The Job Resume - Gotta Get It Right
Job Resume - Top 10 Kisses Of Death
Listen. Is that your phone not ringing? And after sending out 100 resumes, each of them four pages long, powder
puffed, enveloped in coral green and sealed with a wax stamp? Maybe it’s time to take stock of that all-important document, and
make sure it’s not stumbling around out there with its figurative foot in its mouth. Here’s 10 kisses of
death, classic mistakes made in writing a job resume that have been known to keep phones from
ringing.
1) Missing Contact Information
You’d be surprised how many people leave off their phone number on a job resume, or ignore the
opportunity to include an email address in the heading. And on that latter point, make sure your email address is
stable, long term, and professional sounding. Skip the one you use with your friends, PartyGirl@loadsofun.com, and opt instead for something that won’t raise eyebrows.
2) Too Long
If your job resume is over two pages, you’d better be a world-class CEO with instant name recognition. Then
again, if you meet that description, you can get by with a single page, can’t you? Regardless of your real or
imagined worth to a company, limit your job resume to two pages max, one page ideally. With regards to all the
valuable ‘stuff’ you’re leaving off the job resume, be happy you’ll have something to talk about during the
interview.
3) Over The Top Design
Ignore your impulse to write a white-text job resume on black paper, or include a scratch-and-sniff perfume spot
on the page. Limit your font selection to one or two. Use the traditional and popular New Times Roman if you prefer
lettering with a serif, or consider Arial, Helvetica or Verdana if you want a clean, more modern san serif font. Go
easy on the bold and the underlining. And limit your paper selection to white or beige with a weight of 22 or 24
lb. Black type.
3) Misspellings; Poor Grammar
Nothing signals an inattention to detail like a misspelled word on a resume. The job resume, the one
document on which you intent to present yourself to your ideal company, and you’ve misspelled achievemints.
Well, you won’t be adding to your list of achievemints with that company.
4) A Photo on a Job Resume
Never, never, never include a photo on your job resume–unless you’re applying for a job in Germany, or as a
fashion model. U.S. companies outside of the modeling industry will trash your resume immediately to avoid any
future accusations that they might have discriminated in a hiring decision.
5) Personal Information Not Relevant To The Job
You may be the Friday Night Dart Champion at Willie’s Bar, but leave it off the job resume. Likewise don’t
mention your marital status, number of children if any, social security number, height and weight, hobbies, and
sports–unless you’re an avid golfer applying to Titleist.
6) Missing Dates, Missing Employment Information
The hiring official doesn’t like to be left guessing how you acquired your superhuman talents, or where you
acquired them, or when. If he is left guessing, you’ll be left guessing why you never get a
response.
7) Hard To Read
Long, dense paragraphs are tough slogging. Make use of bulleted points. Don’t crowd your information. Weed out
extraneous details and know what employers are looking for–which leads to the next point.
8) A Focus On Job Descriptions vs Accomplishment
It’s implied that a job in outside sales involves calling on customers and following leads. Don’t waste space
and readers’ patience spelling that out in minute detail. Rather, get on with the actual accomplishments from the
job. Increased territory sales 20% the first year. Initiated order bundling system saving $40K annually in
transportation costs. You get the idea.
9) One Too Many Weasel Words
Weasel words are adjectives or action verbs that sound impressive as you’re typing them (extraordinary
communication skills, vitally participated in conference XYZ, demonstrated ability to extricate donut
from bag with minimal disturbance to icing) but to the trained eye (i.e., the eye of the hiring official) they are
indicative of a desperate fellow scrapping the bottom of the barrel for anything positive to say about his time
spent at Acme Wingnuts.
10) Functional Resume
Many hiring officials have come to associate the functional format with a candidate seeking to hide some aspect
of his work history. And for good reason–many are trying to do just that; hiding gaps in their work history, hiding
too many jobs in too short of time.
While it can still be an effective resume, know that choosing a functional format will send up a red flag in the
eyes of many employers, something your resume will have to overcome from the get go.
Where we go from here: Wondering which resume format presents your
qualifications in the best light? And keeps you out of trouble? That's right... trouble! Well OK - let's get
into the nuts and bolts of The Resume Formats.
If you've got your format figured out, time to start writing. I'm sure you know your resume objective is
critical in keeping the hiring official reading your resume. So.. let's get deep into The Resume Objective.
David Alan Carter is a former headhunter and the founder of
Resume One of Cincinnati. For more than ten years, he personally crafted thousands of resumes for satisfied clients
from all occupational walks of life--entry level to executive.
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