Ex-Google executive shares 3 red flags to avoid in resumes: 'Don’t go over 5 bullets...'

Jenny Wood was also the founder of Google's Own Your Career Program, one of the tech giant's largest and fastest-growing career development initiatives in 25 years. (Image credit: Jenny Wood, AFP)

Jenny Wood has worked with Google for 18 years and as a recruiter, there are certain elements that she loves to see in a resume: a bit of personality on a resume and succinct bullet points under a job description. But there are also red flags that the Colorado-based author recommends avoiding.

1.) Too many bullet points

“Don’t go over five bullets on any given role,” the former Google executive told CNBC Make It. “If you have 10 bullets under a role it tells me that you cannot give an executive summary of what you did. It tells me that you don’t know how to prioritise and separate the important from the unimportant.” It can also indicate that you don’t know how to communicate properly and can leave Wood questioning how you’ll behave with clients. It could mean “that you are not going to be mindful of their time and attention,” she said.

2.) Too little white space

As with listing too many bullets, having too little white space in your resume calls your judgment into question, Wood said. “Spacing creates visual hierarchy and it ensures that the information can be digested more easily,” she told the publication, adding that for a lot of professionals, “the default is to cram in as much as possible.”

Wood also recommends ensuring margins at the top, bottom, and sides of your resume, along with spaces between sections.

3.) Too many links

While adding links to your resume can help you show your achievements, overdoing it can question your judgment. "If you have a link in every bullet, it’s just hard to read the resume and again, shows that you’re not discerning,” Wood told the publication.