Simple Resume Advice
Resumes are not the end all be all to getting a job, but they are your ticket to the party. No matter how far you get in the hiring process without showing yours (i.e. through your network connections), you will eventually have to talk through the resume with someone. This is why it is very important to keep your resume edited and ready, even if you already have a job. Let me repeat that….Even if you have a job that you love, you should still have a resume ready to go at all times.
Some of us have been there and some of us have not. You make the decision, or your employer makes the decision, that today is the day you need to find a new job. You are filled with emotion as you are trying to process everything that is happening, and you decide to get to work on that resume. When you open it up, you realize you haven’t touched it in 5 years! What have I been doing the last 5 years? What was important and what wasn’t?
The team at Collaborative Talent has reviewed hundreds of articles and sites through the years that give very narrow “tips and tricks” for resumes that GUARANTEE success. The only problem with that is that there is no silver bullet for success. Every person or software who scans and reviews resumes has different goals and objectives during the review. Also, on average, the typical recruiter or HR representative spends under 10 seconds reviewing the resume.
Below are a few ideas for the approach to your resume/CV. Let us know your thoughts!
Update your resume at least twice per year. Make sure you are adding all the great things you have accomplished in each position, year after year. Also, take the time to review what needs to be deleted or is no longer relevant. You will forget your achievements and the big moments from year to year, so it is imperative that you write them down in your resume.
It doesn’t matter if it is 1 page or 4 pages, but it does matter that it tells the story of your career. Some people simply cannot fit their experience in a single page, and you should not feel forced to. However, if you can’t fill a single page when you have been working for 20 years, you are not trying hard enough.
The person reviewing your resume is interested in you, not your past teams. Including accomplishments and responsibilities of past teams is great, but you have to include, and point out, what you did. How were YOU successful? What did YOU bring to the table.
Perfect your professional summary. Get rid of the outdated “Objective” section and put your professional summary front and center. Try to make it clear and concise, showcasing the highlights of your career and your experience. This section should only be 3-5 sentences in length.
If you work in an industry that requires certain licenses or certifications, make sure you make that a prominent section at or near the top of the resume. If certifications are a nice-to-have in your industry, you can place them at the top or at the bottom of the resume. However, a good rule of thumb is to assume that the person reading the resume will not make it all the way to the end, and will most likely read only about half of it.
This same theory applies to the bullets of the resume. Put the most important parts of your description at the top, trailing in importance to the bottom.
If you going for a Creative, Design, or UX type of position, formatting, layout, and overall design can be a strong plus, or a huge negative. Whenever you venture outside the classic resume formats you are taking a risk, but we suggest you embrace that risk for these types of roles. Show you are different and put your own spin on it! For more traditional positions, approach with caution. Some recruiters and HR representatives see these non-traditional formats as more of an annoyance than something showing your creativity.
Watch your text size. We usually suggest going with a 9 or a 10 sized font, that way it does not create eye strain for the person reviewing it.
Keyword your resume to particular job postings. Review the job description and understand what keywords are in it. Next, position those keywords throughout your resume, making sure you touch on each one for that particular job. This is a time suck on a per resume, per job basis, but it works. Different technologies are used to scan resumes before a human ever sees them, and it is important that your resume makes it through that scanning process.