10 TOP RESUME TIPS
A professional resume writer shares 10 tips for a great resume
You know the feeling. You spend hours, or even days, creating
a resume. You pore over every word of your cover letter and agonize
over what to say in your email. Then you hit ‘send’ and
wait. And wait. And wait. No one calls. No one writes. You don’t
know if anyone even saw your resume. When this happens, it’s
easy to get dejected and worry that employers are not interested
in you. Don’t! Remember, they haven’t met you. They
have only seen your resume and that may be the problem.
If you’re not getting the response you want, try these
10 resume tips to get your resume working for you.
Resume Tips #1. Is your resume the right length?
You may have heard that your resume should fit on one page. This
is nonsense. Recruiter or hiring managers don’t care if your
resume is one or two pages long. But they do care whether it is
easy to read and gives key information upfront. Your resume can
be one, two, or (occasionally) even three pages. If in doubt follow
the (very general) rule of thumb that less than 5 years experience
probably only requires one page and more than that may need two.
Resume Tips #2. Does your resume show you can meet the needs
of the employer?
Think of a resume as an advertisement for a product, only this
time the product is you. Positioning is everything. The person
who receives your resume will scan it quickly – perhaps for
no more than 20 seconds – to determine whether you can help
the company. Your job is to say quickly, clearly and loudly that
you can!
Don’t just launch into a chronology of your career
history. Instead spell out your message at the start of the resume
in a ‘profile’ section which highlights your key
strengths in an attractive, easy-to-read format.
Resume Tips
#3. Does your
resume begin with an objective?
Recruiters and hiring managers don’t like resume objectives
because they focus on the needs of the job seeker rather than the
needs of the potential employer. Consider this objective statement:
“Seeking a software engineer position with a progressive
employer where I can contribute to the development of new
technologies and work with bright, committed people.”
This may be honest but it is irrelevant to the reader, who does
not care what you want and only cares what you have to offer.
Instead of an objective, use a positioning statement that clearly
and concisely
explains what you have to offer:
“Senior Software Engineer with 10 years experience developing
leading-edge technologies.”
Now the reader can immediately see your value. (For even greater
impact, tailor this statement for each position to highlight the
match between the company’s needs and your skills.)
Resume Tips #4. Have you outlined achievements as well as responsibilities?
Most employers already know what the main responsibilities of
your job were. They want to know what makes you different from
all the other applicants. An effective resume summarizes job responsibilities
in a few sentences and then focuses on providing information about
quantifiable achievements.
Resume Tips #5. Does your resume contain specifics?
Don’t make vague assertions, such as “contributed
to product design” as this tells nothing about your actual
contribution. Instead be specific: “Conducted market analysis
for (name of product) to determine design and mechanics and led
changes to original specification. Received critical acclaim and
sold over 4 million units.”
See the difference? This level of detail shows the reader the contributions
you have made in the past (and therefore the contributions you
can be expected to make in the future.)
Resume Tips #6. Are there any typos?
Proofread your resume over and over. When you are sure it’s
perfect, have other people proof it! If even one word is misspelled
the reader will assume that you didn’t know how to spell
the word (this is bad) or that you didn’t care (this is even
worse!)
Resume Tips #7. Is the resume easy to read?
Design is crucial. A strong resume design will pull the eye through
the document, making it easy to keep reading and will highlight
your key strengths clearly. But if your resume is badly laid out,
disorganized or hard to read, it will be discarded before the reader
knows how qualified you are.
To see examples of how to lay out your resume, go to the library
or bookstore and look in the career section. You will find collections
of sample resumes. Take time to understand how the page has been
laid out and then apply what you’ve learned to your resume.
Resume Tips #8. Have you listed irrelevant information?
Don’t list your hobbies unless they directly support your
qualifications for the position. Never mention marital status or
the number of children you have. Leave out non-professional affiliations
such as political or religious volunteer work. However proud you
are of personal achievements, you should not run the risk of alienating
someone before you even have your foot in the door.
Resume Tips
#9. Don't be too modest. Don’t be scared to blow your own trumpet. While you should
never lie, you should definitely take credit for the things you’ve
accomplished. Some people prefer to explain their achievements
in an interview, but if your resume doesn’t spark interest,
you may never get that opportunity.
Resume Tips #10. Create
an internet-ready version of resume. If you are applying online, you will need a text-only resume since
most online systems don’t support formatting such as bold,
italics, bullet points or lines.
Summary
Your resume must speak articulately on your behalf. It must
make your sales pitch in a clear and compelling manner within
20 seconds.
Invest the time to make it exceptional and you will see an immediate
increase in the response rate.
These resume tips were provided by
Louise Fletcher, who is the President of Blue
Sky Resumes, and author of the eBook, The
Complete Guide to Resume Writing. Louise is also Managing
Editor and Co-founder of the preeminent careers blog, Career
Hub. She is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and many
of her resumes have been published in the JIST "Expert
Resumes" series. She has contributed to many online publications
including About.com, Monster.com, The Ladders, and Net Temps.
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