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Resume Writer-Articles Archive
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January 2008
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE
5 rules for effective resume writing
If you really want that job, your resume can’t just lie there on the hiring officer’s desk. Your words must leap off the page and make you look like an action hero to a prospective employer.
Many resumes get poor results because they are more like personal narratives and English compositions than good advertising copy. Fear not, you can create a powerful, positive and memorable impression by learning these special rules.
Rule 1. Understand the I in resume.
The word I should not appear anywhere on your resume, nor should me, my, he, she, and other personal pronouns. However, you should write in first person, that is, with the I understood.
- Don’t write: I worked in an office.
- Do write: Worked in an office.
Another frequent mistake is to write as though you are describing another person, that is, in the third person.
- Don’t write: She provides care for…
- Do write: Provide care for…
Then there is the gerund, a verb form that ends in ing, such as working, providing and coordinating. Since gerunds do not work with the understood I (for example, you would not say “I working…”), - do not use them to begin resume statements.
- Don’t write: Assessing functional requirements…
- Do write: Assessed functional requirements…
Rule 2. Be the actor, not the object acted upon.
Strong verbs should lead every statement. The resume should convey that you take the initiative, you make things happen and you bring about results. Passive language forms will suck life and excitement out of your presentation.
You can look weak if you just list job duties, like the following example for a supervisor’s position. Instead, write sentences that create a picture of you performing like a dynamo
- Don’t write: Team management, customer satisfaction, training, problem solving and special projects.
- Do write: Train, direct and oversee the performance of a customer service team. Investigate and resolve complex problems. Execute special projects.
Wimpy lists appear in “Profile” or “Summary” sections, too. Generic attributes get strung together with no verb in sight. Fix this by choosing those qualities most important to highlight. Describe how you used them and the results you got for your employers.
- Don’t write: Results-focused, proactive, strong communication, organizational, administrative and management skills.
- Do write: Developed a step-by-step plan to achieve the XYZ Company’s quarterly goal. (Shows results-focus and proactive characteristics.) Partnered with three department heads and coordinated the smooth implementation of new corporate systems at the ABC Firm and completed the changeover one month before schedule. (Shows communication, organizational, administrative and management skills with results.)
Don’t let adjectives dilute the power of your statements. Descriptors such as successfully and effectively are positive, but unnecessary. Keep your lead clear and clean. You can work in an adjective or two in the second half of the statement when you explain the way you achieved your great results.
- Don’t write: Successfully relocated 45 associates…
- Do write: Relocated 45 associates; arranged phones, computer equipment and office furnishings and completed a smooth transition.
- Don’t write: Responsible for managing daily activities.
- Do write: Manage daily activities. Or Held responsibility for daily activities.
Rule 3. Do not repeat words and phrases.
English is so rich that other languages borrow from it, while it continues to churn out new words. Since the typical resume length is one and one half pages, there is no excuse to use the same word twice.
Reading Managed… Developed… Provided… Assisted… over and over will not simply bore an employer. He (or she) may see your repeated words as evidence that you failed to proofread adequately and are careless. Employers may also conclude that you lack creativity, or have limited language skills.
To fix this problem, reach for a dictionary, or a thesaurus to find suitable synonyms. If you don’t have such reference books handy, free online help includes Roget’s Thesaurus online and Merriam-Webster offers a dictionary and thesaurus.
Rule 4. For a current job, use the present tense. For a past job, use the past tense.
This rule seems so simple and self-evident that it should go without saying, yet I regularly see resumes with incorrect verb tenses.
Rule 5. Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms.
You can not assume a hiring officer will know what an abbreviation or acronym means. Always spell out names of divisions, organizations, programs, or whatever, the first time they appear in any document.
- Don’t write: Assisted HR with timekeeping and payroll.
- Do write: Assisted the Human Resources department with timekeeping and payroll.
If you follow these resume language rules, you will persuade employers, in no uncertain terms, that they should hire you.
