An Effective Resume! What Works and What MAY NOT Work!
What is the effective resume? It is one that is concise, to the point, and tells your work history. Before I go any further, I will present you with my “disclaimer”: If you talk to 12 resume “experts” you will get 12 different perspectives. Remember, it’s YOUR resume. Hopefully, most of these experts will have comments that are similar if not identical. Check to see if the writer is a former or current recruiter (I have 25 years in both corporate and agency recruiting). Check to see if they have any references… LinkedIn provides a section for just this purpose.
It must contain a summary, it must contain your education, and it must contain action words. The turn “References Available Upon Request is antiquated in that it’s covered on the application!! In this economy your objective isn’t what’s important, it’s what you “bring to the table”. What skills are you proficient in? What is the most important issue that recruiters automatically “deselect” on? Typographical errors. One word that is incorrect could mean the difference between a screening call or a turn-down. What is the difference between a functional and chronological resume? The recruiter wants to know what, where, when, and with whom did you work. That can’t be found in an instant on a functional resume. Be sure to avoid abbreviations. If the reader doesn’t know what they mean they will cast it aside. If you must use an acronym, be sure to spell it out first and then put the acronym in parenthesis (don’t forget, we’re talking key words here. If you must use a “slash” be sure to put a space between the key word and the slash and then after the slash. Are you a Veteran? The word “military” is OK, but we just had “Veterans Day”, there is a reason why they don’t call it “Military” day.
Are you on LinkedIn? You should be if you are a professional. So much has changed on resumes, that I’ve only touched the “tip of the iceberg”. How many pages do you need on your resume? You will need one page if you are a recent college graduate. You will need two pages if you have a BS or BA degree and at least 10 years experience. Do you have an MBA or are you a PE? You may not be able to fit it all on 2 pages. A three page resume, for these people, is acceptable. If you are an engineer or in construction, you will need a “Project Listing” in chart format.
Remember, it is critical that the hiring manager or recruiter reads the most important information in the first seven (yes, that’s 7) seconds. If they can’t make a judgement in that time frame, they will move on to the next candidate. One final note… this resume is YOU. A collaborative effort is a must!
