Does your resume have what it takes?
A professional resume is something that we all assume to have. We have listed our job history, a summary of accomplishments, and demonstrated growth in promotions and leadership positions. And yet, somehow great candidates can be overlooked simply because of their resumes. Do you know that the average time that a hiring manager spends first reading your resume is just 15 seconds? So it begs the question,
“Does your resume have what it takes to get you hired?”
Here are some tips direct from our 30 years of experience:
Make it easy to read.
Stay away from pre-formatted resume templates and use a font that is simple and traditional at least at a 12 font size. Highly stylized fonts can be difficult to read. Make good use of bullets, various font sizes for headings. If your list of achievements and responsibilities gets too long, use headings and bullet points to help organize them. Make sure it looks good digitally and printed.
Be concise by keeping paragraphs short, trying not to add unnecessary details. A one-page resume without any white space is difficult to read, as is a three-page resume without any substantial evidence of success. Don’t feel the need to keep your resume to one page, especially if you are a mid- to late-career professional. Your resume is meant to be a marketing tool, not a comprehensive career biography, and to give the hiring manager talking points to discuss with you in an interview.
Use their verbiage.
If the job description states that the company is looking for specific qualities or experience in candidates, work key words into your summary and history in context to confirm that you meet the qualifications required for the position.
Your resume should be in plain English but must also engage the reader to want to ask questions about you and how you might be a good fit. Tailor your resume to the position so that rhetoric doesn’t become a key reason why you aren’t considered for a position. Does your resume tell the hiring manager that you meet the skills and qualifications they need, or is it generic and uninspired?