recruiters assume that if a person is working as a real estate agent part time, they just aren’t working.

Project Manager

This term is very vague. When recruiters see project manager on a resume, and if that person’s resume is not typical of a real corporate project manager, then it’s assumed it’s a fabrication.

There are different types of project management obviously. However, in the corporate space project management has a particular meaning.

Most of the time, project management is simply a buzzword that people affix to their resume. It’s become trendy in recent years. If you dig deep into the person’s actually experience, however, you’ll see that most people are not actually project managers.

It’s worse to claim to be a project manager if all you did was office management or administrative duties.

Actually, project managers also work at companies where such work is available. It’s not possible to work as a project manager in a small firm that does not handle multiple projects or is a retail establishment. Likewise, people who work in education, medical, or many other customer facing and people facing businesses are not going to pass the test.

Project managers work in businesses with complex, multifaceted business paths. It’s obvious to a recruiter if you come from such a business.

Consultant

This job title is similar to project manager, but it’s even more ambiguous. Many people who are not able to keep a job and are unemployed list their job title as consultant. In the professional world it’s understood that to have a career gap is a very bad thing.

However, actual consultants have a very specific skill set and resume. If you don’t have extensive managerial experience in corporate America, or a highly specialized skill set (such as analytics, CPA level accounting, etc..) and you haven’t worked for sophisticated firms in the past then it will be clear that your job title is a bluff.

Unless you have worked at one of the big consulting firms, then a recruiter and employer is going to assume you’re padding your resume and embellishing your accomplishments.

Professional Gambler

I don’t think I really need to explain this, but it should be clear that no serious company will  want to hire someone who claims to be a professional gambler. While there are exceptions, take it as a rule. Keep gambling off of your resume. Unless you’re a famous–or have no other work experience–avoid listing professional gambler on your resume.

Crypto Investor

Crypto has become a buzzword in recent years. It’s also a popular way for people to explain having money (hiding trust funds or less impressive means of making money). But it’s also become a way for people who are not able to work or who choose not to work to pretend they are doing something impressive.

Recruiters who see the term “crypto investor” on a resume will just assume that the person is unemployed and likes to read up on tech news and finance. They might not even be sophisticated, as the crypto space has become extremely people.

Also, if someone is legitimately involved in the crypto space and works for a firm will have that listed on their resume. They would never simply have: “crypto investor” as a job title. Recruiters know this, since there are real crypto space firms and people on LinkedIn who work in the crypto space. For instance, Fidelity (a legitimate company which everone knows) has a crypto division. However, people would list Fidelity and not some random “crypto investor” on their resume. That’s the diffference.