Please have a resume when you come to apply in my office. Or for any other job. There are 10 or more people applying for the same position and the first method to reduce that number is to ignore those applicants who are not prepared. One piece of preparedness is your resume. Here are some tips that I have seen people failing at lately.
1) Make sure your information is current. Include information right up to the day you come to apply. Include temporary jobs, include volunteerism (especially if you have been long-term unemployed). Do not leave anything out. Include most recent information at the top and work backwards.
2) Make sure that you present a neat and clean resume. One lady brought hers in an 9X12 envelope. I’ve also been impressed with those carrying a file folder to keep resumes in. Do not turn in a stained or crumpled resume.
3) Don’t include your picture. This may change depending on what you are applying for, but unless you are a model, I don’t see a reason for it. Your picture says a lot about you, but most of what it can tell me… I can’t use in making a decision about hiring you. In short I won’t pay attention to the photo, so you should save space and leave it out. Emphasize your skills and experience on a resume.
4) No graphics or graphic designed resumes. Unless you are applying for an artsy job, this doesn’t impress me. I don’t like to turn my head side ways or search for your information. Even if you are applying for some position that you want to showcase your work for, a link to a webpage with your portfolio is a classy way I’ve seen this done.
5) Review, Proofread and EDIT your resume. Let a friend or other employment professional review your resume. If they find it difficult to read or hard to find the information they are looking for, you may need to reformat. Use a standard font, nothing fancy. Use a standard 11 or 12 pt font size for easy readability.
6) Forget about writing your objective, we all know it’s going to be vague or an outright lie. Instead show me your accomplishments! Include facts and figures for the things you have done with previous employers. Examples: a) Increased efficiency by finding a step that could be eliminated without reducing quality in our product at abc manufacturing. b) decreased injuries at xyz inc by implementing a safety plan that people could understand or c) was awarded the BlahBlahBlah award for my success as a CoolProfessional in 2009.
7) Tell me what position you are applying for. You can do this in a cover letter, or if you must in an objective section. Be clear. I see many resumes each day for numerous positions. Other hiring managers have resume searching software and if they need a Receptionist they type in that word and any resume with that word comes to the top!
8 ) Don’t print on fancy paper. Now I will admit I saw this done once last week and I was impressed. However, I don’t recommend it on a general basis. Most resumes you submit will be scanned into a computer and searched through intelligent software. A specialty paper will not stand out in this situation. Depending on the amount of texture in the paper, you may even find that your information doesn’t get read by the scanning machines. When appearing for an interview you can and should bring a clean resume on quality paper.
9) Include E-Mail Contact Information. We appreciate being able to reach you by email to set up a follow up interview. However, please use an appropriate email address. Your name is most appropriate. Never put anything relating to an illegal activity in your e-mail address for a job application or resume.
10) One Page Only. I don’t want to look through multiple pages. Use keywords and bullets instead of describing in detail each position or skill set. If you held many positions just include enough to fit on one page and a sentence about “More Available Upon Request”. Only include your highest level of education unless you have multiple degrees that pertain to the position. This applies to any licenses you hold or training you recieved. If your resume is multiple pages, reduce it to one by only including the relevant education/training to the job you are applying for. Include “More Available Upon Request.”
Sincerely,
Hiring Managers Everywhere
P.S. If you think your resume needs some tips, send it to me Stacy@XLStaffing.com I will give a few specific tips to the first 5 people who send me thier resume asking for help.
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