October 2007
Resume Write & Wrong
RESUME READING PROBLEMS
Don’t let your message get lost in translation
Imagine your boss has handed you a foot-high stack of resumes and told you to pick out the five best candidates for him in one hour. You settle into your desk chair, cast a nervous glance at the clock and begin to attack the pile. As you riffle through the pages, you find:
- printing outside standard margins and words cut off
- pages with a single line on them
- large blocks of single-spaced text
- print so small you can’t read it
- the same font and same type style used throughout an entire document
- words and phrases used over and over again by the same writer
- great white voids between sections
- random line spacing and sections with no spacing at all
- poorly organized and confusing information
These stumbling blocks have made it incredibly hard to pick out the applicant’s strengths. Within minutes, frustration hits and you feel irrational anger. These job seekers are giving you a giant headache and making it virtually certain you will miss your deadline.
Then you come upon a document that invites you in. It is printed neatly on two pages with adequate margins. The font sizes are large enough to read easily. Bolding helps you pick out headings and job titles. Bullet points have consistent white space between them. The writer highlighted key qualifications and used a variety of action verbs, so the prose has life in it.
Here, at last, is a resume that will please the boss, but you need four more. There are only minutes left, so as you return to the pile, you ignore the dull and difficult and evaluate only those documents that are attractive and easy to read.
You will boost your chances for job interviews if you put yourself in the shoes of the person who will review your resume. You may have excellent qualifications, but if your presentation is hard to read and key information cannot be quickly grasped, your resume may not get passed along to the hiring manager.
It’s all in the delivery
When you send a resume through the mail, you handle the document and know exactly what the employer will see, but today, e-communication rules. Fewer job seekers bother with stamps and envelopes. Fewer still bother to print hard copies and proof their resumes.
About E-Sending: When you create a resume in a word processing application, the document may look great on the computer screen. With a few mouse clicks, you attach, or paste the file into an e-mail, or web form and think the recipient will see the same thing, but that’s not what happens.
Electronic transmission translates data through various operating platforms and software programs. When your resume reaches the employer, it may have lost some, or all of its formatting. When printed out, instead of being pleasing to the eye, the resume becomes eyesore, like those described in the nightmare pile scenario.
Attaching Files: Unless you know that an employer uses exactly the same software as you do, you must provide a PDF version of your resume. PDF stands for Portable Document Format and with the free Adobe Reader software, anyone can open, print and see your resume just the way you designed it. Many computers come bundled with the Adobe Reader, or it can be downloaded (for free) from http://www.adobe.com.
But first, you must create a PDF version. Unless you already have the (fairly costly), Adobe Acrobat program, you will need another solution. Fortunately, a web search reveals several free options. One you can try is CutePDF at http://www.cutepdf.com.
Pasting Files: To optimize the visual appeal, always send the PDF file, but this is sometimes not possible. If you copy and paste your resume directly from a word processor into an e-mail or web form, only the text will get transmitted, not the design or formatting. So you need a text version of your resume for this purpose. You can do this by:
- typing the resume into a basic text editor, like Microsoft Notepad (You will only be able to use upper case letters to differentiate headings and job titles.)
- in Microsoft Word, (a) click "Save As," (b) select "Text only with line breaks," (c) close the document, (d) open up the version with a .TXT ending, (e) pick out the symbols and/or run-on lines (artifacts of your original version) and clean up the document, (f) save your changes.
Proofing makes perfect
Put the resume through a spell check and print it out. Let it sit for a while, then go back to look it over again. Scan for readability issues and make corrections. Print out the next version and repeat…until you achieve perfection. Then create PDF and text versions, e-mail them to yourself and print them again, so you see exactly what your recipient will see.
Remember to you keep the reader in mind and be meticulous with your finished document, to be sure you and the employer are on the same page.
July 2007
PERFECTLY PROFESSIONAL, OR TOO PERSONAL?
Take this test to see how your resume measures up
If your resume is not getting the interviews you want, the fault may not lie with your education or experience, but with inappropriate, or irrelevant information your resume contains. Many job seekers have serious misconceptions about what should be, and what should never be included on a resume. How sure are you?
Grab a pencil and a copy of your current resume. Review the items italicized below and subtract the number of points indicated for each one you find in your resume.
