According to recent Ladders.com research, the average time spent by a recruiter reading your resume is now just 6 seconds! So, if you are going to get yourself noticed, it is important that your resume is concise and highlights in the correct places the information that will get you a longer look and, hopefully, an interview. Make sure you create a resume designed specifically for the position for which you are expressing interest. This will take some effort and some thought. We will attempt to highlight some points where this is done subtly.
Style
With the high tech ability of today’s word processing or design programs, it is very tempting to use fancy schmancy fonts and colors and style templates. However, not only is this not necessary, it is often counter-productive. When constructing a resume, it is still best to use standard fonts such as courier, arial, times new roman, verdana, and other non-sans-serif fonts (fonts that do not have the small projecting features called “serifs" at the end of strokes). Avoid larger-sized fonts and highlight, if you must, with boldface or italics.
There are several different formats of resumes available to you and are largely dependent upon your level of experience or the type of field in which you are looking for a position.
The Chronological Resume
The Chronological Resume is likely the most common resume format. This type of resume usually contains an objective (passé) and/or career summary statement and a chronological listing (from most recent to past!) of all your employers along with related accomplishments. Educational information is included along with certifications and special skills.
This type of resume may be fine for someone who is experienced, but if you are switching careers or are just entering the workforce, this type of resume will most likely help you wind up in the "no" pile. The reason for this is the chronological resume will highlight your inexperience or the lack of relevance your work history might seemingly display to support your desire for a career change. So how do you showcase your talents if you can't lay them out like everyone else?
The Functional Resume
The Functional Resume takes some skill so make sure you take extra time and care in developing this resume. Functional resumes highlight your abilities, such as hiring, managing or coaching, rather than your chronological work history. You'll still need to summarize your work history, but this is usually done at the bottom of your resume well after the hiring manger is usually sold on bringing you in for an interview. This format is quite helpful for people
- With gaps in their work history.
- With frequent job changes.
- Looking to transition to new careers.
- Who are re-entering the workforce.
The reason this format is so helpful is that commonly we acquire transitional skills in our place of work that are appropriate for non-like jobs. For example, perhaps you worked in a retail or food service establishment where you were required to hire, interview, manage, coach, evaluate and/or terminate other employees. If you were to list “Mamma Jane’s Restaurant” in chronological order, the hiring manager looking for a supervisor in a non-retail situation might skip over that listing. In responding to an ad for the supervisor position, if you were instead to highlight these functions in an ordered way at the front of your resume, you may have a better chance of having this experience noticed.
Bulleted vs. Paragraph
A paragraph format is rarely a good option unless, possibly, if you are applying for a copywriting or newspaper or blogger position (even then, I would recommend writing samples rather than paragraphs on your resume). Remember that the hiring manager is only going to spend roughly six seconds on a resume on average. As soon as that hiring manager sees a paragraph-formatted resume and realizes you’ve sent him a reading assignment, your resume is going to quickly go either into the “no” pile or the “review later” pile. Just so we’re clear, the “review later” pile is the “No-in-training” pile.
Bullet-list your information. Whether using the chronological or functional resume, group your information concisely into bullet points. If using the chronological resume, format your company name, position, etc., and then bullet point your accomplishments and responsibilities below. If you are using the functional resume, you’re simply bullet-pointing your list of skills, responsibilities and accomplishments. Remember to remain grammatically consistent with your bullet points. It’s unnecessary to use complete sentences, but they should either all be complete sentences with periods at the end or none should be complete sentences but instead appear as a list of concisely-worded fragments. Ultimately, since you have all of six seconds to express yourself, I would recommend using the concisely-worded fragments.
How long should my resume be?
You have six seconds. The old standard was to never make your resume longer than one page. This is no longer the commonly accepted practice, but it is still not a good idea to make your resume longer than two pages. Nothing is more frustrating to a hiring manager or recruiter than receiving a monograph for a resume. From person experience as a recruiter, I can tell you that a seven page resume in paragraph format is going in the “’no’ pile” before even being scanned for content. I’m not looking for your autobiography. I’m looking through thirty resumes for the best fit and I have limited time and other things to do. So tell me what I need to know, please, and no more.
