Most employees today have worked for a company they would rather forget. They could have a bad experience with the management or the company just did not fit them so they resigned as soon as they started working.

As a fresh graduate, your resume is practically a clean sheet of paper except for a few school related achievements. As you improve on your experience, you should keep it that way and avoid “resume glitches.”

A resume glitch is not an error in formatting but an experience that you add in your resume that could cost you your job instead of boosting your chances of getting hired.

The following are common “resume glitch” scenarios:

• Worked for too many companies – You are only 24 but you have worked with eight companies. That means you have worked on a company in less than six months given that you finished school at 20 years old.

• Worked with controversial companies – There are companies that could provide a good pay but will decrease your chances of getting hired. For example, your prior experience in working with an adult entertainment company might not sound good to a more conservative company. It is not discrimination as companies wanted to have employees with “clean” records to boast to their investors.

• Getting terminated early at work – You could have found a good job but you were terminated early at work for some reason. Whether the reason is correct or not, the fact that you were terminated at work in just a few days or months will always be a resume glitch.

How to Prevent Resume Glitch

• Always consider the companies you plan to work with – You do not just send resumes to any company in the same industry. Although they have the same work, employee treatment, benefits and pay will never be the same. Have a list of companies you want to work with and research a little bit on how well they treat their employees.

• Never commit if you are not convinced – Working for any company, large or small, requires commitment. If you are never convinced that you want to work for the said company, do not do it. You will just be frustrated in working for the company because you will not be dedicated to your work.

• Working is never an answer – Do not go to work just because you need money. There are other ways of earning such as setting up a business.

If the Inevitable Happens

If, for some unfortunate reason, your resume is full of experience you would rather forget about it; here are some tips to address them during the interview:

• Be honest and prepare an answer – If you are asked about your previous experience, be honest about it. However, prepare a spiel on why you had such an experience. Stuttering while answering inconvenient questions is not a good indicator for interviewers.

• Do not ask, do not tell – This controversial military strategy could be useful for you. You could prepare for the questions but that does not mean you would have to bring it out if you are not asked about it.