Resumes matter. And they matter in a couple of important ways. One is its obvious and traditional use as a tool necessary for you to be considered for a job interview. This use has not gone out of style and although there have been changes in the way resumes are posted to reach a wider exposure, they are still looked at by recruiters and hiring managers who decide how far along that organization’s hiring process you will proceed. How well this tool works for you depends on the amount of care put into its development.
The other and less talked about benefit of resume writing is in the process of designing and writing the document itself. Compiling a resume causes you to focus on presenting yourself in a clear and economic way. You get to the core of what your job-related value is. You display your brand. This prepares your job search and career development by making it lucid in your own mind, about who you are and what you can bring to the table. This kind of focus is necessary when competing for fewer positions along with a lot of others — many of whom have not purposefully cultivated their individual and professional brand.
I recently attended a panel session with five recruiters representing organizations ranging from healthcare, engineering, state government, accounting, and non-profits. This was a chance to hear what matters to those tasked with filling positions (and they had positions to fill) from among lots of applicants. In general, here is some of what I took away from them regarding resumes:
How clearly the formatting of your resume can make or break it. Poor flow, mismatched indentations and bullets, fonts too small, “creative” visuals, and burying your qualifications are all resume killers.
If you are entry level, get that Grade Point Average right up front where it is easy to spot. Among the private sector professionals, anything less than a 3.0 means you are toast. (Think about it, if you can’t get a 3.0 in college, you are probably either in the wrong major or you’re partying too much).
As a resume writer I must be careful how I say this, but your resume shouldn’t look as if it was written for you. If during an interview, you are asked about something on the resume and your reaction is like this is the first time you heard about it, then whoops. These guys have seen it happen. If I write your resume, you are part of the process. You give me the information, I will write it, we will review it, you own and know it.
Obviously, an entry level candidate knows that one page is the max, but what about middle and executive management levels? I often see resumes of experienced professionals that are really long. And they are usually really long because they are packed with lots of history and past job-related detail. One useful rule for the experienced pro is that unless your face has been on the cover of Time Magazine, then keep it to two pages. History shouldn’t go back more than six to twelve years and boil your qualifications down to about a half dozen key bullets. Writing an autobiography may have its place, but this isn’t it.
In these uncertain times it’s useful to update your resume. It’s amazing how quickly it can get out of date and look like it needs a make-over. Some things in life are never finished, they just keep evolving into different iterations. Resumes are among them.