What software should I use?
If you are delivering or mailing your resume this isn’t very important. However, if you are emailing your resume or uploading it to a company website, it may be important to consider what file format you should use. On most company websites onto which you can upload your resume, they will tell you what formats are acceptable. But when sending your resume via email, it may be worthwhile to call the company and ask the receptionist or administrative assistant in what format you should send your resume. Typically speaking, Microsoft Word or PDF are your best bets. The newer versions of Word can open and read a resume created in Microsoft Works or saved as an .xps file, but it may alter your formatting. When in doubt, call and ask!
Content
So we have discussed style, but ultimately your resume is going to come down to content.
Objective vs. Summary or Headline
The current trend is moving away from the objective statement. This was an ingredient of the resume that most people did so poorly that it rendered it useless. Hiring managers began simply skipping over it altogether to get directly to the “meat” of resume.
The objective statement can, however, be effective if done properly. Remember our two most important criteria: You have six seconds and what do they want? If you are going to include an objective statement, keep it focused on what you can do for the company. Since this can be quite difficult to accomplish and since the objective often comes across as baloney and since the hiring manager is likely to skip over it anyway, it is probably better to go to a summary or headline.
The summary statement says in one succinct sentence who you are. “I am an accomplished certified public accountant with 12 years of experience.” Or simply a straightforward headline (not in sentence form): Accomplished CPA with 12 years of experience. If you are using a summary statement, go ahead and put the heading “Summary:” If you choose to use a headline, simply center-justify it without the heading “Headline.”
Company name vs. Position Title
Something you will want to consider when sending your resume is what is going to be most important to the hiring manager looking at your resume: where you worked or what you did. This is one of those subtle ways you will create your resume for the specific position for which you are applying.
Say you are sending your resume for a machinist position at Kelloggs and you have previously worked as a machinist at General Mills doing very similar work. In this instance, the typical left-formatted “name of company” in boldface with the position title next to it or below it would be a good idea. Nothing says “call this person” more than the competitor’s name in the work history!
In short, if you are applying for positions in the same or similar industry as your work history and are using a chronological resume, it is perfectly acceptable—and even recommended—to go ahead with the traditional highlighting of the name of your previous employers. For example:
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Hartley Insurance—New York, NY May 2009 – February 2013 Property Insurance Adjuster
Property and Casualty Claims Manager
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However, if you are applying for a machinist position that is not necessarily in the same industry and the job posting indicates that the machining background is what is important, you may want to consider highlighting the position title instead. For example:
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CNC Machinist May 2009 – February 2013 Hartley Tool & Die—Paramus, NJM
Smith Metals—East Orange, NJ
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Again, the important point here is that you have six seconds to get the attention of the recruiter or hiring manager. What do you want them to quickly see in those in six seconds? It is important to think about this with every single resume you send out and to keep in mind, “what is going to be important to them?” For this reason, I would not recommend lining the dates along the left side of the page as I've seen some do. The dates are important, but they are not going to be what draws the initial attention of the hiring manager.
When creating your bullet lists, regardless of whether you are using a chronological resume or a functional resume, see if you can find some version of a job description for the job for which you are applying. It might be on the company’s career page on their website, or it may be posted on Indeed.com or Monster or CareerBuilder or other job board. Be careful not to lie, but make sure you use similar syntax. If the position calls for “must have experience with accounts payable/accounts receivable” and you have that experience, make sure to include:
- Responsible for maintaining accounts payable/accounts receivable using Peachtree 50
- Achieved 100% client compliance with our 30 day terms
The idea behind this is to make sure they see exactly what they are looking for.
If you are having difficulty remembering what exactly your responsibilities were in a position or if you cannot find a description of the job to which you are applying, try using www.onetonline.org. Simply type in your job title and the website will give you very generalized job descriptions. The idea is to jog your memory as to what you did previously so you can make sure to include it in your resume.
