Resumes 101

Resumes 101 

We are living in a time of instant gratification when a click of a mouse is supposed to produce an immediate response to what we are targeting and looking for – the same can be said about your resume! 

Managers today will spend roughly 5 to 10 seconds glancing at your resume to decide and determine if they want to spend any longer than that actually reading it. What does this mean? You must have a well-structured, organized, and thought-out resume. When I advice people on resumes, I always begin with the basics – your resume is both structure and content – focus too much on one and not the other and you’re not building it up to its full potential. 

So let’s begin with structure – Simple is key! 

Too often when I’m reviewing resumes, I’m stopping and asking myself, "Where is this or that?”; “What does that mean?” and, “What was he doing from this period to that period?” Questions are not good things, though I do recall having a candidate who was insistent on arguing that he purposely built his resume to leave people questions in hopes they’d want to interview and find out the answers. I understand his approach but can’t say I agree. 

Unlike many, I’m not going to boast that I can tell you the best organization for your sections – this is a personal preference issue. I know some people want to see education on top, and others say that’s something for the last page. Honestly, as long as I can glance and find it, it is fine! I will say I prefer your sections be centered and bold, while the content is aligned left or justified. I also highly recommend including the company name, title of your job, month/year you started each, and month/year you left. 

Why the month and year? Simple – if you write that you worked for ABC Company from 2010 to 2011; I can say, “Great you worked there from January 2010 to December 2011 – almost 2 years!” Or I can say, “Huh, you only worked from December 2010 to January 2011 … that’s not great.” I’m not suggesting or promoting cynicism, but when structuring your resume, you really should consider it from the worst possible angle as it is being compared to tens if not hundreds more. Do not leave anything to chance. If your stay at a company was only a month, it is perfectly okay to list on your resume after the title the reason for leaving, such as lay-off, contract, or position relocated. Point is - the truth is better than leaving it up to an imagination of the reader aside from the fact that if you’re lucky enough to get an interview and only have years listed; it’s likely to be asked about anyway. Thus, there is no reason not to be forward and up-front about it. 

What other sections do I suggest? Begin with your CORRECT and full CONTACT INFORMATION. Personal pet peeve, but when looking, not everyone is going to play Sherlock Holmes to find your information – make it easy. I'm also surprised how many people use inappropriate voicemail messages and email address. There is nothing wrong with being your own person but if your email address is 'partyanimal666@..." it sends a message; likewise when your voicemail message is unprofessional you need to understand that it is our first impression of you. Just bear in mind, we need to be able to get a hold of you and if at all possible, form an impression of professionalism. Objectives in my opinion are a waste of space – I would not bother. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS can be a great way to quickly summarize anything that you would want to have an opportunity to share during an interview. List only achievements in which you take the most pride. SKILLS is a good option to include, as you can quickly state the few most relevant to the position you are seeking. List skills, tools, and practices you’re versed in. If you are a fresh graduate or do not have much experience in your field and option near the top that I like is PROJECTS, this give you free reign to pull from school projects, freelance and personal experiences. As an example; I've had mechanical positions where I submitted candidates with no "W2" career experience but with a 'Projects' section we were able to include his time turning wrenches on his family farm since he was a young boy as well as the freelance experience he'd maintained through his schooling. A PROJECTS section is also a great place to tailor your resume since it's not a designed one-stop job. You can pull from your W2 work experience, freelance and relevant personal experience. CAREER HISTORY is, of course, much needed for the reader. If you have a great deal of experience, just remember to go back at least 10 years. I personally like to see all career history, especially if it relevant to the position you seek. EDUCATION is important, as many positions require degrees/certificates of completion. And if you’d like to, you can create a separate CERTIFICATIONS section if you’re in a skilled trade in which certifications are offered. 

I am a fan of bullet over paragraph format, though some of the best resumes I have ever read were, in fact, actual hybrids that began with two or three short sentences with bullet point highlights of successes from each position. It’s a trickier structure, but it makes your content really stand out. Do not write in full paragraph format as it is very difficult to glance through and makes your resume look cluttered. I have a couple hand-full worth of very high profile clients that disqualify resumes immediately that are in paragraph format as they will not read a resume, they will only scan it.

Traditionally I like the use of headers but I have to advise against the practice due to database importing issues. Most of the time when you apply to a job, your resume is imported into a database; when the import takes place, most databases that I'm aware of do not read or will have formatting errors when trying to recognize headers. If at all possible, avoid using them.

This is 2018, no matter your word processing tool, your resume will be spell checked, likely by MS Word. Please make sure you have proofread and proofread again and one more step, have someone else proofread. I see dozens and dozens of misspellings, typos, and just in-proper grammar in resume weekly and with red squiggly lines, trust me, it stands out!

My last advise on structure is to state that one page is no longer a stopping point – I’m not saying everyone’s resume should be longer, but if you have developed an easy to follow structure and have a great deal of experience, two pages (and in some rare case even three or four pages) is not too long anymore. We’ll cover this a little more in content. 

And now for Content: 

Content is a little simpler to understand than structure. Keep in mind, if the reader doesn’t see it, it doesn’t exist! What does this mean? It means before applying to a job, you really should ask yourself if your resume gives you justice in sharing all the similarities that you have with it. I bump into a lot of people that get stuck in the mundane routine of using the same resume over and over. They are too exhausted or perhaps too lazy to take about 5 minutes to edit the content to properly reflect how they match that position they are so eager to get a call about. 

Perhaps the greatest content problem I see occurs when one's experience under each position is basically a recycled job description of duties and responsibilities. I firmly believe your resume will stand out if you focus on accomplishments and what you made, saved, and achieved in each position you have worked in. It is fine to list some duties, but I would strongly advise to be certain those duties are reflective of what the sought-after position is listing as requirements. Otherwise, you have only added unimportant lines and used up precious space on your resume. 

My closing thoughts, and to reiterate on content, if it isn’t there, then you don’t have it! Don't forget to tailor the resumes content to each position you apply.

Summary:

1. Keep it simple
2. Don't leave unanswered questions
3. Bullets not paragraph
4. Keep it consistent
5. Keep it relevant
6. Focus on accomplishments - made, saved, achieved
7. Tailor the content to match the job description

Creating a resume may be tricky, but it is a personal preference way for one to tell his/her story. By remembering to stick to basics of both structure and content, you will be on the way to helping your resume stand out among the rest. 

Check out my other articles on job hunting, interviewing, and job fairs below;

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/job-hunting-101-john-perkins

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/interviewing-101-john-perkins

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/maximizing-job-fairs-john-perkins/