A résumé is an essential marketing tool promoting your professional expertise. As you add to your skillset, training, and accomplishments, you should consistently update your résumé, ideally every six months, and have it readily accessible because you never know when a golden opportunity will present itself. The résumé can be the key to open the door to a holistically satisfying job and/or career that rewards both your financial needs and sense of self-worth….or not. The difference lies in how carefully it is planned and written.
When well written, it is an appealing appetizer or amuse-bouche that will sufficiently whet the recruiter’s interest, so they contact you to learn more. The main ingredients are: first, specific functions that they are looking for with enough spice that you don’t seem bland or boring; and second, articulated accomplishments achieved while performing in your title that brings your presence and value to life. Since a résumé is not poster art, the content should capture their interest more than the format. An essential element is specific keywords that match the potential position’s desired functions. The recruiter must be impressed with your suitability for the vacancy. You want them to believe you have the drive and expertise to get the job done and have what it takes for future growth and promotability. When they read your résumé, you want them to think, “Wow, I have to meet this candidate.”
The word “résumé” is defined as being a brief written synopsis of one’s personal, educational, and vocational qualifications and Experience, seldom longer than two pages for a corporate version or three pages for a non-profit version. A lengthier, more in-depth biographical account of one’s life primarily utilized outside the U.S. is known as a curriculum vitae (CV) and can run three to five pages. An American version of the CV can be favored for professionals in the academic and scientific arenas containing lengthy lists of research projects, presentations, publications, and professional affiliations. However, for the majority of positions, whether corporate or non-profit, a résumé is preferred. A combination of American résumé and CV version is used for government jobs, particularly for federal agencies.
Resume Formats and Styles
Résumés come in four predominant formats according to the arrangement of the information:
- Chronological – All employment listed in reverse chronological order containing job descriptions under each employer.
- Functional – The body of Experience common to all jobs is presented first. It is followed by a chronological listing of employment showing only the name of employer, title, and period of employment to validate where the Experience was acquired. When the person has done the same type or types of work throughout their career, the functional format eliminates redundant job tasks.
- Hybrid – A combination of the chronological and functional is used when the job seeker wants to isolate a particular function out of the many in their skillset and bring it to the recruiter’s attention early instead of being buried in the employment narrative.
- Federal/NGO – These lengthy formats are similar to that of a CV, as mentioned above.
Depending on who develops the document, styles can encompass symmetrical, asymmetrical, plain, or fancy in serif or sans serif fonts with various embellishments. Before recruiters relied on the Internet, job applicants were inclined to create artistic documents on fancy stationery, which they submitted by mail or in person. Decorative effects, typefaces, and multiple fonts were often employed as distractions to cover inadequacies in an individual’s background. Most résumés are electronically uploaded into a computerized database, at which point an algorithm is applied that searches for specific keywords. The computer is not impressed by cosmetic attributes. If the proper terms are located, the résumé migrates through the screening process. If not, it is cast aside. Only if the résumé reaches the final stage is it viewed in person by a recruiter. At that point, it needs to be easy to read and visually appealing. Therefore, we recommend a simple, visually balanced style with minimal embellishment that is both databases friendly and aesthetically appealing to the human eye, emphasizing meaningful content.
Resume Headings
The primary headings are:
- Summary of Qualifications
- Experience and Work History (depending on format)
It is worth noting here that Experience encompasses employment, internships, and volunteer activities related to your profession.
- Education
Even if a degree was not acquired, the collective knowledge is still valuable, and the major should be mentioned, with cumulative completed credits, if possible.
Additional headings which may apply to your needs are:
- Select Accomplishments
- Distinctions, Awards/Honors
- Publications/Presentations
- Research and Special Projects
- Training/Development
- Seminars/Workshops
- Community Activities
- Affiliations/Memberships
The sequence of the headings will vary according to your objective and on what aspect you wish to focus the recruiter’s attention. For example, a recent graduate would put their education ahead of their Experience.
Getting Started Writing Your Resume
Take stock of yourself and be honest. Don’t sell yourself short but don’t go on an ego trip either. At one end of the spectrum, you may be exceptionally well educated with extensive specific Experience and a clear sense of your professional path. Or, you may be the individual who thinks their background is ordinary and is just looking for a job to pay the bills. Most of us fall in the middle with various education and Experience, looking to improve our circumstances and find the most rewarding career. Regardless of your perspective, you need to showcase your abilities in the best light.
