RESUME WRITING TIPS
The two biggest mistakes that we see in resume writing are resumes that are too long and resumes that do not directly speak to the position in question.
Before you write your resume, figure out exactly what it is you want to do. If you have more than one potential objective then create more than one resume.
Once you have determined your objective, you can structure the content of your resume(s) around that objective. If you attempt to write your resume without having a clear objective in mind, you will likely confuse your audience and discourage people from reading any further. Keep in mind that most of the people that read your resume are reading quite a few others so clarity and brevity are critical.
There are many schools of thought and professionals that agree that you should use your resume as any other Marketing tool. It needs to present well, describe your strengths and differentiators well and suggest a viable reason for the reader to be interested in speaking with you further.
Many people are tempted to detail every little thing about their past for fear of leaving something out. This is a huge mistake and perhaps a different perspective will help you to understand why. Again, most people reading your resume will skim it like Cliff Notes and never really read the whole thing. Think of your resume as a tool to simply peak someone’s interest enough to want to bring you in for an interview, not to get you the job.
Frankly, if you are working with a talented recruiter who has real client relationships, your resume should simply be enough to not DISQUALIFY you! Nevertheless, keep it simple and clean and get to the point. Additional fluff will only dissuade people from taking things to the interview stage
We have found that, in the spirit of brevity, bullets and summaries are very effective. Once you have your objective in mind it is amazing how little space you need to summarize an entire career of accomplishments.
We suggest leading with your educational background assuming you have at least one college degree. Certainly if you have additional advanced degrees, these should be listed at the top of page one. Following these, you should always lead with your strongest skills. If there are any points that you believe could be interpreted as negative, there is no logic in highlighting any of them.
As with any of your most important decisions, we recommend a second set of eyes and or ears. Whether you have written a resume or gone on an interview, it will benefit you to have the objective opinion of a friend or loved one with an opinion that you respect. Reach out and consider the objective criticism with an open mind.
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