Resume Writing 101

Everywhere you look there are articles and webinars and classes on how to write the perfect resume. You can hire people or spend weeks or months writing what someone tells you will get your resume noticed by the hiring manager. There are many different viewpoints - make it stand out, use colored paper, use lots of graphics, be creative, and the list goes on and on.

I am sure there are rare occasions where some of that may work. However, unless you are applying for a job in a creative field the majority of the time those things are seen as unprofessional and will get you noticed for the wrong reasons.

When writing your resume what you need to remember is keep it simple, short, easy to read and to the point. Hiring managers are reading through hundreds of resumes and are spending just a few seconds on each resume. You want your resume to convey what you can do for the company in as short a time as possible.

 1) Your contact information.

1. Put in on your resume. You would not believe the number of resumes I have read that do not have any way to contact the candidate. I may be looking at the perfect candidate but if I can’t call them what good is it going to do either of us.
2. There is no need to put the word phone in front of your phone number or the word email in front of your email address. We all know it is a phone number and we all know it is an email address.

 2) Font

1. Choose a font and stick with it. Do not have several different font types throughout your resume. Choose a font that is simple and professional, there is no need to be creative. You also want to choose a font that is found on most computer programs that will open your resume. Fonts such as Calibri, Times New Roman and Arial are always good choices.
2. Font size. Keep your resume easy to read by using a good font size. I recommend, aside from headings, a font size of 10 to 12 point and I would not go below a 9 point font. Remember that hiring managers are skimming resumes quickly and you want your resume to be easy to read.

 3) Bold

1. You want the important information to stand out. You want to choose carefully what information you have in bold. If you bold too much information then the important things get lost. It can be your job titles, or important skills, or quantifiable results. This should be tailored to each position you are applying for to show what you can do for the company.

 4) Relevant jobs

1. You should tailor your resume to each position so you should list your relevant positions. For example, if you are applying for an engineering manager position then you do not need to list the fast food positions you held while in college. It takes up valuable resume space and distracts the hiring manager from the important information you are trying to convey.

 5) Invisible skills

1. Invisible skills are skills that most people have or that people in your industry would be expected to have. Examples, most people are familiar with Microsoft Word and if you are a Registered Nurse then it is assumed that you can insert an IV. It is not necessary to list an invisible skill on a resume. It takes up valuable resume space that you could use to highlight important information.

 6) References

1. It is not necessary to put “References available upon request”. Everyone knows that you will give them references when they ask you. Again, it takes up space you can use for more important information.
2. I do not recommend listing your references on your resume for two reasons.
   1. You want to be able to call your references before a hiring manager does. You want to make sure they are aware of the position you have applied for, that they have your resume with them and they know who will be calling them.
   2. It goes back to valuable resume space. Remember you only have a few seconds to convey information to a hiring manager. Do you want them to read about the value you can bring or do you want them to read your references names?

The bottom line is your resume needs to let the hiring manager know what you can do for them. Make it easy for them to see that by keeping it short, simple, professional and easy to read quickly. Then when you get that interview you can go into more detail and show more of your personality.