Avoid using terms like “worked” or “made” that say little. Focus on what the skill or responsibility accomplished. Instead of “sold pharmaceuticals” try “Increased sales of pharmaceuticals in my category/geographical area by 40% in the first year.” Instead of “worked on a band saw” try “Cut pine and cherry wood to client specifications using a band saw” or “Increased production of wood furniture materials by 25% operating Proxxon Micro Band Saw.”
Try to keep your bullet lists succinct, uniform, and always written with what the reader should be looking for in mind.
Which comes first, employment or education?
This is a question that is often asked, but the answer once again comes down to”What is going to be important to them?” What came first in the “requirements” portion of their job posting, “3-5 years experience” or “BS in Engineering?” It’s as good as any place to start in deciding which to list first in your resume.
The answer to this could also depend upon which is more relevant to the job to which you are applying. If you are responding to a posting of a Human Resources Assistant maybe your recent Bachelors Degree in Business Administration or Human Resources is more relevant than your positions at the local minit mart—even if you were responsible for hiring and firing and management at that minit mart.
You have six seconds. Which information is most imperative that the hiring manager sees?
Personal information, References, and Hobbies
Never—and I cannot stress this enough—never put personal information like gender, age, marital status, number of children, ethnic background, or anything of that nature on your resume! Just for emphasis: never do this! First of all, it is rarely relevant to the position. Secondly, this is protected information, so don’t give it up willy-nilly. Because it is protected information, including it places the hiring manager in an awkward and unwanted position. Thirdly, you have six seconds, so keep the information on your resume to information that gets you the interview, not information that may give someone a reason to eliminate you.
Mention hobbies or “special interests” only if they are relevant to the position for which you are applying. Typically, hobbies and special interests are resume-fillers and largely unnecessary, if not counterproductive. However, if you are applying for an assembly position at a wood furniture manufacturer and you thoroughly enjoy puttering around in your woodshop in your garage, it may not be a horrible idea to include it in the special interest or hobby section (I would not recommend the phrase “puttering around”). Otherwise, skip this altogether. Don’t forget: You have six seconds!
Never put references on your resume. The idea is to get the interview first. Give yourself the opportunity to sell yourself before giving the hiring manager the chance to default to “word of mouth” no matter how good that word of mouth might be. It was once common practice to include the phrase “References available upon request” at the bottom of the resume. Well, no kidding! Who is going to say “no way” when a prospective employer asks them for references? It’s a waste of space and has become passé. I would recommend not including any mention of references on your resume. This includes the name and number of previous supervisors that some people like to include in their previous employment listings. Leave all of this information for after the first interview.
Grammar and Spelling
Yes, grammar and spelling do count! Very little will kill an otherwise good resume quicker than grammar and spelling mistakes. Most word processing programs are equipped with a spell-checker and a grammar-checker. This is a nice place to start, but I would not recommend stopping there. Spell-checker will rarely catch everything and mistakes like “your” and “you’re” or “collage” instead of “college” (please don’t misspell “college” on your resume!) will not be flagged. Proof-read your resume no less than three times and have someone else review it for mistakes as well. Remain consistent with grammar.
- If you’re using full sentence structure on your job description bullet lists, make sure all of the bullet points are full sentences.
- If you are capitalizing the first word in each of your bullet points, make sure to remain consistent and capitalize every first word.
- If you have decided to bold face company names and italicize position titles, remain consistent. You also want to remember to match this style when it comes to your employment history (i.e., boldfaced company name becomes boldfaced school name and italicized position title becomes italicized major/degree).
Finally, always tell the truth on your resume! There are an increasing number of services that make it progressively easier and cheaper to verify the information you include on your resume. The best that could happen is that the prospective employer finds out prior to or even after the interview and you are eliminated from consideration. Worse yet is the possibility the truth is unearthed after you begin employment and face the embarrassment of losing that new job as a result. Tell the truth. There are very good ways of making the truth sound better than you might think it is than creating an alternate reality.
Remember to keep your resume clean and concise and remember to focus your resume to give the hiring manager the information he or she wants quickly; you only have six seconds. Go!
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