Resume writing can be daunting. Particularly if you haven’t written one for a while.
Enjoy the resume writing process. It is a chance to review your work and education history and remember all of the great things you’ve accomplished.
Here are a few tips:
Spelling. Use spell check. It is simple but surprising how many people skip this step. In addition, have someone read over your resume for grammar and spelling. Your resume can move quickly to the ‘no’ pile for spelling mistakes.
Objective. If you choose to use an objective at the top of your resume, make sure it is generic enough for the positions you may be applying to or remember to change it every time you apply. For instance, be sure to change the company name you are applying to in your objective. We see this error repeatedly.
Personal information. In other countries it is common to include personal information such as sex, age, marital status and to have a photo attached. In Canada not only is this information against some legislation; it can detract from your application. Highlight the skills you have that match what the employer needs.
Length. The rule of two pages has long been the recommended length. If you have more experience to show case, create an additional document if required. It can be difficult for some to exclude experience or projects, but the two page maximum can hold the recruiter or hiring manager’s attention.
Truth. We hear all too often about lies on resumes. Even if your fib doesn’t get caught during the interview process, it will catch up with you eventually. Generally employers are going to test your skills in the initial months and they’ll find out that you don’t really know how to run an email campaign.
Consistency. Make sure your fonts, font size, and language remains constant through out your resume. Attention to detail is important no matter what role interests you. Another common consistency issue is tense. People jump from past to present when describing their roles. Sometimes even within the same role. Your previous roles happened in the past, stick to past tense.
Previous Employers. When outlining your experience, it is helpful to include a brief description of the company. Highlighting similarities between that company and the one to which you are applying demonstrates that you have taken time to consider your application.
References. While it is beneficial to provide references, it will be hard for your reference to provide the best information if you are applying to more than one position and they don’t know which position they are speaking to.
Interests. While it may seem like a silly section, illustrating any hobbies you have will give you and the interviewer something to talk about. It also shows your life outside of work and most employers are looking for that.
Keywords. You may have heard a lot about keywords over the past five or six years. The idea behind keywords is that you include words or phrases on your resume that an applicant tracking system will pick up in a scan of applications. Larger organizations do not have time to manually scan resumes and rely on software to do the initial screening. Including words or phrases that are mentioned in the job posting can help your resume move through.
Contact Information. Last but not least, make sure you include your contact information. While most applications take place over email there are some occasions where a phone number or address is essential.
Got a question for Jorden? Post them below in the comment section!
About the author: Jorden Bartlett
Jorden Bartlett is an unlikely Human Resources professional. She is an introvert with a knack for bending the rules. Jorden has both the CHRP and PHR making her an ideal cross-border shopper. She has had the good fortune of spending time with organizations of all sized including Praxair, Shred-it, John Deere, TWD Technologies and Fusenet. Jorden is currently the HR Director for Fusenet and is turning everything she knows about HR upside down.
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Jorden, I agree with much of what you say. However, I disagree with including a company description – it takes up very valuable resume real estate that could be better used to describe your own accomplishments.
I’ve seen many resumes that just copy a well-known company’s overview from the company web page, often running to 5 or 6 lines per company, and giving the hiring manager no information they can use to screen you in – which by default screens you out.
As a hiring manager, I will give your resume 5-10 seconds at most to go from my unread stack to either the 30-second review stack or the discard pile. If you take up that time with irrelevant information that doesn’t help me decide to move your resume to the next stage, you’ll be passed over.
Sound harsh? Maybe, but the reality is, when I’m hiring, I’m usually doing that on top of my “regular job”, and on top of the extra work I have to do because my team is short-handed. My goal is to spend almost no time screening out unqualified or marginally qualified candidates, a little more time screening out candidates with fatal flaws, and the most time with candidates who have the highest likelihood of meeting or exceeding the needs of the job.
Spend the initial 5-10 seconds your resume gets showing me why I should put you in the 30-second review pile, and spend those 30 seconds showing me why I should put you in the phone screen pile. Your success rate will almost certainly improve.