I’ve said it once, I’ll definitely say it again – a resume gets the interview. That’s the whole point of a resume. Secondary to that is to establish professional credibility, but if the interview is scheduled, then credibility is established, and it’s time to move on to interviewing skills (for a later post…)
First and foremost
No spelling mistakes! None. And no mistakes of grammar that a computer spell check might not pick up. For instance, writing ‘our’ instead of ‘out’, or ‘there’ instead of ‘their’. Be sure to double check contact information, to make sure there are no mistakes on the phone # or email address.
Sell yourself…
Many people are wary about selling themselves. We are raised in a culture that promotes a kind of false modesty. If you have worked in a job and cared even a little bit about it, then don’t undersell that experience. Most people have won awards, commendations, increased sales, gotten excellent customer feedback and have worked hard and successfully completed projects. Don’t exaggerate, but don’t sell short accomplishments and commendations.
…but know when to say ‘when’
It’s important to know when you’ve adequately sold yourself. Many resume books advise writing a lengthy cover letter with additional sales points – this should be avoided. Write a solid resume, and a punchy cover letter (2-3 paragraphs max) explaining what is interesting about the company, and why you want to work there more than anywhere else. In many circumstances, a resume is enough, no cover letter needed.
Details create emotions
Which sounds better: ‘a large company’ OR ‘a multi-national corporation with offices in 23 countries’? ‘Increased sales’ OR ‘increased sales by 25%’? ‘Top-selling salesperson’ OR ‘Won Salesperson of the month by moving 400 units more than anyone else’? Details, especially in relationship to accomplishments, creates a vivid picture in a hiring manager’s mind. Details helps them imagine you at their company, and this image might just inspire them to bring you in for an interview.
The summary: it’s important
The resume summary is one of the most important parts of your resume. Since it’s at the top, it will most definitely be read (maybe even in its entirety). It immediately tells the employer what kind of applicant you are (have you read the job listing? Are you qualified?). The summary also gives you, the resume writer, a guide for writing the rest of your resume.
Effective summaries
An effective summary will be based on the wording, skills and characteristics listed in the job posting. It will let the employer know that you have actually read (and responded to) the particular job posting, and not simply mass-emailed your resume to 100 different jobs. The summary, if written first, will also help you, the resume writer, complete your resume. Every piece of information contained in the resume should reflect back to the summary. If your summary says you want to be a dancer, and you list under work experience a job as a mechanic, you better be applying to the off-Broadway production of Grease. Otherwise, you’ve just listed something that’s totally irrelevant. You’ve wasted space, and wasted someone’s time who has to comb through your resume to determine if you would be a suitable match.
Resume format
There are a few kinds of formats – functional/skills based, chronological and hybrid. See below for applications.
Solid work history? Applying for work in the same industry?
Then you want a chronological resume format. Start with your summary, then lead right into your work history. Skills go last, right before education. Pretty standard. Be sure to use the SAR method of resume writing. If you don’t know what SAR is, please see this article about SAR – Situation, Action, Result.
Changing industries, or shorter work history?
Regardless of whether you have worked less than 2 years at your longest job, you have still acquired valuable skills, that will benefit potential employers greatly. In this situation you would use a functional resume – one front-loaded with skills. The format is: Summary, then skills (using the SAR model of resume writing). Truncated work history comes after that, then education and any relevant memberships or groups.
Hybrid resumes
If you are feeling creative, then I would recommend the hybrid resume – a balance between the functional and the chronological. If you are unfamiliar with resume writing, I would stick to one of the two formats listed above. The hybrid resume is not a format so much as a classification – many resumes could fit under that moniker, meaning there is no one correct way to write a hybrid – making it potentially powerful, but also more difficult to write.
Make the resume a ‘whole’ document
The summary should be related to the job description. And every single part of the resume body should support the summary: skills, work history, education, memberships and awards. The resume is one document, with a single purpose, responding to a single ad. It is quite a bit of work, but this is a new, competitive market for jobs. As job seekers, we can’t take anything for granted.
Final thoughts
Don’t ever ever ever lie or even exaggerate on a resume. The discovery of a lie could cost you a job and your reputation. Triple check the resume for mistakes. Avoid too much informal speech. Try and think about how many resumes the hiring manager is reading, and realize that your resume is one in a stack. It needs to stand out, be professional, and be credible.
