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It has never been easier to distribute a résumé to potential employers or to receive résumés from potential employees. Because of the speed and volume at which résumés are sent and received, it is key that yours gets the attention of its recipient and communicates who you are—quickly!
You have very little time to create interest with the reader of a résumé. Once that interest is sparked, the résumé must communicate how your skills and experience match the requirements of the job you’re applying for.
Here are 10 tips that will help to ensure that your résumé is read. Yes, many of theses tips are common sense. But job seekers often spend so much time focused on writing this summary of their experience that they lose the objectivity of a person reading it for the first time.
1. Consider the résumé recipient a targeted audience.
A résumé is a communication vehicle—just like a brochure, web site or any other method of reaching an audience. Think of the person reading your résumé as a target audience. Determine the messages that you want them to receive. How do you want to be perceived? What action do you want them to take? (I know, that’s obvious!)
2. Make it easy to read.
This is the most important element of your résumé: It has to be easy to read. The recipient will initially look at it very quickly and then determine if it is worth a more in-depth reading. Always remember that your audience probably receives hundreds of résumés or more, so they do not have the time or energy to read each one thoroughly.
Use a format that allows the reader to easily see what skills and experience you have to offer. The typeface should either be Times Roman or Arial in 12-point font (14-point for headers). Remember that newspapers use Times Roman for greatest readability. Use of boldface and italics can also make your résumé easier to read and give the document some energy.
3. Summarize your skills. What do you have to offer a potential employer?
What skills have you developed in your career thus far? Write down five or more bullet points that summarize what you bring to a potential employer. A portion of the list can be customized to meet the needs of the particular job you are applying for.
If you’re just starting out in your career, be sure to list skills you developed from experiences such as internships, summer jobs, part-time employment, being a reporter or editor of a school newspaper—wherever you had to communicate verbally or in writing.
Following the list of skills should be your work experience that shows how you developed those credentials: where you worked, what you did and when you did it.
Customize your résumé, if needed. Take the qualifications listed for the job you’re applying for and match your skills and experience to them. For example, if you’re applying for a position in public relations, focus on listing your skills that are related to what is needed to be effective in that position.
4. Structure your résumé in a logical manner.
Here’s the order of headings I would recommend:
- Masthead: At the top, list your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.
- A condensed list of your skills (five or more bullet points)
- Your work experience: company, location, title, dates of employment and a summary of what you did at each job
- Education
- Professional organizations you belong to and awards you’ve won
Here’s the rationale for this order: Your education is important, but not important enough to list first. Instead, you should first list the skills you have to offer a potential employer, based on your experience to date. If you’re just starting out in your career, list relevant experience you gained at internships, during summer jobs or at part-time jobs.
5. Career objective and references: Forget both!
Don’t bother with a bland, generalized job or career objective. Normally these are written in such a general manner that they don’t provide much insight about you. This type of information could be brought up in your cover letter or during an initial interview.
Also, don’t mention in your résumé that you’ll provide references—of course you will. References are a given when you get to the stage in the interview process where the employer wants to offer you the job.
List your hobbies and interests? Generally, no. If any of these relate well to the company or job for which you’re applying, then list them. Otherwise, you may list an activity the hiring manager responds to negatively. For example, saying that you play golf to someone who really dislikes golf creates a negative feeling. Use common sense.
6. Functional approach? No, no, no!
There was a trend a few years ago toward summarizing your work experience and accomplishments and then listing the companies where you gained that experience, in what function, and when, later in the résumé. With that format, the person reading the résumé has to jump back and forth between sections, trying to figure out what you did where and when. As a recruiter, I can tell you it’s a very time-consuming and tiring way to read a résumé. So this is not a format you want to follow if you’re trying to make it easier for the reader to evaluate your work experience.
7. Length of your résumé?
For junior or entry-level, one page is just fine. As you gain experience and become more senior, two to three pages in length is good but no more than that. Remember, the résumé should create interest quickly.
How long a résumé should be has always been a matter of opinion. Two pages works well, but don’t think you have to force everything onto one page. Just don’t make the mistake of stretching it out to make it look like you’ve done more than you actually did. Again, use common sense.
8. Is age a factor?
You may be a professional who has gone to college later in life. I’d recommend that you delete the date of your graduation from college. Of course, recruiters and human resources people can figure out your age. Age discrimination is what I call a “silent discriminator.“ No one can legally talk about it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
9. Errors on your résumé? Shame on you!
Have someone who knows you review your résumé for errors and content. Some people will not even consider you if they find a typo in your résumé. This may seem obvious, but as the author, you have seen this document many times, making it easier to overlook errors.
10. Sending your résumé.
Create your résumé using a format that can be sent and received electronically. Generally, Microsoft Word is best because most people use it. Never send your résumé as part of an e-mail message. Employers and recruiters keep large files of résumés, and sending it as an attachment ensures that it arrives in the same format you sent it in.
Since 1998, Rich Young has been a recruiter with Chaloner Associates Inc. in Boston. He has more than 35 years of experience in corporate communication with Raytheon Company and Digital Equipment Corporation. He is currently the student relations chair of the IABC/Heritage Region. |
