Put Your Resume to Work
I’m a sales recruiter who looks at resumes for hours and hours every day. I have done this for more than a decade.
Every day I wake up to an inbox of at least 50 resumes and the number grows throughout the day. What have I learned after reviewing, evaluating, and deciding on all of these documents for more than 10 years?
Most people underestimate the importance of their resume.
Why is your resume important?
It is a visual impression representing your skills, accomplishments, and career success as a professional. It demonstrates your communication skills, and ability to capture and convey concepts, details, and ideas. It stands in your stead.
It is your proxy.
What your resume should do is get you through the interview door.
Think of it as a ticket that gets scanned at the entryway of a large public event. It either has the right code that opens the turnstile or the wrong code that keeps you locked out while others pass right on through.
Not Taking Your Resume Seriously Enough?
Think about how many opportunities you’ve missed out on because of a few minor mistakes on your resume.
I’ve had hiring managers refuse to interview candidates with spelling mistakes and typos on their resumes. Seemingly small mistakes can close big doors come interview time.
So if you don’t have a winning resume, you’ll just have to work harder at developing one. Either get professional help or invest the time it takes to learn more about writing your resume.
–Three Key Strategic Areas to Consider When Evaluating Your Resume–
Key #1–Content Rules and Don’t Over “Manage”
What does your resume say? Even if you can’t hear it, your resume does a lot of talking for you. Is it full of fluff or stacked with measurable achievements and results?
Are you administering or spearheading?
Are you coordinating or collaborating? There’s a difference in how you’re perceived by the verbs you pick to describe your achievements.
The most overused verb is “managed.” I dare you to count how many bullets in a section start with “managed.” Another common mistake is mixing up the proper tense of led vs. lead. This seems to be a verb the brain can’t differentiate after several passes through the resume after a long day of work.
Include strong and varied action verbs in your resume. Get your achievements on the document, not just what you oversee. A resume chock-full of specific achievements will help you form a powerful first impression.
Key #2–Formatting Tells All
The design—style, font, white space, consistency, margins, length, color, etc.. will convey an impression to the reader about who you are. If your resume is cluttered and lacks white space, the readability of your resume will drastically decrease, no matter what content is on your resume.
If you can’t get the formatting right, it’ll seem like you haven’t kept up with technology or the times. So get your formatting right, and don’t let yourself be overlooked!
Recruiters often joke we can guess the applicant’s age by the font choice and resume style. This is because many people start a resume in an era of their life and continue to add to it and rarely rebuild the entire document. So your resume winds up looking like something from 2020 –because it is!
Formatting like everything, ages.
Key #3–Censor Yourself
You’re probably wondering how it’s possible to get ten years of experience on two pages. I have bad news–it isn’t. So you’ll have to work hard to whittle down your resume’s content. Make every bullet point, every word, and every page count.
Too many bullets or a three-page resume implies you’re either unorganized or have trouble being concise. Hiring managers might hesitate to call you and ask the questions they need answered to evaluate your fit for the job.
Because they’re afraid you’ll waste thirty minutes of their time just so they can gather a few simple data points.
Remember, less can be more when it comes to writing your resume.
Getting these elements right can take time and practice. If your resume is under-representing you, fire it. Start over and craft something better. After all…your career depends on it.
Is Opportunity Just Around The Corner?
You never know what new opportunities await you. Getting your resume right the first time will help you get the job you deserve.
What can you do to update your resume so it’s working hard to help you land quality interviews?
