Career Talk JDR

Posts Tagged ‘resume writing’

Since online job marketing and searching has become so popular, some of the old rules of resume writing have changed.  Resume experts used to advise that you add your own personal flare and character to the resume.  These days, any formatting used to add such character can wreak havoc on your resume when it is added to an HTML database or when a major company tries to scan it into their employment files.  This could not only cause headaches for anyone reviewing your resume, but could even keep you from getting the job.  Here are some tips for formatting your resume to be technology friendly:

I have job seekers on a regular basis approach me, asking if they should redo their resume. After a careful review, I’m impressed at how well they’ve put together the resume: aesthetically pleasing, solid hook, right level of detail supporting the hook, no gaps in employment history, etc. (By the way, if your resume is functional, you might want to consider chronological instead. Many hiring officials suspect a candidate might be hiding something with the functional.)   

How many times have you heard the word overqualified?  Anytime I see a manager applying for a lesser position, I immediately assume this person is looking to take any available job until he or she can find a better one. 

Tip: If you truly want the lower level position, downplay the upper level responsibilities and emphasize the lower level tasks and accomplishments required at that level.

When jobs were plentiful and skilled workers were at a premium, you could expect a recruiter or hiring official to study each resume, willing to make whatever mental leap necessary to deem the candidate a fit for the job. Today, hiring officials believe there are enough resources on the market that they do not need to settle for anything less than the perfect candidate. Budgets are tight, and by golly they expect the most bang from every buck. The price for finding this perfect specimen is sifting through a mountain of resumes. To do this, recruiters and hiring officials must shift into rapid elimination mode, allowing each resume only a brief glance to prove itself worthy of the short list.

The three most important aspects of the resume: Emphasis, Emphasis, Emphasis.

Okay, here’s the situation. I’m a recruiter and I’m advertising a systems architect position for one of my clients.  I have a desk full of job orders to fill and more under- and overqualified candidates than I can possibly interview in a month’s time, and they’re steadily coming in by the droves. My ad requests candidates to first submit a resume. If you are qualified, I will contact you. And you can bet I will because I need to fill this position before my competition scoops me.

When I started twenty years ago as a programmer, I read every book and article I could find on resume writing.  Over the past five years, I’ve had the privilege to recruit hundreds of IT professionals, reviewing no less than 65 resumes a day.  I look back at some of the advice I read and have only one word: nonsense!  

Resume experts have leveled forests with how-to books.  They have many different theories on resume writing, most subjective, some contrary to others, but all designed to sell books.  To be sure, no single book fits all when you consider the different professions, industries, and employee grade levels from clerk to CEO.  What’s good for one profession might not apply to another.