I coach a lot of people on the formatting of their resumes, and I'd like to share with you some of my best tips.
Before developing a resume, you have to consider your reader. Your reader is an HR Manager (like myself) who has little more than a 2-4 second attention span to look through 300 resumes that have stacked up. In 2-4 seconds (on the average), an HR Manager is weeding through piles of resumes. Your resume is in that pile. You have to get past the 2-4 second initial screen "hurdle."
The "Go" or "No-Go" Piles
Because out of 300 resumes, an HR Manager's objective is to put them in either the "GO" pile, or the "NO-GO" pile. What happens then is the 300 gets drastically cut down to about 30 resumes that are considered worth looking at more closely (sorry to say).
Then the 30 get graded: A's, B's, and C's. The C's get booted out -- why would they hire a C-player? The B's are set to the side in case the stack of A's is too small. The A's are then ranked. Let's say we have 10 A-player resumes. The HR Manager may rank them 1-10. You see how it works. It's a matter of having little time and having to manage through high-volume. Your objective is to get in the A-pile.
"How do I do that, exactly?" you ask. For starters, resumes should be easy to read.
Easy To Skim Resumes Make The Grade
- Don't Crowd! Use of white-space is essential!
- Use bold to highlight key words, names of employers, job titles.
- Avoid using all caps unless it's a category name like: EDUCATION. All caps is hard to read quickly, unless it's a single word or two.
- Use key words to "pop" out at the top of the resume. I liken this to a bill board advertisment. Your bill board should have key words you want the reader to read first. Things like, "AP / AR, Bookkeeping, Customer Service, Fund-Raising, etc."
- Newest to Oldest: Remember to identify work history in order of most current to oldest. Keep in mind, as an HR Manager, I'm really most interested in what you've done over the past, say 10 years, than what you've done in the last 25 years.
- Include Months In Your Dates: Regarding dates, if at all possible, put the months with the years. For example, 02/2002 - 11/2010, instead of 2002 - 2010. As the HR reader, I'll be able to see that you actually worked the majority of 2010, verses 1 month of 2010.
- List Key Accomplishments: In the work history section, it's ok to explain a little about your responsibilities, but concentrate on your accomplishments (use numbers and key words to deliver your message). Put these accomplishments in bullet-format.
One Page or Two?
Although you have probably heard that a resume should be condensed down to 1 page, I think this is far too anal. I think if you're a college student with limited work history, then, yes, 1 page is appropriate. However, if you're a seasoned professional with 20 years experience, then give yourself permission to have a 2-page resume.
References?
It's a 50-50 on this. If you have the "real estate" space to put your references on your resume and keep the resume down to 2 pages, then that's fine. It may help you, especially if you're from the area where you're applying, because the HRM might recognize someone you've listed. But, only list professional references -- not co-workers, but your former managers/supervisors, who can vouch for your work, skills, dedication, attendance, etc. And only list these reference names/numbers/emails if you have cleared it with them ahead of time.
Kathleen Lapekas - PHR
Action HR Consultant
For Personal Attention to Personnel Matters
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