How Christmas Employers Judge Your Resume

I'll let you in on a huge secret...

Christmas employers don't just read the words on your resume.

They attribute meaning to almost everything you write. They are reading between the lines to try and work out what kind of person you are - and more importantly - what kind of future employee you might become.

Here are some examples of what a Christmas employer might read into your resume.

Each item isn't a definite reaction from every employer, but hopefully you will get the idea that your resume isn't read, it's interpreted.

"McDonald's - Kitchen assistant, Jan 2018-July 2019"

• Employer translation: "Maccas requires both hard work and team work plus they have great training. This person stayed 1.5 years there so they must be very good. Question about working in the kitchen - did they not want to talk to customers?? Conclusion: Excellent item on resume. Put in the "let's interview" pile.

"MacDonalds - Kitchen asst, Jan 2018-Feb 2018"

• Employer translation: "OMG. Can't spell McDonald's and this person worked there. Can't be bothered to write "assistant". Only lasted 2 months in the role. Probably got sacked. Immediate bin them just for the spelling mistake and definitely bin for such a short time in the job.

"Baby-sitting - 4 families, March 2017-present"

• Employer translation: "Ummm... not the greatest job, no team work, no customer experience etc. But hey, "4 families" means this person was probably well regarded as a trustworthy baby sitter. Also the role requires a lot of maturity and responsibility, and organisational skills. I will ask them about challenges and how they were solved in this role".

"Achievements: Junior School Captain 2012, High School Prefect 2019"

• Employer translation: "Nice work... Shows leadership and responsibility from a very young age. Conclusion: Made it to the "let's interview" pile.

"Hobbies: rock climbing, chess, reading"

• Employer translation: "Hmmm... all these hobbies are solo pursuits and non-social. Probably highly intelligent, but prefers not to interact with people. Great as a Christmas stockroom person, often working alone and with detail. Would not hire for customer service role though".

"Hobbies: netball, soccer, girl-scouts"

• Employer translation: "Cool... all these hobbies are team related. Many are goal orientated too. This person should be very comforable working hard within a team over Christmas. Probably comfortable talking to customers too.

"Hobbies: shopping with friends, checking Insta, showing friends how to do make-up"

• Employer translation: "Shopping is not a hobby. Insta is not a hobby. I do not want to employ this person to look at Insta all day. OK - on second thought I probably should ask about the make-up skill level. Are they any good? Could they work in the make-up department over Christmas. And maybe... all that shopping means they have good knowledge of brands. Maybe they would be great in a retail role? Nah. Sorry, I haven't had coffee yet today so Insta got you the bin."