15+ Hiring managers who received bizarre resumes: 'The paper was soaking wet and dissolving'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 31, 2026 5:00 PM EST

Nothing will make you feel better about your job prospects than reading the tales of hiring managers who were stunned by the resumes they'd been handed. 

Some stories on the internet feel like they're being whispered across a campfire on a dark and cloudless night. The full moon is bright overhead, the trees shake from the wind, and you can picture a hiring manager leaning over toward the other hiring managers and whispering, "… And then, I took the resume out of the paper bag, and it was wet and dissolving!" Everyone around the fire gasps and clutches their s'mores a little tighter. Then someone else says, "Wait, wait, I've got something ever wilder — this guy wrote on his resume that he planned to retire in 6 months!" This would be followed by laughter, and more stories, of course.  

Folks, let's all please spell the name of the company we're applying to correctly. If you want to share that you have "atentin to detales," consider paying attention to the details first! And if your resume is really hard to read, like having super tiny font sizes or an unreadable font, your resume will get deleted with a single click. 

The hiring managers here understand that all too well. And if you're looking for a job right now, it's a fantastic look at exactly what not to do! 

One thing that doesn't get talked about a lot is that you shouldn't over-embellish what you did at work. No, you weren't the CEO of Motherhood because you had 3 kids. I'm sure your kids think the world of you, but you're just begging for your resume to be trashed in that case. And if you were a waiter, you didn't increase the customer base or transform the establishment just by showing up each day. When you tell half-truths or are otherwise stretching the truth, it's risky! 

At least there's comfort in knowing that a real human is taking the time to look at your resume… although they say that a lot of hiring managers only look at each resume for 5 seconds before deciding upon a yes or no answer. So keep that in mind, too after you read the stories of these fateful applicants who didn't make the cut. Don't be a hiring manager's campfire story — be their best applicant instead. 

