The most important information on your resume might just be your vax status

Prospective employees will need more than just a stellar resume to get the job; employers are looking for proof of vaccination, too.

Three-quarters of hiring managers say they would like job applicants to include their COVID vaccination status on their resume, and 35% would automatically reject candidates who don’t include this information, according to a survey by ResumeOK, a resume building tool.

Currently, 59% of the U.S. population has received the full dosage of the COVID vaccine, according to the CDC. Sixty-eight percent of employers have a vaccine mandate in place, though 73% of employers felt that vaccine mandates have made hiring more challenging, ResumeOK found.

Read more: Unvaccinated employees are lying about their status to retain their jobs

As employers and employees navigate return-to-work plans and job changes at unprecedented rates, hiring managers are attempting to find the best talent, while also enforcing COVID precautions.

“Many clients are talking about how hard it is to recruit and retain talent, and creating a mandatory program may create an obstacle because candidates don't want to become vaccinated,” says Carrie Cherveny, senior vice president of strategic client solutions and compliance at HUB International. “On the other side, I'm hearing just as many stories where employees want to quit if the employer doesn't implement a mandatory program. So, there are definitely two sides to that coin.”

For many employers, they may not have a choice in the matter: a Biden-administration mandate may require employers with 100 workers or more to mandate vaccines, though the rule has faced lawsuits and is currently on hold.

Read more: How to navigate vaccine mandates as an employer

The impending mandate is the main driver for requiring vaccinations, ResumeOK found. Sixty-eight percent of employers said they are requiring vaccines because of the mandate; just 32% had prioritized vaccinations before a mandate had been announced.

For many employers, in-person work is another factor in ensuring that future hires are vaccinated. The ResumeOK survey found that hospitality, retail and healthcare were industries where hiring managers preferred that employees were vaccinated.

However, employees have not been as forthcoming about their vax status thus far: 77% of applicants do not list this information on their resume.

“There is no way today for an employer to make everybody happy,” Cherveny says. “Employees will have to make their own choices about what's right for them, just like employers will have to make their own choices about what's right for the longevity and sustainability of their businesses.”