“If you call failures experiments,” said the very quotable educator Mason Cooley, “you can put them in your résumé and claim them as achievements.”
With all due respect to the late professor Cooley, the above job-search method is guaranteed professional suicide. Fortunately job seekers—and prospective employers—realize that résumés are serious business. Even as technological advances flood the job-search market, one constant remains—and will remain—unchanged.
Below are some tips on how to craft or refine a résumé in a highly competitive job market.
1. Format, format, format. A résumé’s initial goal is to draw the attention of a prospective employer or recruiter. As they sift through hundreds and sometimes thousands of résumés, the subtle nuances of formatting translate to an eye-catching résumé. Studies have shown how the human eye operates when reading. Eyes naturally gravitate toward the upper left corner of a page (as we read left to right), so put pertinent information, such as name and contact, there. To the right list previous employers, title and dates. Skill sets are best centered and with bullet points to break-up the text. Dense and blocky paragraphs sap initial interest.
2. Sometimes less is more. Be strategic by being selective. Depending on the position targeted, hone the résumé to speak to that specific audience. Let experience speak for itself, though work achievements you chose to highlight from each previous employment is vitally important. No need to list that two-year stint at the photo counter at CVS. If it’s irrelevant to a prospective employer and position, keep it out.
3. One-size does not fit all. Let go of the concept that one résumé will work for multiple prospective employers and embrace the fine art of refining. Knowing your audience and tailoring a résumé will go a long way in getting to the next step.
4. The meat is in the metrics. Avoid the mechanical tone of simply listing responsibilities. Résumés are not job descriptions, they’re a candidate’s opportunity to highlight accomplishments and successes. An ideal rule of thumb is to list one responsibility to set the stage and follow-up with two achievements and metrics, if applicable.
5. Ditch the references. It’s time to retire the overused and obvious ‘References available upon request’ line. Leave it out entirely because employers will ask for them anyhow. Plus it takes up real estate while also implying—though perhaps unintentionally—that a candidate lacks work history or needs to call upon people to vouch for them.
6. Buzz words = Buzz kill. ‘Synergy’ and ‘dynamic’ are so overused that they work against candidates. Prospective employers may dismiss even the best candidate as uninspired and pedestrian when words du jour are used. Take time to relay strengths and desires in the most authentic and individual way. Don’t take the easy route here. You’re best served by stepping back and thinking about the most effective and appropriate words to match your objectives.
Photo credit: Flickr/Flazingo Photos