If the last time you applied for a job was back
in the 1970's, then you are going to find out that finding employment and the
application process has changed dramatically. Even if you can remember all
of the things that got you your last job, they are probably none of the things
that are important to you now.
Frankly, your future employer doesn't
really care what you got your minors in or what your GPA was when you graduated
from college 30 plus years ago. What matters is what you have done since
then and more specifically, recently.
Resume Basics
It used to be that your resume would include
your weight, age, race, religion, height, marital status, number of children and
hobbies. It was as much a personals ad as it was an employment
application. If you mention any of those factors now, your resume could
quickly become circular file filler (trash). Not only does your future
employer not want to know how much you weigh, the fact that you mention it in
your resume could put them at potential civil legal risk. Any of these
items on a resume make you the one person that they don't want to talk to.
Later, mentioning "soft skills" such
as leadership ability and communication skills began to become popular and it
was a virtual necessity to include various nouveau clichés such "thinks
outside the box", "teamwork specialist", and about a dozen other
meaningless phrases. Listing your computer skills also became necessary as
many companies were looking for people that had even the basic skills.
Simply saying that you could run MS Word or MS Excel was enough to get you a job
because you not only didn't have to be trained how to boot the machine but you
were potential trainer material. Still, not much was expected with
regard to the presentation because it was understood that even the most tech
sophisticated individuals only owned an IBM Selectric Typewriter.
By the mid-90's the resume began it's
transition to more of a marketing approach and much more began to be expected of
the visual presentation of the resume as well as the content. Current
resumes are expected to come in various flavors of electronic presentation such
as MS Word, ASCII, and even online hosted brochure (therefore
HTML).
Resumes now include customized cover letters
and even customization of the resume to fit the position being applied for, a
scanable version of the resume with applicable keywords (used for OCR - optical
character recognition software), and a fully formatted resume that includes
professional typesetting, quality and specialized graphics, high quality paper,
and similar things that make your resume stand out as something that needs to be
looked at further.
While the look and feel of the resume have
changed, the basic function has not. That being to get the person
reviewing the resume to want to talk to you further. Remember, nobody ever
got a job solely on the basis of their resume. It's only purpose is to
separate you from the masses and make them want to talk with you further.
That may sound relatively easy to do, especially if you completely meet all the
listed criteria for the position and then some. In fact, you may be the
best person for the job but because of something that you did in the resume
process, you didn't even get a first look, much less a second one.
In a
market where qualified employees outnumber the jobs, an initial look at a resume
may take 5 seconds or less. If two positions are available and 150 resumes
are received, the initial screening includes the making of two piles, the
"Maybe" and the "No". The first trick is obviously to
avoid the "No" pile. Each person has their own criteria but you
are almost guaranteed to hit this pile if you:
- Hand-write your resume or type it on a
typewriter (especially if you've use correction fluid)
- Use typing paper instead of better quality
paper
- Have more than two pages of text
- Use odd fonts or make the text too small
- Use of bold type everywhere
- Get cute with graphics
- Cram too much on the page to where it isn't
readable
- Don't separate the text into readable
portions
- Include long paragraphs
Once the reader has eliminated their idea of a
waste of time, it's often the next task to review a bit of content.
Presenting for this stage involves an understanding of what the employer is
looking for and highlighting them throughout the resume. Common errors
include an improper layout, misspellings, typos, grammatical errors, and
anything else that would look unprofessional.
DO NOT depend on spelling and grammatical
checkers only. They are only your first line of defense against dumb
mistakes. Grammar checkers don't work well with lists and that is
primarily what most resumes consist of. Neither do they work well with
specialized industry lingo. Spell checkers don't work if the word is a
real (but wrong used) word. If you have substituted the word
"curses" for the word "courses", "circumcised" for
"circumspect", "violate" for "validate",
"ruining" for "running" or about a million other potential
problems, your resume may get passed around the office but not for the right
reasons.
Use good quality paper for your resume.
Sure, it costs more but if you get the job, it's a small investment. If
you are not familiar with various paper qualities, stop by a print shop or other
specialties shop such as Kinko's and ask the attendant to show you their
selection of resume paper. For limited quantities, it's probably also just
as cheap to buy it there as it is anywhere. Your other alternative is to
put your resume on disc and let them print it. Again, considering the cost
of print cartridges and the time involved, it's probably just as cheap. Be
sure however, to ask for at least as many additional sheets of blank paper from
the same stock as the resumes that you had printed. That way, you will
have matching stock to print your cover letters on.
If your resume includes any graphics, consider
that when purchasing resume paper. Graphics may not look well on certain
colored paper and/or may blend in to where they hurt more than help.
Colored paper could give you a very slight distinction but white paper is always
a safe bet and won't hurt your chances. If you do choose colored paper, it
should be nothing more distinctive than an ivory or light gray. Blues,
pinks and marbled papers are available but not liked as well.
