SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING A MORE EFFECTIVE RESUME

As an Executive Recruiter, I read dozens of resumes every day.  Sometimes even more.  

I have learned over the years, based on my own experience, and the observations of other recruiters what makes the better resumes memorable, and the less effective resumes notable, as well.

When candidates submit their resumes, they all hope, and likely expect that their background and experience will be fully considered as hiring managers, recruiters and human resources managers decided whether to invite them for an interview. 

Your resume is critical to your getting that interview.  How hiring authorities first meet you, as a candidate, is through your resume.  Your resume must catch their attention (in as little as 5-10 seconds, as I will discuss later), and tell them as quickly and simply as possible that you are someone they should consider hiring.

There are many good ideas candidates have had about how to write their resumes, as well as others that are not as effective.  I do not want you to be in the latter group, so I have suggestions that will make your resume more effective.

Send your resume as an MSWord document, not as an Adobe (.pdf) file.

Most recruiters and hiring authorities these days use MS Word.  While they can read .pdf files, most prefer not to receive resumes in this format because it is difficult to file, and the quality of the printed hard copy is not as high in quality as those printed in MS Word format.

Also, many hiring authorities file resumes they receive in data bases as part of the process of considering your candidacy.  If they receive a .pdf file, it is likely that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to file in a data base and subsequently consider.

Think of your resume as a snapshot.

The function of a resume is to provide a brief description of you, as well as your professional experience and accomplishments.

It is a “snapshot” that needs to be able to tell a story as comprehensively and briefly as possible.  The first time someone looks at your resume, they will spend only 5-10 seconds looking at your resume and deciding whether you are qualified for a position.  So you have to grab their attention right away.

The best way is to use key words in your resume that relate to the job you are applying for, and then to be brief, but detailed in describing who you have worked for and what your accomplishments were with each employer.

Key words can be critical.

Using key words or descriptive phrases that relate to the job you are applying for will catch the eye of the reader…the eye of the hiring manager.  For example, if you are applying for a Chemical Process Engineer, then using the words “chemical process engineer” or “chemical production process”, among others like them, prominently in your resume, will catch the reader’s eye right away.  That is because those phrases, and other like them, as well as words associated with chemical process engineering, are the kinds of references the hiring manager is looking for.

If you are applying for a maintenance manager position and you have reliability experience, such words as “preventive maintenance”, “predictive maintenance”, TPM, and reliability are all words, among others, that those reviewing your resume might be looking for.

Having key words that relate to the position you are seeking in your resume will always increase the chances that it will get a closer look.

Bottom line, key words can get your resume noticed during that first critical 5-10 seconds of review.

Always include your complete contact information on your resume.

Your resume should include your complete street address, phone numbers (home phone & cell phone) and your e-mail address.  You need to give the hiring manager a way to contact you, and to stay in touch with you throughout the interview process.

If you feel you need to include a P.O. Box address, do so.  But also include your street address, as well.

If you do not include your complete street address, you run the risk that the person reviewing your resume will think you have something to hide.  (“If he will not share his address and phone number, what else does he have to hide?”)

Do not include your salary history in your resume.

You should not include any salary information in your resume.  I have sometimes received a resume that has the candidate’s salary for each position listed along with company information and accomplishments.  This is a mistake in almost all cases.  You do not want to give your prospective employer salary information that they might interpret wrongly.

More often than not, you will not know what salary an employer is willing to pay.  If you put your salary history in your resume, two possible things might result: 

1) The salary is lower than the employer expected and he will either take it as an indication that you are underqualified for the position, or he can take advantage of your disclosure and offer you less than he otherwise would. 

2) The salary is higher than the employer expected, so he will think you are overqualified, or than you are expecting a salary that is higher than he is willing to offer. 

In either case, the disclosure of your salary will potentially remove you from consideration for a job you might have otherwise been offered.

Include a short description of each company that you worked for.

Just listing the name of the company you worked for is not enough.  In addition to the company name and location (city & state), you should include a short description of the company.  This includes such information as the company’s business, market(s), and approximate size (sales $).  The statement of annual sales does not have to be precise.  An approximation, one that does not divulge any confidential information is sufficient.

This should be no more than 3-4 sentences.  You should also include the same information for each division or business unit of the company you worked for.

This is important and can be critical to catching the reader’s attention.  A good company description can let the reader of your resume know that the companies you worked for are in the same markets, are of a similar size, or have some other characteristic that can make you a more interesting and valuable candidate.

I can’t tell you how many resumes I have not given more than a cursory look because I could not determine what business or businesses a candidate’s employers were in.

Always include dates of employment for each company on your resume.

The dates of your employment are a critical item to include in your resume.  Include the dates for each company, and for each division and business unit. 

Most companies are looking for a defined number of years experience…not only overall experience, but also how much experience in what kinds of jobs, or with what sorts of responsibilities. 