1. Personal Information [10 points each] Birthdate • Height / Weight / Eye • Hair Color • Marital status • Children / Spouse • Religion • Ethnicity • Political affiliations • References
Your education, training and work history are the only qualifications that should be considered by an employer when he/she reviews your resume. Because all human beings can be biased, keep possibly prejudicial information off your resume. Once you get the interview, the hiring officer will see what you look like, get a sense of your personality, and form a fair opinion of you.
An exception: If you are an actor, or a model, don’t subtract points for describing your physical appearance, -in your case, it is necessary. You should also include a professional headshot.
References are on this list because they are confidential. Put them on a separate sheet of letterhead. Hand them directly to the employer at the end of a positive interview, or forward them by mail. You should protect the privacy of the nice people who agreed to vouch for you.
2. Stumbling Blocks [4 points each] Dates with months • Unrelated majors • Grade point averages
When you include months with employment dates and show gaps in the chronology, you compromise yourself, because employers look for candidates with solid work histories.
If you discovered your passion in customer relations, but earned a degree in chemistry, listing this unrelated field will water down, or confuse the presentation. Simply list the degree without the major.
There is no rule that you have to disclose your grade point average (GPA) on your resume. And if your academic work was not exceptional (3.5 or higher), it can work against you. (Take off points only if you listed a GPA of 3.4 or lower.)
3. Irrelevant [3 points each] Unrelated jobs • Course lists • High school • Activities and interests • Sports
Don’t waste resume space with details of unrelated jobs.
If you have a degree, the employer knows the courses you studied, so don’t pad the education section. On this same theme, if you have attended college, there is no need to include high school information.
Unless your hobbies demonstrate qualifications for the job you seek, don’t bother with an ‘activities / interests’ section. The employer is concerned with what you do on the job, not off.
Listing sports you played in high school or college (and related awards), will not advance your career, unless your desired job is in the sports field.
4. Inappropriate Information [20 points each] Reasons you left a job • Reasons for not completing a degree
We leave jobs for all kinds of reasons and it is normal to change employers several times in the course of a career. Explaining illness, injury or family upheaval will not inspire confidence in a prospective employer. Worse yet, describing conflicts with co-workers and supervisors, poor corporate management, or financial problems will make a prospective employer assume his company will be subject to the same, unflattering treatment.
Similarly, save reasons why you left school for the interview. On your resume, explanations look like excuses and employers want to see results.
How did you score?
0 – 2 | Perfectly Professional
Your resume content is focused on career, - congratulations! Your marketing tool should be doing a good job promoting you.
3 – 15 | Not bad, but watch out
Okay, you’ve made some mistakes, but provided you have solid credentials and experience, your resume may be performing well enough. Eliminating errors will boost your returns.
16 – 30 | Danger!
Your resume has been seriously compromised by information that is inappropriate. But no need to worry, because now you know exactly how to fix it.
30+ | True Confessions
You have provided personal information that has undoubtedly caused you to be eliminated for jobs that may have been perfect for your talents. Overhaul that resume now and get a new version circulating!
APRIL 2007
CHANGING TRACKS
One day you will find yourself switching career tracks. Oh, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life. Life is a journey.
Change can be forced by outside events. Your company may close its doors, or a corporate restructuring may eliminate your position. You may have to adapt to a spouse's relocation, a new child, or the needs of an elderly parent.
Internal growth can trigger a desire for change. Your knowledge base has expanded; you've honed valuable skills; you've nurtured undiscovered talents, or you may simply be itching to try something completely different.
Your goals won't be same as they were five, ten, or twenty-five years ago, when the career train was just pulling out of the station. So how will you position your caboose to take an alternate route?
You may think all you need do is write a cover letter, copy the old resume and roll, but you will be only half-right. You should write the cover letter. However, if you plan to use the same resume you created for another job or industry, it won't push you forward, it will hold you back.
Relevance, Emphasis and Transferable Skills
The level of ease, or difficulty in crafting a career-changing resume depends on how different your new objective is from the old one. Let's say you are a Schoolteacher who wants to become an Administrator. Since, in addition to teaching, your job requires you to keep detailed records, prepare reports and interact with school officials, your new resume should de-emphasize the instructor tasks and emphasize the administrative experience.