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  • 01
    2 employees, one man and one woman, smile and laugh at computer screen while woman gestures at screen
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    B PoweredNon... On a more lightweight tone than most of the other comments: I once received an application from a man in in 60s. Solid CV, lots of experience.
    via u/B**rPoweredNonsense
  • 03
    In his covering letter he wrote "I'm applying because the Job Centre asked me to. Please note that I intend to retire in 6 months time". We had a good laugh, then sent him a very polite rejection letter and wished him a great retirement.
    via u/B**rPoweredNonsense
  • 04
    rabidwhale One time I had someone upload how to upload their resume from Dropbox instead of their resume.
    via u/B**rPoweredNonsense
  • 05
    416unknown The only time I have ever had to throw out a resume was because someone possibly had it in a bag with their lunch and the paper was soaking wet and dissolving as I tried to unfold it. It was just unacceptable to process. The application. was left in a drop box so I don't know if it was a prank or an actual applicant.
    via u/416unknown
  • 06
    ChristyM4ck I'll usually still interview unless there is no relevant experience, but I've seen some atrocious resumes. I've seen people use crutchwords like "uh" in writing for a job description. I've also seen a sentence 4 lines long with zero punctuation. The same resume will have "attention to detail" as a skill set. I've
    via u/ChristyM4ck
  • 07
    interviewed for one of those resumes, and the applicant said "I dunno" to about 80% of my questions, and it turned out he didn't even know what job he applied for.
    via u/ChristyM4ck
  • 08
    It's not that I'm overly picky, but if someone can't spend the 20 minutes or less that it takes to proof read their resume, are they going to put alot of effort into their job? Maybe, but it's hard to know.
    via u/ChristyM4ck
  • 09
    FigJamAndCitrus It's been a long time but I used to do hiring for a cinema. Staff were often young, for many it was a first job, making popcorn and selling tickets type of gig.
    via u/FigJamAndCitrus
  • 10
    I would not pursue anything where parents came in with a CV for their teenager or if parents were contacting me on behalf of their teen. Big red flag. Either their kid didn't want he job in the first place or they're incapable of taking initiative and it doesn't bode well for how they'd be as an employee.
    via u/FigJamAndCitrus
  • 11
    Far-Gain-3081 This doesn't matter 100% of the time but bad formatting. If it's hard to read I probably won't read it.
    via u/Far-Gain-3081
  • 12
    staffsargent If it's a professional position, significant spelling errors will make me pass on a resume. If it's a warehouse job or something, I'm less concerned.
    via u/staffsargent
  • 13
    spectacularuhoh Former hiring manager here. I tossed MULTIPLE resumes that used text message abbreviations throughout the resume and cover letter and one that included emojis. While you can do pretty much anything from your phone- it doesn't mean you should.
    via u/spectacularuhoh
  • 14
    krim2182 Having your parents submit your resume while you stand silently beside them.
    via u/krim2182
  • 15
    rough_ashlar Misspelling the name of the company they are applying to. I can stomach a common typo elsewhere but that's one to get right.
    via u/rough_ashlar
  • 16
    smash8890 No relevant education or experience. Big wall of text that isn't organized in an easy to read way
    via u/smash8890
  • 17
    [deleted] Typos, especially with homophones which don't usually get flagged by Microsoft Word. I'd love to be forgiving with the English language because it's hard to be perfect even for native speakers. However, I hire for library positions. When librarians catalog materials, switched letters or numbers may lose
    via u/[deleted]
  • 18
    a book in the system entirely. Mixing up homophones may mean a patron can't find the book they need. Librarians proofread manual catalog categories to catch errors and then catch more errors in practice. "Pobody's nerfect" and all, but the résumé shows me how a person pays attention to these details at their very best with all the time they
    via u/[deleted]
  • 19
    could possibly need. If there are mistakes, and that's their absolute best, it's probably not a fit. That said, if I can excuse an error in a cover letter I will. Cover letters are annoying. and time-consuming to write.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 20
    LoyalPlanets I know it's pretty specific but If your looking for a scheduling job make sure you know how to use Excel and clearly state it on your resume. It will probably get thrown out otherwise.
    via u/LoyalPlanets
  • 21
    dekeffinated I had one cross my desk that misspelt his own name, in big bold font on the front page no less. The other time was a guy getting his resume put forward to me, for an ITsec role. Same guy that I ripped a new one a few weeks prior
    via u/dekeffinated
  • 22
    when he decided to automate a server hardening via scripts and did zero checks on the work afterwards.
    via u/dekeffinated
  • 23
    [deleted] My wife who hires a lot: Weird font, weird color font, weird email address, spelling errors she'll let slide but not grammatical errors and bullshit jobs. "CEO OF TOP MOMS AVON SALES" things like that.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 24
    PinkishBlurish Not a hiring manager, but I had an old boss that would blacklist candidates who handed their resumes in on paper rather than submitting it online, because "they can't even follow step one". No number of "But they're kids, their parents are making them do it!" convinced him otherwise.
    via u/PinkishBlurish
  • 25
    MagicBez I once had someone list their "MENSA IQ" - immediate red flag that they will be absolutely insufferable, probably insecure and (perhaps ironically) more likely to be an idiot. ...also where I work we strip out all details that could bias an application. When reviewing your answers I don't know your name,
    via u/MagicBez
  • 26
    gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation or where you went to school (though I do know your grades) and we make it clear when you apply that this is the case and that you shouldn't put that information in the written portions of your application that I will see. The amount of people who went to prestigious universities who then quite obviously (sometimes
    via u/MagicBez
  • 27
    repeatedly) work the name of the school into the text of their applications because they feel it will give them greater cachet is remarkable. I won't throw the application away if you shamelessly do that but it definitely doesn't help.
    via u/MagicBez
  • 28
    Original DarkDagger Not a hiring manager but I help decide who should/shouldn't get the job. We've had a lot of essays. The record was I think 10 pages long as to why we should hire them.
    via u/Original DarkDagger
  • 29
    It was very disorganized, hard to read with spelling/grammatical errors. It was hard to understand. I understand occasional but no, there were a ton. It's for a waiter position.
    via u/Original DarkDagger
  • 30
    [deleted] I had someone who wrote their personal qualities like that : orGAnizedResilientOnTime HygienEknowledge. So that, I guess.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 31
    Heavy MetalSasqu... If I can't find your education or work experience in 5 seconds
    via u/HeavyMetalSasquatch
  • 32
    XeLLoTAth777 Someone spelled their own first and last name differently 3 times. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen, as it was a very common set of names. I decided to skip on that one.
    via u/XeLLoTAth777
  • 33
    No_Clock7716 You list a bunch of skills you have with x amount of time you've had skills but your work background doesn't show any experience in it it just looks looks like you're lying. Lots of pages of irrelevant work
    via u/No_Clock7716
  • 34
    Sharp-Lawfulness... Five pages worth of whoever giving his entire history. Sorry, but no hiring manager is going to read through five pages of a resume. One or two is enough.
    via u/Sharp-Lawfulness7663
  • 35
    Worker in green shirt smiles at coworker in pink shirt while they both hold resumes
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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