The Effective Resume

Your resume is your first chance to advertise your skills and experiences to hiring managers. In fact, it is usually the only thing that will get your foot in the door and get you an interview for the job. Because of this, resume writing is one of the most important components of your job search. It is also more work than you may think.

You have probably heard that hiring managers spend an average of 10 to 30 seconds on each resume. This is true. It is also important to remember that the person reading your resume may have to read 300 to 500 more before she makes a decision. Hiring managers want to hire the right person, but they simply don't have time to thoroughly read every resume they receive. So, even if you are perfect for the job, a poorly written or formatted resume will kill your chances of getting hired.

Remember, too, that the purpose of a resume is to get an interview. Hiring managers don't make job offers based on resumes. Instead, they decide who to talk to based on what they see in the resume. And what are they looking for in the resume? Quite simply, they are looking for relevant experience. And if they don't understand the job they are hiring for (many companies utilize recruiters or Human Resources staff to do the initial screening) they will look for matching words and phrases.

So how do you write the perfect resume? There are a few things to keep in mind. We'll mention them here, and then go into more detail later on.

Take the time to write a good resume and customize it whenever you send it out.
As you'll see from the next few points, you have to do more than create a pretty resume and make 100 copies. You must do research on your industry and your experience, as well as on each employer and each job. Armed with this information, you then tailor your resume to fit what each company is looking for. This is the best way to catch a hiring manager's eye, and to have her say "this person is perfect!"

Know what is important to hiring managers in general.
This is where the research comes in. First, make sure you completely understand your past experience from an "industry standard" perspective. Do most companies use the same terms that your previous employer did? For example, if you were a "Support Consultant A1", do most people call that a Customer Service Representative? In that 10-30 seconds the hiring manager is reading your resume, she'll zip right past "Support Consultant A1". So, change the content of your resume to fit the language of the real world. As long as you aren't exaggerating, there is nothing wrong with this.

You'll also want to make sure that you are highlighting the skills that most employers are looking for. You can do this by going to job boards (like Monster, Headhunter, etc.) and reading job postings. Reading other people's resumes is another great way to see what employers are looking for.

The Internet is a great place to do your research. The library is also helpful.

Know what is important for each job specifically.
When you find a job that you would like to respond to, make sure you completely understand what the company is looking for. Look at the words and phrases they use, and put these in your resume (again, as long as you have truly done the work). Also, prioritize your experience in the same order that the company prioritizes their job posting. Finally, in newspaper classifieds, companies usually keep the ads short to save money. If an ad is too short for you to completely understand the job, call the company and ask for more information. If you tell them you want to learn more so that you don't waste their time sending in a resume for a job you're not qualified for, they will usually oblige.

Quantify and qualify your experience.
Make sure that companies can understand the size and impact of the work you have done. Instead of saying "managed a sales team", say "managed a 10-person sales team across 3 states, increasing revenue by 24%". Yes, it makes your resume a little longer, but it also takes the mystery out of the work you did and focuses on your success instead of your tasks. Other examples include:

• Managed national consulting projects totaling three million dollars in revenue. (not "managed consulting projects")
• Answered up to 100 calls per day in a busy, 20-person office (not, "answered phones")
• Changed the way office supplies were ordered and maintained, saving the company $500 per month (not "ordered supplies")

There is another reason for adding numbers to a resume: they catch the eye. In a sea of words on a white sheet of paper, numbers will make a hiring manager stop to see what they refer to.

Keep it Simple.
In other words, cut the fat. This applies to content as well as format. Sentences should be kept to 10-15 words, and language should be straightforward. If your resume includes sentences like "I was tasked daily by my superiors to substantively elucidate product attributes, benefits, and pricing configurations", the hiring manager will move on to the next resume (as soon as she wakes up). Hiring managers aren't going to be impressed by your use of big words. Instead, think "subject-verb", and don't forget to qualify and quantify: "Explained product features and benefits to 30+ customers per day."

From a formatting standpoint, your resume should be clean, uncomplicated and easy to read. See the Formatting an Effective Resume section for more information.

Read it 20 times before you send it out.
Why 20 times? Because that's how many times it can take to spot all the errors. This is your career we're talking about, not an order form for slippers. It is absolutely critical that your resume is free of typos, and more importantly that it sells you to the hiring manager. So, keeping in mind what you have learned about the industry you are in, what hiring managers are looking for, and what this job is about specifically, read your resume 20 times and make any changes that will make your resume more effective.

Have Other People Read Your Resume.
Reading your resume 20 times and never noticing that you wrote "trained 10 peoples" is fairly typical. Other people will catch the typos that you have missed. They can also give you a good feeling for how effective your resume is. Show your resume to 10 people (some in your industry, some not) and then ask them what you have done at previous jobs. If they can explain it - and if they make it sound interesting - you are getting close to having an effective resume. If they can't explain it, or if they get things very wrong, you probably need to do some retooling. You can take this a step further and ask them to read it in 10 seconds.