On the other hand, if your transition is from Landscape Worker to Financial Analyst, the task will require more thought and creativity. However, whether you are making a gentle shift, or a radical break with the past, the following guidelines will apply:
- Begin with a clearly stated objective. It doesn't matter whether you use a headline approach, or an objective statement, just be sure to lead the resume off so a new employer will immediately understand your purpose.
- Identify skills, accomplishments, job tasks, education and training that have elements in common with your new objective. Scrutinize your work history and, if necessary, do research to thoroughly understand the requirements of your future job. If you find few direct relationships to your experience, look for parallels. You may need to be creative.
- Convey the old background with the new objective in mind. Don't jumble up your resume with unrelated college majors and job titles. This will only confuse and perplex hiring officers. Try the following:
- If you earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, but your future is in Social Work, eliminate the unrelated major. Do the same with any unrelated technical training.
- Caution! Do not leave out fulltime jobs that are unrelated. You must demonstrate a solid work history. Instead of using past employer's job titles, make them generic. Rather than 'Biotech Laboratory Compliance Manager,' try simply, 'Manager.' Another tactic that may prove useful is to use a word, or a phrase that describes your general responsibilities, such as, 'Management,' 'Administration,' or 'Customer Service.'
- Do include accomplishments, or performance awards, even though they are not, technically, related to the new objective. Achievements demonstrate your drive and dedication, traits transferable to any occupation. Modify the descriptive details, if necessary, as you did with the job titles.
All Aboard the Train
You are changing. Society is changing. The job market is changing. Any, or all of these factors, will, at some juncture, affect your work, so don't get derailed. Use these tips to make your career change resume a first-class ticket to a new and exciting destination.
April 2007
HOW TO DO YOUR ANNUAL RESUME REVIEW
The old year has ended and a new year has begun. That makes this a perfect time to review the work year past, take stock of your triumphs and missteps, assess your career trajectory, and update your resume.
Perform a self-review...
- Begin by setting aside at least one uninterrupted hour for yourself and pick a quiet, comfortable spot. This can be at the kitchen table, in your bedroom, or the living room (as long as you keep the television turned off).
- Get a notebook or paper and pen and assemble items that will help you to remember the work year past:
• your planner (calendar, journal or similar tool)
• copies of performance reviews
• memos, letters, copies of e-mails
- Now, think about what you did in your job last year. Use the planner, or a calendar to recall what was going on in each month. Read through the following questions and write down the answers for those relevant to your situation:
- What changed in 2006?
• Did everything go exactly the same as the year before?
• Did you get a promotion and/or pay raise?
• Did you start a new job in a new company?
• Did you take on new responsibilities with your old employer? What were they?
• Did you work on special projects? Describe them and your contributions.
• Did you take some specialized training, or continuing education courses?
- How do you feel about your 2006 job?
• What excited you?
• What interested you?
• What challenged you?
• What frightened you?
• What bored you?
• What did you hate doing?
- What do you want to happen in 2007?
• Are you happy or unhappy in your present position?
• Are you ready and eager to advance to the next level in your company, and is that likely?
• Did you discover a new interest or talent that you would like to develop?
• Are you desperately in need of a change?
Advice as you revise...
When you have evaluated your written answers, you may find your resume update task is as simple as adding a new training course, a workshop, a new job description and fresh achievements. Make these changes now.
Next, look carefully at information that is more than 10 years old. If your resume overflows two pages, don't shrink the font size, that will make the document hard to read. Instead, drop dated (or irrelevant) training and/or details of early jobs. Make these changes now.
But what if your assessment has brought you to a less happy conclusion and you need to seek a new job in 2007? If you like your work, but are unhappy with your present employer, simply update your information (as described above), proofread it and get that resume circulating today.
If you are unhappy in your work, you will be changing your objective to pursue a new field or specialty. Anytime you change the objective, you must edit the entire resume. Highlight key information relevant to the new career goal and downplay, or delete, all that is unrelated. Make these changes now, proofread, and get on with your pursuit of career happiness!
