How Do You Write a Great Resume?
1. Short is better than long.
Here's the problem. You have a lot to say, but we don't have a long time to hear it. Rarely, would I ever pick up a resume and say, "Wow, I really wish this resume was one page longer!" But often I would pick one up and say, "Wow this is way too long, there is no way I am going to read it all."
A resume does not need to be your life story. You just need to tell the recruiting director enough information about you to get you hired. You don't have to tell them everything.
Think about it like a print advertisement you would see in a magazine. When you see an ad for something like Tide detergent, they do not say the following:
¢ Tide comes in a powder
¢ Tide comes in a liquid
¢ Tide is available at grocery stores
¢ Tide is available at convenient stores
¢ Tide is available at Target and Walmart
¢ Tide works on colors
¢ Tide works on whites
¢ Tide smells nice
¢ Tide was invented in 1887 by Milo Jay Tide III
¢ Tide will get your clothes clean
They just tell you what you need to know to buy Tide detergent. It might be nice to know all that stuff, and some of it may be meaningful to the folks at Tide, but it simply is not relevant or prudent given the time and space restrictions they have on your attention in an ad.
Think about your resume the same way. You may have accomplished a lot, but you only have a limited amount of time to present your message to the recruiting director. Determine what you want them to focus on during their 15-second scan. You'll see some great sample resumes that highlight this point, but in essence, you will typically be putting the greatest emphasis on the most recent and most relevant jobs in your past.
From a very tangible point of view, your resume should never be more than two pages (with a rare exception). If you have worked less than four years or so, you typically want to keep it to one page. After you've had more experience you can (but don't have to) go to the second page.
Find information on Diversity recruiting at DiversityJobs.com.
www.jobbound.com
Here's the problem. You have a lot to say, but we don't have a long time to hear it. Rarely, would I ever pick up a resume and say, "Wow, I really wish this resume was one page longer!" But often I would pick one up and say, "Wow this is way too long, there is no way I am going to read it all."
A resume does not need to be your life story. You just need to tell the recruiting director enough information about you to get you hired. You don't have to tell them everything.
Think about it like a print advertisement you would see in a magazine. When you see an ad for something like Tide detergent, they do not say the following:
¢ Tide comes in a powder
¢ Tide comes in a liquid
¢ Tide is available at grocery stores
¢ Tide is available at convenient stores
¢ Tide is available at Target and Walmart
¢ Tide works on colors
¢ Tide works on whites
¢ Tide smells nice
¢ Tide was invented in 1887 by Milo Jay Tide III
¢ Tide will get your clothes clean
They just tell you what you need to know to buy Tide detergent. It might be nice to know all that stuff, and some of it may be meaningful to the folks at Tide, but it simply is not relevant or prudent given the time and space restrictions they have on your attention in an ad.
Think about your resume the same way. You may have accomplished a lot, but you only have a limited amount of time to present your message to the recruiting director. Determine what you want them to focus on during their 15-second scan. You'll see some great sample resumes that highlight this point, but in essence, you will typically be putting the greatest emphasis on the most recent and most relevant jobs in your past.
From a very tangible point of view, your resume should never be more than two pages (with a rare exception). If you have worked less than four years or so, you typically want to keep it to one page. After you've had more experience you can (but don't have to) go to the second page.
Find information on Diversity recruiting at DiversityJobs.com.
www.jobbound.com
posted by BK at 11:00 AM
3 Comments:
It’s a tall order to grab someone’s attention with your resume, so I agree with you that shorter is better. But what’s even more important is that the job seeker try to customize each resume to match the requirements listed in a job description as closely as possible. Technology affords us that luxury today. The best way to accomplish this is to know what your skills are, what you’ve accomplished, and where you want to go in your work life, then have all that reflected in a “core” resume. Then, from that resume, build individual resumes that can be tailored for each position that interests you.
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Amen on brevity. Two pages is MORE than enough. Once again, we agree on the importance of brevity and accomplishment-based content. I higlight similar resume boo boos on my blog and hate (as a hiring manager) being asked to read 5-6 pages about a candidate.
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