The first step is to put together an autobiographical outline detailing any and all Experience, special skills, awards, honors, or other distinctions obtained in school, from job training, in the home or community, and on the job. In addition to your recollection, where possible, refer to descriptions of your position in job vacancy notices, annual evaluations, or human resource manuals that categorize the responsibilities of each position in the company. It will be shaved down to the most important and relevant details as the résumé-preparation process evolves.
Since a résumé is based on facts, it should not be a work of fiction. The days of being able to prevaricate about your history and get away with it are long gone. With the advent of the Internet, we entered the age of transparency and background checks. However, that being said, there are still ways to diminish negative factors such as many short-term jobs, lack of a college degree, or long gaps between jobs, so don’t resort to lying or distorting the truth. Employers conduct rigorous due diligence in vetting potential employees. If you lie, you will be found out. It might not be right away…it could be in the first 90 days of employment, traditionally known as the probation period, at which point you will be fired. Depending on the industry, this is a stain that can follow you around. And even if you only tell a small lie in one part of the résumé, a lie is a lie. You may think, as long as you get hired and say the truth on the application, you’ll be okay. Not necessarily. Employers compare résumés and applications and may assume that you can’t be trusted if you lie about one thing because you probably lie about other things.
When listing your education, if you have had college or university (even partial attendance), you don’t mention primary or secondary schooling (elementary, intermediate, or high school). It is understood you would not have been accepted in an undergraduate institution had you not obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent. If you are basing your job search on a recent degree/diploma or certificate program, you will need to list introductory courses and your GPA, if 3.8 or higher. Anything lower, and you run the risk of being judged against someone with a higher GPA. You should also list any incidental training, certification, or professional licenses and the agency that conferred those credentials—for example, CPR, American Heart Association.
When detailing your job experience, an essential factor to keep in mind is that you are not writing a manual on doing a particular job. Instead, you need to prove to the recruiter how you added value to your current or former employer’s bottom line. To do this, you want to mention achievements that are credited to your special or collaborative efforts. These are usually indicated in concrete dollar or percentage figures. So you might say, “Expanded book of business by $5 million” or “Reduced overtime 15% by better allocation of resources.”
Also, remember that accomplishment and Experience can also be obtained in activities outside a formal employment setting. Community and volunteer work can afford essential skills that translate to future job value. Caring for family (children and seniors) can be an education in itself. The accumulated years of commitment translate to comprehensive experiential skills in organization, time management, and administrative coordination, to name a few. Finally, incidental information not necessarily related to your job or profession can also be necessary, such as computer programs and foreign languages you are reasonably proficient in.
Moving On
Now you need to decide what type of position and industry you are pursuing:
- Career Change
- Recent Graduate – Entry Level
- Promotion in the same field with the same company
- Similar job with a new employer
- Same profession with next logical, progressive position with the new employer
- Refocusing on an everyday or particular aspect of prior jobs
Then you need to select the format which best suits your job search.
You may want to have more than one résumé, each focusing on a different objective. Both will share some factors, but the focus of each will differ with attention to the experiential skills inherent in that particular objective. For example, you may have worked in several department stores with Experience in sales/customer service, merchandising, and operations. One résumé might focus solely on being a retail sales associate and another on progressing to management in any industry listing all your supervisory/managerial functions.
Setting Up the Draft and Taking the Next Step
You will need to distribute the information from your biographical outline under the proper headings. Because it is a draft, it doesn’t have to be well written, but it should be clear enough to convey what your responsibilities and achievements were with complete information. The next step is to review in your mind whether you are comfortable with perfecting the draft.
At this point, if you are not confident about your writing ability or computer skills, you should consult a professional résumé writing and preparation service. The advantage is that they will have the expertise to polish your draft’s content, improve vocabulary, correct grammar, and showcase your talents in the best light. Additionally, it would be best if you considered having them create a companion cover letter that will complement the résumé and address the particular position you are seeking. As part of the preparation service, they will be able to tailor your material in the best format and style, rather than to use a pro forma template, and typeset the content in commercially acceptable software such as Microsoft Word so that you can email it to recruiters.
Even if you are prepared to finalize your draft, you would be well advised to submit your finished document to a professional résumé writing service for their objective review and critique. A subjective individual can inadvertently overlook critical details and nuances that will be noticed by the trained and observant eye of an experienced writer.
Going Forward
Ideally, you should update your résumé every six months, but certainly once a year. You never know when the perfect opportunity presents itself, and time is of the essence to apply for the position. If your résumé is up to date, you can act immediately. Remember, good fortune smiles on those who are well prepared.