Make Two New Year's Resolutions
1. Start a career file.
Did you discover that you didn't have a journal, memos, letters, e-mails, or copies of performance reviews from 2006 to look over? Well, you can't change the past, but you can affect the future. Get a file folder, a big envelope, or a desk drawer and get into the habit of collecting and saving all work-related documents together. Save copies of old resumes in your career file, too.
2. Always be ready with a current resume.
Are you one of those who updates your resume only when faced with dire circumstances, like job loss, a company is sale and/or corporate restructuring? Resolve this year to be proactive. You never know when opportunity will come knocking. Be ready when that important contact says, "Send me your resume."
Lastly, you don't have to stick to a once-a-year review. Follow your inner voice and update your resume any time you feel inspired to move on, or to try something new.
December 2006
DON'T BE MODEST
Highlight proven strengths and achievements |
Many job seekers think a good resume is all about the buzzwords, you know, phrases like "goal focused," "strategic thinker" and "team player." Although these devices do have their place, the resume's all-over effect should be to communicate professional confidence, not confabulation.
A results-getting resume is filled with more than fluffy words, it has real weight to it. How does your resume weigh in? Is it bringing you all the job interviews you want? If it isn't, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does my resume have a highlights section?
- If I have a highlight section, have I included supporting evidence?
- Do the highlights and / or accomplishments I've selected relate to my job objective?
- Are my highlights at the beginning, or at the end of my document?
- Have I listed job achievements in my work history?
- If I listed achievements, have I quantified them?
If you answered 'no' to two or more of the above, keep reading.
Creating a Highlights Section
Hiring officers scan the typical resume in about ten seconds and most resumes never get a thorough reading. Only a presentation that communicates its key selling points quickly will receive a careful review. A skills or accomplishments section is a good way to do that.
Define your own selling points by making a careful accounting of your personal talents, strengths, and achievements. Don't stop with a simple list. For each attribute, tell how you used your skill and or describe the result with real-life detail. Here's an example:
Organizational Skills: Streamlined the file opening procedure at the ZYZ Company and cut the time required for the task in half.
It's a simple formula: (A) State your talent, (B) Show some proof, (C) Quantify results with numbers, or other performance metrics.
Once you have created three to six selling points, review your career objective and be sure the attributes you've chosen to highlight are those that best demonstrate your ability to do the job you want.
Add the new section at the beginning of the resume, that is, after the objective and before the work history or education. Always lead with your best foot forward.
Job Achievements
If you are in the early years of your career, your key selling points will be your education, specialized training, natural talents and character attributes. However, if you have been working for some years, you will have acquired valuable experience and your selling points should include job accomplishments.
Choose the most impressive contributions for the highlight section, -but again, be sure to pick the ones that relate to your objective. Be specific about the impact you made by including sales numbers, customer service ratings, or other measurement of the effects that you produced.
Use less impressive contributions, or those not directly related to your job target as bullet points for your work experience. A work history should never be a dry recitation of job duties. Most job titles imply the basic responsibilities: Filing Clerks file, Store Managers manage stores. Don't take up space stating the obvious. You get the attention of an employer by telling him something he doesn't know.
What if you feel you've done nothing that merits a banner headline? What if you simply did your job as well as you could? That is important and valuable, too. Here are some ideas you might develop:
- Describe the way you did your job differently from the way your co-workers did it.
- Have you received commendations, or thanks from managers, or customers?
- Were you chosen to serve on a special team?
- Is there a good quote you can use from a recent performance evaluation?
Preparing a resume is no time for modesty. To make your resume an effective selling tool, trumpet what's best about you. And when you supply solid facts and figures you are not making empty boasts. By showing what you've done for other companies, you give prospective employers evidence that you can do all that, and more for them.
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| June 15, 2006 |
FOCUS THAT RESUME!
I reviewed resumes sent to me for evaluation in 2005 and compiled a list of the most common flaws to guide me in choosing topics for the new year. As it happens, my debut column, Be Objective about Your Objective, dealt with the Number One problem category then, and guess what? Objective issues still lead the list of "resume wrongs," and with good reason. The objective is the focus and key organizing principle of an effective resume.