Fonts should be limited to the basic fonts used
by most PCs. Don't use your latest funky font that you found on the
Internet, especially if you are sending your resume electronically via email
attachment. If the person on the other end doesn't have that font, they
can either end up with an error message or their computer changes it all to
their default font and your resume will look entirely different and perhaps even
change the layout.
Lies or Misrepresentations
More companies - not just the big ones - are employing firms to investigate
their candidates’ backgrounds. Do not lose your chance on a prospective
position by lying on your resume. Even worse, do not lose the job you worked so
hard to get when your lie is uncovered. This does not mean that you need to
disclose every mistake or failure. On the contrary, your resume should only
include information that paints you in a positive light.
Irrelevant Material, Fluff
Typically, it is best to give the most space to your professional skills,
accomplishments, and experience. If you recently completed some education in an
area that is related to the position that you are applying for but completely
irrelevant to your previous experience, you should place this first. Doing
so helps the reader see that you have applied yourself to new resources that
qualify you for the position where your previous experience would not.
If your education is more than 10 years old, its mention should be
short and follow your experience. Professional affiliations and leadership
within the community should get a small amount of space. Activities from high
school or college, personal information, and recreational pursuits should
generally get little or no space in the resume.
Career Accomplishments
This is the one area where you get to show not just that you have the skills to
do the job (like most everyone else who is applying), but that you have
positively affected your employer. Add accomplishments that show how you have
added value, reduced expenses, developed products/programs, taken a leadership
role, etc. If you have received an award or recognition, include that as well.
RESUME STYLES While there may not be as
many resume styles as breakfast cereals, there are several. The two most widely
used are the Chronological and Functional. The Combination style is just what it
says—a combination of the Chronological and Functional.
Chronological Resume Style
This style, which chronicles your work history starting with your most recent
position and working back in time, is most effective if you have a stable work
history. It is good for showing a steady progression in
responsibility—something that most employers value.
Functional Style
Made popular in the 1980’s, this style highlights your skills and
accomplishments in functional categories. This a good style for camouflaging
gaps in employment or a lack of professional experience. Recruiters and
employers, however, have expressed a dislike for this style because of its
ability to hide the negative.
Combination Style
This style combines the best features of both the functional and chronological
styles. It includes a functional summary and a chronological experience section.
This style is one of the best to choose because it effectively sells your skills
in the functional section. Then, it backs up your claims with the experience
section.
PARTS OF THE RESUME
Heading
This section of the resume includes your name, address, telephone numbers, and
email address. It is important to have a telephone number where employers or
recruiters can reach you during the day. If you can discretely accept telephone
calls at work, include your work telephone number. Otherwise, include a cellular
number or your residence telephone with voice mail/answering machine. Your voice
mail/answering machine message should sound professional.
Summary
Statistics have shown that the average resume screener will only spend about 10
seconds to determine whether they want to read further. Therefore, you want to
capture the reader’s attention immediately. The summary section will do that
if you include a summary of your most marketable skills and achievements. The
summary is also a good place to speak about your soft skills such as
communication, leadership, and ability to get along with others.
Professional Experience
Most people see this as the heart of the resume. However, do not just list your
job title and responsibilities. Be sure to include your accomplishments for each
position. To allow the accomplishments to stand out, place your responsibilities
(the top 5 or 6) in paragraph form and bullet your accomplishments below.
When
writing your responsibilities use the CAR method (challenge, action, and
result): “…Challenged to start up a wholly owned subsidiary in this market
determined by external consultants as capable of sustaining a manufacturing
facility.
Established a detailed business plan and provided 3-year budget and
financial projections. Identified key players and developed strategic
relationships. Recruited and selected staff including sales, technical, and
administration team members. Built a strong distribution network while managing
general administration including issues related to human resources, finance,
operations, and P&L.
Maintained sales goals despite severe devaluation of
local currency, collapse of the economy, and complex bureaucratic issues.
Continued to collect debt in spite of economic conditions. Revised business plan
to reflect changed market and economic conditions. Saved corporation millions of
dollars by postponing construction of manufacturing facility.”
Education
This section is self-explanatory and easy for people with a degree. However,
what if you never finished school? You can sum up one or two years in college
like this: “Business and General Education, University of California Los
Angeles.” Continuing education and professional seminars should also be
included in this section.
Miscellaneous
Other sections of the resume include Computer Skills, Certifications and
Licensure, Professional Affiliations
SUMMARY The most important item to
remember is that the resume is a marketing tool. Would you want to buy a
refrigerator if the accompanying advertisement read like this: “Extremely
overpriced, energy wasting, keeps you up at night refrigerator. 17 years of
keeping items barely cold. Seeking a new home …”?
A good marketing piece
will always highlight the strengths: “Value priced, pre-owned refrigerator
with extremely large storage capacity, glass shelves, and easy clean
interior/exterior. Ice-maker and produce baskets included ….” Be sure to
stress value to your potential employer and paint yourself in a positive light.
