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 Whenever I begin a discussion with an individual on crafting their resume, I look to have a conversation with them. That conversation is focused on where they are at this point in their career. To what type of roles do they see themselves
applying? What may be the industries in which they are interested? What may be some of the items they have accomplished in past job roles that would display their “transferable skills” for a prospective new employer? Questions such as these assist me in assisting the individual to help communicate the message, they wish to put out there to the reader of their resume.
Once establishing those premises, I look to see what they have provided me from their current resume. (If the person does not have a current or previous resume, I have tools to help draw out the information that I would need to see. The tools not only serve as a basis to develop a new resume for them, but gets the individual from thoughts that are in their head out in front of them on a document). One of the questions I often get is how long should the resume be?
And, while there can be great debate on this, let me start with the following. The longer the document, and the more included, the more likely you are to turn off your reader. In fact, one’s mindset needs to be, will someone read this document, (after it gets past machine scanning), or will they just skim it? For a large majority of readers who may get an overwhelming number of documents to read and may have busy schedules, it is likely they will look to skim
the document for at most for 10 to 15 seconds. With that thought in mind as you prepare your resume, you are looking to convey your value as a professional in as few, BUT IMPACTFUL, words as possible.
Given the tendency for readers to not spend a lot of time on any one resume when reviewing dozens of them at a time, the writer needs to connect with the reader quickly. In a resume that means in the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the first page of the resume. I like to encourage those with whom I work to have a short paragraph, (no more than 4 to 5 sentences), introducing who they are as a professional and some of their exceptional career highlights. Additionally, I encourage
individuals to write that section in the “third person,” as if others were speaking of them, (think current and former bosses, cross departmental peers and outside clients and customers). After that initial summary, I indicate that their Key Skills or Core Competencies should come next. Those skills for most individuals, (with the possible exception of technology professionals), are usually the top flight business skills they bring to a company. For example, in short
one-, two- or three-word phrases they may use such terms as Project Management, Cross Functional Collaboration, Vendor Management, etc., that show the types of business strengths they have. By doing this within the early few lines of the resume, ideally, they have indicated to the reader that they are a candidate that requires further examination.
Following the Key Skills/Core Competency section, comes one’s Professional Experience. This should be a reverse chronological order of their work experiences. For each experience, one may have a short sentence or two explaining their role or responsibility. More important, each role should have 3 to 5 bulleted accomplishments based on the following. What were the Problems or Challenges they faced in the role? What were the Actions they and/or their team took to address
those challenges? What were the Positive Results produced for their company or the end customer? Companies hire people for what they can do to “SOLVE THE COMPANIES PROBLEMS,” and not what is your Objective for your work career. Certainly, it is best if your objectives for your career in terms of development and type of work you will be doing, align with the company’s need, but the company’s perspective will be on themselves and their company
culture and not you.
While one may be tempted to put their entire career experience, focus should be on likely the last 10 to 15, (possibly 20) years. Particularly in that time frame if you are doing the type of work, or job responsibilities that build on the role for which you are now applying, would be most relevant. Finishing up the resume is one’s educational qualifications, any Certifications, Classes, or Awards that may be relevant, and any Technical Software Skills they may have.
When done well and particularly for a veteran professional, the well written resume usually is about two pages long. (NOTE: For those with less experience, they may be able to provide items on one page. For those with a bit more experience, they may spill over onto a 3rd page, depending on presentation and font. Beyond that length is not recommended, UNLESS, one is applying to a profession, (think academics, or possibly government jobs), where longer resumes are the
norm as opposed to the exception).
In addition to format and length, one must also bring in other factors before submitting a resume for a job they are seeking. What is asked for in the job description. Is it clearly listed you have those skills or accomplishments in your background? If you do have the skills/accomplishments, but it does not come through clearly, one should be open to adjusting wording on the resume to make it abundantly clear you possess them. Additionally, what is the language
that the company is using to describe their needs. Even if you know as a professional your wording is “similar” to what they are seeking, “similar” in today’s job search world is not good enough. That is because often resumes are screened by machine technology (Automatic Tracking System software), that looks for exact matches to the job description. Many a fine resume never gets pass the machine screening software if not using the “exact
language” used in the job description.
Other items I will stress about the resume to an individual is the following. If there are key points in the resume that you want to be sure individuals see, BOLD THAT TEXT at that point in the resume. Even when eye-scanning, an individual’s eyes tend to get pulled toward bolded text. Additionally, even if it is mandatory that one applies online to a job opening, continue to be persistent in your follow-up. Do you have a friend/colleague that works
at the company to which you are applying. Does that friend have the ability to walk your resume to the hiring manager? If no such contact exists, are you able to connect with possible contacts through such tools as Linked In? Are you prepared to introduce yourself as a professional to a contact that may be able to help you, (or to a recruiter for that company who is responsible for talent acquisition)?
Above all remember, job search is, and will always be a “research project.” Like all research projects it takes investigation, an understanding of the needs of others, the proper communication, persistence, and patience to reach your goal or destination. However, if what you have to offer helps others meet the needs of what they need to accomplish, they will certainly be interested in discussing and seeing if you are the one that can address their problem
and pain points.
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