Create a resume for each job.
You may change very little or each position, but you want to make sure that your resume is targeted directly at what the employer is looking for. Remember, hiring managers get very excited when they see words and phrases that match their job description.

Be Honest.
Lying on your resume will always come back to haunt you. At the very least, it will waste a whole lot of your time, because you won't be able to demonstrate in an interview what you have claimed on your resume.

The contents of an effective resume

Once you have done your research, you're ready to start building your resume. Each resume section is detailed below. Not all of these sections are required for each resume. You should pick and choose based on what you are trying to promote

Contact Information
This section is required. It is critical that employers can contact you. This section should include your name, address, phone number(s) and e-mail address. Also, you should always make sure that your name is at the top of your resume, followed by your contact information. There is no need to type "resume" at the top of your resume.

Objective
The resume objective has been misused for decades. Stating that you're looking for a position with responsibility, opportunity for growth or where you can apply your skills is like stating that you're looking for a position where you can breathe air. It is stating the obvious and it does nothing to improve your chances of getting an interview. So, should you ever include an objective? Yes, and your objective should always be the title of the job to be filled and nothing more. This makes it clear to the hiring manager which job you are interested in (this is very important if she is working on ten jobs at once). It also shows her that you care enough about the job to tailor your resume to it.

Summary
This section is by no means necessary, but it can serve a great purpose. If you don't have a lot of work experience, or if your resume is otherwise short, the summary is a great way to provide valuable information about yourself. The summary usually focuses on behavioral information; not what you've done but how you've done it. It doesn't have to be long, and should follow all the rules of resume writing (clean, simple, etc.), but it is the one place where you can market your work ethic in a very confident and direct way.

By the way, statements in your summary don't necessarily have to relate directly to a job you have held. The beauty of a summary is that it doesn't include dates, company names and titles. A prospective employer expects you to be able to apply the skills you have learned in places besides work (school, clubs, etc.) Some examples of transferable skill areas include:

• Communication skills, such as speaking effectively, writing concisely, listening attentively, and expressing ideas.
• Research and planning skills, such as creating ideas, identifying and solving problems, and setting goals.
• Human relations skills, such as motivating, listening, and developing rapport.
• Organization, management and leadership skills, such as managing groups, delegating, making decisions, coaching, and handling details.

Here is an example of a summary:

"A dedicated individual with 3 years of experience in customer service. Possesses a strong work ethic and superior problem solving skills. A team player who learns quickly and communicates well."

Work History
This is where most hiring managers spend their 10 seconds, so make sure it is easy to read and right to the point:

• Always write this section in reverse chronological order. Your most recent job should always be on top.
• Unless it is really relevant, don't bother going back any further than 10 years or so
• Make sure you include company name, job title, and month/year of employment. No one cares if you started on the 12th, so leave off start and end days.
• Write your responsibilities and major accomplishments. Remember to follow the rules at the beginning of this document.
• Make sure you use action verbs when describing yourself, your roles and responsibilities. Examples of action verbs include: accomplished, administered, conducted, consulted, developed, enhanced, executed, facilitated, generated, initiated, managed, operated, oversaw, and performed.
• Keep it brief. A paragraph or two should do it. Anymore and the hiring manager will get lost.

Education
This section is fairly straightforward. Include the name of the college/university/trade school, degree(s) earned and graduation year. If your resume is light on experience, take advantage of your education by including key courses, honors and awards received. If you do this, make sure that the courses you highlight are tied directly to the job you are trying to get.

For new college graduates, this section should go before work history. For those with work experience this section should follow work history. Never include high school information here.

Skills Summary
If you have a technical background or are trying to get a technical job, this section is mandatory. Even if you aren't seeking a technical job, adding a skills summary isn't a bad idea. This section consists of a laundry list of the skills you have. You do not need to write a narrative here: a single paragraph with an ordered list separated by commas is fine. For example:

"Operating Systems: Windows 95, Windows NT, UNIX, Macintosh. Hardware: PCs, Macintosh, Printers. Software: Microsoft Word, Lotus Notes..."

If you are a technician, you can expand the section so that each group (Operating Systems, Hardware, etc.) has its own paragraph.

Recognition/Accomplishments
This optional section should summarize your major accomplishments, such as promotions, awards and other recognition you have received. Don't put anything here that should really be someplace else – hiring mangers skip this section a lot. So, if they skip it, should you really include it? Sure. If you need to fill space and you put it at the bottom, it won't do any harm.

References
References have no place on a resume. Don't even put "References are available upon request" at the bottom of your resume. If a hiring manager wants references (and they usually do), they will ask you for them.

