Supercharge Your Resume

Are resumes still relevant? What must-haves should I include? How do I explain employment gaps? Does experience expire? Why should I care about them?

The short answer: yes and it's time to tackle them!

Resumes have not gone the way of fax machines and Blockbuster...yet. (Although one could argue people are Google-ing you before they ever see the PDF version of your resume.)

Let's dive in on resume pitfalls (and how to avoid them), what skills to highlight and why you should have ready-to-go answers for employment gaps.

Pair this knowledge with my top 5 tips to maximize your LinkedIn profile to show up as your best self in front of recruiters both in person and online!

What Is ATS & Why Does It Matter?

There's a new gatekeeper in our digital-first world called ATS. Short for the Applicant Tracking System. Before your resume ever sees a pair of human eyes it is scanned, processed and sorted by ATS algorithms until it passes the ATS test.

How do you make sure you resume will make it through the algorithm sorting? Use tools like Job Scan to help get you in front of real life recruiters (not computers!).

Resume Must-Haves?

1. Simple Fonts - Always use universal fonts like Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman as they are easy for a computer to read.
2. Use 1" inch margins on all sides - AI is usually focused to read in one area. Information included outside of the margins may get cut off.
3. Traditional Headlines - Include headlines like ‘work experience’, ‘schools’, or ‘internships’ instead of 'jobs I've loved' or 'where I learned'. We love creativity but ATS favors simple text.
4. Job Title in Heading - Always share your job titles in the experience section. Instead of "Macy's 2020 - 2021" say what your position was at Macy's such as "Macy's, Assistant to the Regional Menswear Buyer 2020 - 2021."
5. Include Keywords - Keywords are key! What keywords did the recruiter use in the job description? These will be the types of words and language they will be searching for in their ideal candidate. Using these can help sort you in the ATS as well as signal to any humans reading that you are familiar with the industry and its jargon.

Pro Tip - Keep experience descriptions in quick, easy, fast-to-read bullets points. We know you’re a great writer but it's important to be brief and succinct to pack a punch!

*Too much* Jargon - A few keywords are necessary but don't over stuff your resume with industry jargon and niche terms. Make your job descriptions short and clear so the reader can understand it easily.

Length - Keep your resume at one page. People are busy and have lots of resumes to look through, they won’t read yours if it’s too long. Use LinkedIn to share extended experience.

Unnecessary Graphics & Special Characters - It’s fun to include beautiful graphics and photos in your resume but ATS often can’t read them. Additionally, some employers block these features for fear of showing favoritism so they will use programs that block out images, emoji's and graphics.

Tables and Columns - Sometimes the AI systems don’t read these so avoid them if you can.

What To Do About Employment Gaps

Employment gaps are common and not deal breakers.

Did you step out of the workforce to take care of a sick family member, have a child or move out the country??

Use this experience to your advantage. Share openly what you did, what you learned and how the lessons may apply to this new role. For example, if you took off time to care for a sick family member you may say, "I learned the value of setting priorities, getting more done with less and delegating tasks out to my extended family. I not only had to run my household but run a second one at the same time. Juggling doctors appointments, specialist visits and tracking documents was made easier once I proactively found tools and software to help me manage all the moving parts."

Note: If you took college or LinkedIn courses, earned certifications, had externships or apprenticeships during your employment be sure to include it!

Does Experience Expire?

While day to day experience certainly has a time limit (we don't use Excel 1999 anymore) there are plenty of evergreen skillsets and techniques that always apply. Patience, delegation, stress-management and leadership are all skills that have been used in the workplace for hundreds of years.

While we can't control fast changing industries like social media or always updating technology systems we can control how up to date we stay on their progress. Even if it's as small as signing up for a newsletter - always try to keep your ear to the ground of what's new in your industry.

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