A resume without an objective is like a ship without a rudder
Think of preparing your resume exactly as if you were planning a trip. To get anywhere in the world, you must choose your destination. To get anywhere in your career, you must choose your objective. Take time to do a little career research and some thinking. If you are.
- Looking for a position as Office Manager, Data Processor, Customer Service Specialist or Software Developer? Make that your resume heading.
- Not sure of the specific job you want? List the industry interests you, for example, Healthcare, Information Technology or Marketing.
- Wide open to a variety of jobs and industries? State the type of work you are (or will be) good at, such as, Supervision, Project Management or Data Processing.
Put the objective on your document, big and bold to establish where your career is bound. If your resume has no objective, or has one of those vague objective statements, it will use up precious time taking you nowhere.
Focus and framework
The objective focuses your resume and helps to provide a framework on which to build your presentation. Every piece of information you choose for your resume should support your progress toward your career destination. Keep your objective in sight and it will be easy to.
- Recognize the relevant training, relevant skill sets, relevant experience and relevant accomplishments that belong on your resume;
- See the training, jobs and miscellaneous bits that don't relate to the objective. These should be cut altogether, or at least, de-emphasized.
How resumes go off-track
The method for writing a well-focused resume is easy, but the editing can be tough. Human beings are, by nature, pretty self-involved. When it comes to our resumes, it is not uncommon to develop emotional attachment. An old resume, for some, becomes a sacred text of their lives. Though I recommend you save old resumes, you should always toss out bad habits and never allow your past to keep you from your future.
Some job seekers have the idea stuck in their brains that they must present their employment history in its entirety, - and in rigid chronological order. This is not true. Let's say for example, you've studied to become a nuclear physicist, and that you've waited tables and cashiered at the local supermarket between stints on research projects or teaching assistant positions. If you fail to keep your objective (nuclear physicist) in mind, you list those server and cashier jobs right along with your physics specialty, - and completely muddle your presentation.
Other job seekers get stuck on an event that is important to them personally, but which is no longer of key importance in their career progress. I see this often with mid-career professionals who place college degrees ahead of their job experience. Though a degree is desirable and often necessary for advancement (and must be included), when you have been working in you chosen field, the real-world experience takes precedence. Let go and move on.
In conclusion
A clearly stated objective will guide you in creating the sharp-focused, high-impact resume that will get you to your destination by express.
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| July 15, 2005 |
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS
Nine resumes in every ten I see fail to have the maximum impact on prospective employers because they do not tell how good the candidate is in a meaningful context. Most include statements of virtues and attainments, which are important, but sometimes simply saying you are the best whatever, is not the best you can do.
The Problem
Let's suppose you were named Employee of the Month. This sounds great and it is a perfect addition to your resume. But now imagine the company you worked for had only two employees. The recognition loses a little of its luster, doesn't it? On the other hand, if the company you worked for had hundreds of employees, Employee of the Month becomes a much bigger deal.
If you didn't mention that particular detail, a hiring officer won't be able to appreciate the magnitude of your accomplishment. This is what is I mean by providing meaningful context for your achievements. If you don't give the prospective employer a yardstick against which to measure your worth, she'll end up tossing your resume into the pool of undistinguished hopefuls.
The Fix
It's not difficult to pick up the knack for adding important details. Let's begin by taking some attributes that I frequently see standing alone and unembellished on resumes:
1. Excellent communicator
2. Problem solver
3. Quick learner
Each sounds great and looks good at first blush (like Employee of the Month), but the phrases themselves are resume clichés, -and hiring managers know this. To beef them up, ask yourself questions about each of your own standalone resume phrases:
. How does my talent or skill level compare with that of my co-workers?
. Can I give an example to illustrate my ability?
. How has this skill benefited my employers?
Spend some time to think about this and you will come up with ideas that will both personalize your resume and give it weight. To illustrate, let's give our three examples some detail and context:
1. Excellent communicator: Designated to take all escalated customer calls for team of 10 service representatives, after showing ability to establish quick rapport, defuse volatile situations and foster positive relations.
2. Problem solver: Designed an Excel spreadsheet that eliminated the need for three separate processing forms, saving significant time and expense in the Acme business office.