Keep your references on a separate page and bring them to the interview. You should have at least three business references, and you should provide their name, title, employer, address, business and home telephone number. If you don't have business references, use teachers, club leaders or acquaintances who can relate what kind of person you would be in a professional environment. Be sure to ask individuals if they would be willing to be a reference for you before adding their names to your reference list.

Formatting an Effective Resume

There are two things to remember when formatting your resume. The first you already know: hiring managers spend very little time reading your resume. The second is that most hiring managers don't even read a paper copy of your resume anymore. Today, many employers use document-scanning technology to match job openings with job seekers. Resumes are scanned into a computer, hiring managers search resumes for words that match their needs, and resumes are viewed "online". The problem is, if you don't format your resume correctly, everything you've written will be illegible (and unreachable) to the hiring manager once it is scanned. "Manager" will become "M8~ ger". "President and CEO" will become "Lemadent ans POO". Worse yet, your contact information will be obliterated and you won't exist as far as the hiring manager is concerned.

To keep this from happening, you need to format your resume with scanning in mind to be sure that they are considered for all possible opportunities. This doesn't mean that the paper version of your resume will look ugly or boring: it will be just as good as everyone else's. In fact, it will be so clean and easy to read, the hiring manager will be able to get more from your resume in the short time they spend reading it.

Keep the following in mind when formatting your resume.

• Always start with your contact information, and format it like this:
  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone
  • Email
• Use a nice, clean, standard typeface/font. Courier, Times New Roman, Helvetica, and Arial are good. NEVER use decorative, cursive or italicized fonts.
• Use a normal type size, between 12 and 14 points.
• Make sure your maximum number of characters per line is 65 (this is dependent on type size).
• Use single spacing.
• Make sure you have margins. An inch all around is good. If you need a little more room, make the top margin smaller. Never make your margins smaller than .5".
• Try to include white space between sections and job descriptions. This makes the resume easier to read and scan.
• Do not use multiple columns. Ever.
• Don't include graphics, shading or pictures.
• If your resume is more than one page, place your name at the top of each additional page.
• Use only white paper in standard size 81/2 X 11. Fancy paper in a different color or size will never get you an interview. Sending a resume that the hiring manager can read will.
• If possible, print your resume on a high quality laser printer.

Sending the Effective Resume

Never second guess the company that is asking for your resume. If they ask for your resume in a certain format (email, fax, mail) send it that way. If they give you multiple methods to send it, choose the fasted and cleanest way possible - usually through email - and be done with it. Never send more than one copy of your resume. The hiring manager (the one with hundreds of resumes on her desk) will get irritated. Irritated hiring managers spend even less than 10 seconds on your resume.

Here are a few other things to keep in mind when sending your resume:

• If you are emailing your resume, make sure it is in the format that the company has requested.
• Try to mail or delivery your resume in a flat envelop.
• Always send clean paper copies. If the copy that you're sending looks like it has been handled in any way, toss it and get a clean copy.

The Ineffective Resume: Things you Should NEVER Do

The following are a handful of resume don'ts:

• Unless you are trying to get a job in the entertainment industry or in marketing/advertising, don't try to be funny or cute in your resume. It almost always backfires, primarily because most of us aren't as funny as we think we are.
• Never be shy, hesitant or wishy-washy about your skills and experience. You should always convey a strong confidence in your ability to do the job.
• Never put your references on your resume.
• Never include a photograph of yourself. Unless you are an actress or model, companies legally cannot consider your picture when filling a job, and might even throw your resume away to insure that they aren't breaking any laws.
• Never put your Social Security Number on your resume. It isn't necessary and it could be dangerous (someone could use it to open a bank account, apply for a credit card, etc.)
• Never put personal information on your resume (age, marital status, kids, religion etc.) These things have nothing to do with your ability to do the job, and they could cause problems (hiring managers don't want to know this information because they could be accused of discriminating against you because of it). At the very least, it makes some hiring managers uncomfortable to know this information.

In addition to these "resume don'ts", there are a few red flags that hiring managers look for in order to eliminate you as a candidate. Make sure you remove or address these in your resume:

• Errors (spelling, punctuation, and grammar). These are often looked at as proof of poor written communication skills, or a lack of attention to detail.
• Job Hopping. This refers to short stays at many companies. This isn't always a negative thing (it could be that you worked many temporary jobs), but it is often looked down upon by employers. You can't change the fact that you moved from job to job, but you can address it in your resume.
• Employment Gaps. This refers to a long period between jobs. Again, it may have happened for a very good reason, but you need to address it on your resume.
• Lies. As we mentioned earlier, this is never a good idea, because you will get caught. You should never include things you haven't done. It is okay to change your job title or tasks to make them more standard, but never change them to make them more important than they were.
• Bad References. References are often the critical deciding factor after the hiring manager has conducted interviews. Make sure that your references know what you have done and what your are capable of. Make sure they won't lie or tell "funny" stories about what you did at the summer picnic. Most of all, make sure they are credible.