if at the end of an interview, the interviewer criticizes your resume, is that a deal breaker?

Question

At the end of the interview I gave him a copy of my resume with references in it. He looked at the objective statement and told me I should have tried to write something better than "An entry level [field of interest] position." He was very polite and did not seem upset.

I thanked him for his honesty and his criticism.

What do you make of this? Am I a fool for thinking I still have a chance to work for this guy? Is it likely that he was just testing my reaction?

Answer 1

I wouldn't read too much into it. It was probably just a simple observation, nothing more.

Answer 2

Maybe he DID want to see how you handled criticism, although a crappy way of doing it, it could be. It could also be that he thought you were capable of more than an entry level position. He is right though, that isn't a good way to present yourself. Keep you resume on the PC and tweak it a little for each interview or application process. If it is a company you would like to get your foot in the door with and KNOW you don't have experience for anything other than the mail room, then that would be a fair statement. Typically, an employer wants to hear confidence from a prospective employee, someone who is expressing what they can bring to the company and not only concerned about what the company can do for them. Let them know why you are applying to their company other than the fact that you are replying to the ad for a customer service rep. Basically that says, I saw this ad, and I am applying because the position is available and I need a job. If you let me into your company, I will do whatever for a paycheck.
Check out Monster.com and your local Department of Labor and Training web sites. They have a lot of great help for career searches.

Answer 3

I would send the interviewer a thank you card to follow up. He should have asked for the resume first then go on from there. I wouldn't take it as a turn down. Just remind him you were the guy with the bad objective statement. Sometimes humor may get you the job. Good luck.

Answer 4

Sounds like a compliment. Anyway, its constructive criticism.

Never can tell what people are looking for. These days, most people are picking up on key words in your resume.

Don't be stuffy at an interview. More important than anything else to the interviewer is whether they would want to work with you. They'll end up spending almost as much time with you as their spouse!

Be friendly, make a joke.

Answer 5

I highly doubt he'd pass you over for a job just because your objective statement might not have been perfect. If you have good qualifications and he liked you, chances are you will get the job. If you don't get the job, then it was probably something else, and not the objective. And yea, like other people said, if he was really serious about the objective and is that picky, you probably don't want to work for him.

Good luck.

Answer 6

I think you still have a chance. What I get from his comment is that he thinks you could do better than entry level. Your response was adequate, and hindsight being 20/20, I would have said something like, "I was simply being modest, I can certainly rise to any challenge you have in mind."

Answer 7

I think he was trying to see how you would react to criticism, yeah. It's not necessarily a deal breaker but keep looking. A person who criticizes your resume might be one of those super nit-picky types that you would be miserable working for.

Answer 8

It could have been just an off comment that he felt you needed to know. He was probably just trying to be helpful. You always still have a chance.

Answer 9

Well probably so ... but not to worry - you wouldn't want to work for such a company anyway.

I can not believe an interviewer would do that .. first it opens them up for a law suit if he/she said something discriminatory. and second, it's just tacky.

Answer 10

It may be a "continuation" of the interview to see how you handle criticism.
But then who knows?