3. Quick learner: Mastered the Acme Company's complex order management system, normally a month-long training period, within two weeks.
See the difference impression you get when you compare the above the bare list of phrases? This technique makes you far more interesting to an employer than the nine other candidates that used trite descriptives. You'll end up looking better qualified than your competitors. You'll also build up your confidence for that important job interview.
Warning: Some details are best kept private. What if you happen to be that very best performer in the tiny company I described earlier? Should you leave the Employee of the Month award off your resume? Heck no! Whenever you prepare a resume, use every appropriate example of your value that you have in your arsenal. Add it proudly, -just leave out any detail that diminishes your accomplishment. If you are a big fish in a small pond, that's fine, -your accomplishments demonstrate your competitive drive!
Conclusion
Remember to supply meaningful context for your qualifications and accomplishments whenever it enhances the achievement and wherever it helps you stand out in the ocean of job seekers. Then go boldly and confidently into that job interview. Before long you'll get your chance to swim with the big fish, too.
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| August 15, 2005 |
MAKE IT IMPERSONAL
The use of personal pronouns in resumes is a minor issue compared to problems with your objective or format. You should realize, however, that the pronoun gaffe will mark your resume as unprofessional, rather that the well-tuned document it should be.
The Problem
As strange as this may seem (perhaps, especially so, if you are in the beginning years of your career), your resume is not a personal narrative. Although it parallels developments in your life, your education and jobs you've held, the resume is not as much about you as it is about your potential value to an employer.
An effective resume is an effective business communication. Its purpose is to win you a job interview. Its message is to tell an employer that you alone, -among, perhaps, hundreds of other, eager applicants, are the best candidate to help his or her organization succeed.
With this in mind, be aware that personal pronouns, words such as, I, me, my, or mine, in the body of your resume, will detract from its impact on a hiring officer. And, if you've think it is okay to balance things by including pronouns that refer to employers, such as he, she, his, hers, them and their, you'd be mistaken, -it still won't fly. Think business, not personal.
The Fix
Correcting this problem couldn't be much simpler or easier, -take the offending words out! With a copy of your resume in front of you, get a ruler and highlighter. Carefully read each line and highlight the pronouns you find as you go along, then delete them and make necessary corrections to the adjacent text. For guidance, look over the following examples culled from recent client resumes:
Problem Phrase Suggested Fix
.utilizing my skills .utilizing skills
I was selected to. Selected to.
.updated their systems .updated systems
I am a highly motivated individual Highly motivated individual
I have.. Have.
Conclusion
If you're looking at your new, pronoun-free resume and feeling a little dehumanized, you shouldn't, -employers still hire real human beings, not robots. You go to interviews specifically because employers want to meet the person behind the great qualifications. Before that, there is a perfectly appropriate way to interject a personal touch in your approach, through your cover letter.
In the cover letter, you can make judicious use of I, me and my to tell a hiring officer about your interest in his or her company, about your enthusiasm and about your best qualities and proudest accomplishments. -Just make sure that your resume always speaks the crisp, clear language of success.
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| June 15, 2005 |
Every resume has an objective, in most cases, it is to win an interview for a desirable job. However, the way you choose to communicate your objective can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your resume.
The Problems
You might be surprised to learn that whenever I pick up a resume that begins with a section titled, "Objective," a trouble flag goes up. The problem concerns the objective statement, which too often reads like this one:
Seeking a position that will utilize my skills and abilities and offer advancement opportunities.
Think about that statement for a minute. Isn't this what every job seeker in the whole, wide world hopes for? Well, of course it is. It is just plain silly to state something so obvious. You risk appearing ignorant, inexperienced, or, worse, you risk offending the sensibilities of a hiring officer.
Think some more about the statement and you'll recognize it is impossibly vague. It offers not an iota of useful information. It cites no specific skill or ability. It gives no clue as to what advanced position the candidate aspires to.
Lastly, and most importantly, think about the message behind the statement. It tells the employer that this candidate considers first, what he wants to get, rather than what he has to give.
Don't panic if your resume could have served as my example, - we can fix it! And don't blame yourself for this common error. Most clients with this particular resume weakness have relied on advice from college career offices or library books. Unfortunately, such sources tend to be dated and do not reflect the current and more sophisticated job market.