The more time you have in a position, or using knowledge and skills that relate to the job you are applying for, the more attractive to the employer you will be.

You need not include more that the years you were employed.  Months (such as 5/90 – 6/02) are not often necessary.  Describing tenures as 1990 – 2002 is sufficient in the vast majority of cases.

Use bullet points to highlight your accomplishments.

Next, you need to avoid having your resume read like a novel, or even a short book.  Remember, your resume is a snapshot, not a comprehensive career history.  You can discuss your career history in the appropriate detail during the interview.

Always include your most notable accomplishments for each company you worked for.  These should be listed as bullet points.  You should not include more than 4 or 5 bullet points for each employer or position held.

Accomplishments that you list should be measurable or “metric” wherever possible.  For instance, instead of a Marketing Manager noting in his resume:  “Increased the market share of Product A”, a more effective way to describe the accomplishment would be, “Increased the market share of Product A among automotive customers by 15% in the first 6 months, while increasing profit margins by 3%, as a result of price increases of 6%.”

Companies will hire you if you convince them that you will have a positive impact on their operations, decrease their costs, increase their efficiencies, and/ or increase their profitability and market share better than any of the other candidates can.

Quantitative bullet points provide them with concrete, measurable evidence and indications that you will do just that.

Also use action words in your bullet points.  Words like “directed”, “participated”, “spearheaded”, “drove”, “increased”, “improved” or “enhanced” are excellent action words.

Include only 4-5 bullet points for each of position you held with each employer.  Note as much statistical detail as possible, and focus on the most significant achievements for each position.  It will be extremely helpful if the statistics and accomplishments that you note relate to the position you are applying for.

Highlighting is useful for emphasis.

When writing your resume, particularly if you are editing it to fit your background and experience to a job you are applying for, highlighting key words, phrases and sentences can be very useful.  Highlighting will catch the attention of the reader and draw his or her gaze to words that can emphasize how your background and experience makes you a fit for the position in question.

In addition, knowing that the hiring manager or HR Manager will be skimming your resume initially for 5-10 seconds, highlighting key words and phrases can guarantee that these phrases and words will be noticed by him or her.

Do not write include long paragraphs in your resume.

Hiring Managers do not want to read resumes that remind them of short stories, or newspaper articles.  If you include paragraphs of more than 3-4 sentences, you will lose the reader’s interest and attention.

Bullet points need only be a sentence or a phrase.

Keep your resume to 2-3 pages in length.

There is a saying in business that I learned many years ago.  A memo should ideally be 1 or 2 pages in length, but if necessary, no more than 3.  The same applies to a resume.

Executives and Managers do not like to read reports and memos that are more than 2 pages long, but will read an extra page if they are interested and they feel it is worth their while.  Long resumes of 5 or more pages are likely to be set aside or not read at all.  Either way, it is not favorable to your being considered as a serious candidate. 

If you must include more information, write a resume addendum and only provide it if the hiring manager wants the additional data.

Edit your resume to fit the position you are applying for.

Often there are particular skills or experiences that a potential employer is looking for in a candidate that will indicate to the hiring manager that the person they hire will be a success with their company in the specified job.

These skills or experiences may be ones that you have had, but might not appear on your basic resume.  If you can, you should replace more general accomplishments or experiences with those that relate directly to the job you are applying for.  Don’t add bullet points, or additional sentences, which will make your resume longer.  Instead, keep the number of bullet points to no more than 5, and your paragraphs to no more than 4 sentences.

If you do tailor the content of your resume to the specific position, you will increase your chances of being noticed considerably when your resume is reviewed.

If you are have a PhD degree or Master’s Degree, include information about your thesis.

If you have a PhD degree, include the title of your thesis, as well as the names of your thesis advisor(s), in the education section of your resume.  You should include the same information if you have a Master’s Degree and wrote a thesis as part of your curriculum.

Be brief in listing patents and publications.

It is not a good idea to list more than 3-4 of your most important patents or publications in your resume.  These should be ones that apply best to the position you are applying for.

List additional patents and publications in an addendum and provide them if the hiring manager asks.

Do not include copies of your professional licenses, permits or certifications and the like.  Do not attach photocopies or Adobe files to your resume.  Hiring managers do not want to see them.  Listing them in your resume so the hiring manager knows you have them is sufficient.

Each resume is individual and unique.  It is an extension of your identity that shows how unique and talented you are.  It tells the prospective employer that you are the best candidate for the job.  So take time to make it the most effective document you can.  If you do, you will increase your chances of being noticed and the number of interviews you are offered will likely increase as well.

As you read these, you may have thought of other suggestions you would like to share. 

If so, I invite you to send me an e-mail (career.journey.mgmt@gmail.com) and share your ideas.  I will then share them with others here, on my blog, in the future.