A powerful resume that highlights your achievements is the first step in the hiring process, and it will afford you an opportunity to interview and ultimately lead you to a new position. Here are a few tips for a no-nonsense approach to creating a resume that will get you noticed.
- Check the crazy confusing stuff at the door: Keep the format clean and simple. Unnecessary graphics, pictures, and colors provide distractions that draw the attention away from your experience and accomplishments. Choose a clear font that is professional in appearance and easy to read. Use bullet points to highlight achievements.
- Who’s calling please? List telephone numbers where you are easily reached with a professional message while you are job hunting. And while you’re at it use a professional email – somehow pimpdaddy@abc.com or crazycatlady@xxx.com might get you disqualified from the get go! Create a new one for job hunting purposes only.
- Make your objective proactive/delete the boring: If you are simply stating “Currently seeking a position in (fill in the blank)”, then I say leave it off. An objective like that is simply space filler. Make a statement in your objective that not only tells them what you want, but also informs them of what you can do for the company. Briefly drop in strengths about yourself and back them up with facts within the body of your resume that confirm you are who you say you are. A dynamic start to your objective works wonders: “To enhance”, “To improve”, “To increase”… you get the idea.
- Just the facts ma’am: If you are simply describing your day to day job tasks (that you were paid to do) for each position—once again leave them off! Hiring authorities are looking for the outstanding accomplishments that will jump off the page and make them want to call you. Briefly touch on your job description and then think numbers, accomplishments and achievements—if you created a promotion that made them money, for example, or developed a procedure that saved them time, this is where your bullet points come in. List them succinctly (without rambling or being boastful) like this example: "Increased first year sales in the region by 50%, advancing my region to #1 in the entire company." This type of fact-based bullet point will open doors in the interview setting for you to explain how you accomplished this impressive sales increase.
- Remember the 9th Commandment: “Do not tell a lie on your resume”—actually the Old Testament says "do not bear false witness against your neighbor" but I needed to make my point—do not fudge on dates, falsify your education, or exaggerate your position in any way shape or form. Always, always, always (did I happen to say ALWAYS) tell the truth, even if it hurts. Trust me on this, a falsehood on your resume will come back to bite you in the b-u-t-t. Not only will you be declined for the position, but you will be stoned to death in the courtyard as well (kidding).
- Return from the dark ages: This one is a huge pet peeve of mine. It's not necessary to list every position you’ve held since the Industrial Revolution. Listing your most current 15-20 years (or less) is sufficient. Don’t let them discount you because they assume you’re ready for retirement. I know you mature candidates are thinking “I can work circles around any 20 year old” and well, that’s terrific, but you may not get the chance to do that if your resume makes you appear to be 150 years old. Current, fresh experience is what the interviewer wants to see.
- Education, do you have one? Only if you have graduated from college, trade school or other accredited academy and received a degree, diploma or certificate. Do not show that you have your Bachelor’s degree from a University if you are 10 units shy of receiving it. Most companies do background checks that include education verification. Once again, no falsehoods allowed on the resume: this is the quickest way to get you disqualified from a position, as it raises the question “what else did this candidate lie about?” (See 9th Commandment). You CAN state that you are currently attending school, and that your anticipated completion date is June 2009.
- Don’t forget to look in your bag of tricks: Additional training and skills are very important on your resume—don’t overlook them. Include items like: "bilingual: English/Spanish", "proficient in MS Office programs", "QuickBooks expert", "trained in CPR", "completed several motivational and sales management programs", etc.
- References are not your friends: Unless you are asked for them, personally speaking, personal references need to be silenced! All of us can get our best friend from grade school or our Aunt Bea to say something nice about us. Use business professional references only, people who can be objective about your work ethic and accomplishments. The best scenario is to provide three: one supervisor, one peer, and one subordinate. If you have not managed anyone then use two supervisors and one peer; if you are new to the workforce use college professors, high school teachers, mentors, or coaches. Type them up on a separate page using the same style and font as your resume, with easy contact information for each reference. It's not necessary to list “References available upon request” at the bottom of your resume—again, it's space filler and redundant!
Remember, your resume needs to be professional in appearance and dynamic in content, clearly showing your precise value to employers—don’t miss an incredible career opportunity due to a poorly written, weak resume. Best wishes to all for a successful 2009!
Patti Casas