The Fixes
Clues to the cure lie in the description of the problem. We'll draw on the weaknesses noted above to devise three, fresh approaches.
(1) Cut a meaningless objective statement right out of the resume. Replace it with a job title, such as, Office Manager or Customer Service Representative. You might also choose to substitute your career field, like Banking or Information Technology.
(2) Make the objective statement personal and specific. Try something like this: Ambitious and hard-working BSBA seeks opportunities to demonstrate management abilities. This example highlights a key qualification (BSBA), known strengths (ambitious and hard working) and a concrete job target (management).
(3) Better yet, focus on the needs of the prospective employer. Especially if you are preparing a resume in response to a job posting, note the requirements (training, years of experience, skills and personal qualities) and write an objective statement that tells the employer you've got exactly what he's seeking. Consider this,
Dynamic BS in Business Management with 10 years of industry experience and
award-winning contributions to Sales Development and Relationship Building.
Here's an example of a lead statement that's bold, clear and which gives information that specifically addresses an employer's needs. - Now, who could object to that?
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| October 15, 2005 |
PHYSICAL ATTRACTION
I have to come right out and say it, - the appearance of your resume will influence the way you are perceived by a prospective employer. While content is the core, an incorrect format and poor design will detract from the best-written resume. Let's begin with definitions:
. Format = The order and arrangement in which you choose to present your text information.
. Design = The font type, font size and style (bold, italics, small caps, underline, etc.) text colors and graphic elements (lines, images, etc.). Resumes designed for web posting may also contain dynamic elements, such as e-mail and links to additional information.
Of the two, formatting is more important. No matter how stylish your design, if necessary content is missing and / or poorly organized, your resume will be a poor performer.
Format Essentials:
A resume must contain your name and contact information. This means a mailing address, telephone number(s) and an e-mail address. Place it at the top of the first page.
A resume must state an Objective, either with a headline or a statement. It follows your name and contact information.
A resume should have a Qualifications, Summary or Highlights section. This comes after the Objective and tells an employer your strengths and achievements.
A resume will most often have both an Education and an Employment component. In some circumstances, it will have only one or the other. Which comes first? The rule -
. if you are a recent graduate without work experience job in your field, Education goes first;
. if you have actual career experience under your belt, Employment goes first.
Everything else is Optional. Yes, that's right. A resume does not require a section for Interests, Personal data or Memberships (unless they are professional organizations). In most cases, anything that is not directly related to the objective should be left off the resume.
However, if you possess good software skills, include a Computer Skills section (after Employment). (If you are an information technology (IT) specialist, you already know that you must list your technical capabilities.)
Design Elements
I wish I could tell you what design choice is always perfect, and what design choice is always wrong, but I can't. There is no single "right" design for your resume. However, there are clear ground rules to follow.
Fonts
Times New Roman (what you are now reading) and Arial (block letters) are business standards. If you are creating a resume to get yourself hired, you are creating a business communication, therefore use the standards. Novelty fonts (especially curvy scripts) will mark you as naïve at best, at worst. well, let's just not go there.
Font Size
I use 11-point font size and, occasionally, 12-point. The smallest acceptable size is 10-points, but try to avoid it. If you make your resume easy on the eyes, hiring officers will appreciate the kindness.
Font Styles
Use bolding, italics, caps and small caps to dress up a plain text document. It is important to differentiate between job titles, employers and regular text. Judicious use of bolding or italics is also acceptable for special emphasis.
Color
Black type on a white background makes a standard, and universally translatable, document. However, in recent years, I have been seeing more use of colored type for resume section headings, and I like it. If you try this design choice, use only conservative hues, such as, dark blue and dark red. Remember, always keep the color of your content basic black.
Now you know the secret of attracting an employer's interest, - make sure your resume looks flawless whenever you send it out.
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Resume Write & Wrong
In this new monthly column, exclusive to Johnson & Hill, resume expert, Christine Roane, will discuss common resume mistakes, provide insight into a range of resume issues and give suggestions to help you make your resume an outstanding career promotional tool.
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