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Effective Resumes - GET NOTICED!
Ross Statham, Editor, & Jeff
Bowler, Contributing Writer
May 7, 2020 Revision
You've
got great skills sets, a solid education and the right levels
of experience to do the job. You've accomplished much already, and are
looking for a fresh challenge. But do you fully communicate all of that in
your resume? Perhaps. Most
people could do better.
We
review a large numbers of resumes each week (sometimes several hundred), and resumes that follow
these guidelines are those that get a much closer look from us and from our clients.
We encourage you to learn what works.
-
Put your name, address (or at least your city and state),
cell phone number and email on your resume. Ideally you should indicate
"Cell/text" if you can accept text messages. We look for people
with excellent communications skills, and we call candidates to discuss the job
and to see how well they communicate with us. Some technical people
leave off their cell phone numbers, wanting to only be contacted via email.
Not a good move. Resumes we receive
without phone numbers are usually discarded.
-
Add
your LinkedIN
profile URL right underneath your name and address (and make sure your
profile's up to date.) Get someone to take your photo with your phone
and add it. Many hiring managers-- and any recruiter worth their
salt-- would like to find you on LinkedIn, so help them find you!
-
Format your resume with the
right fonts and headers.
Use a 10 point Arial or 12 point Times Roman for body; use a 14 point for
headings. Make your resume where it's easy to visually scan.
Bullet points are especially helpful. We strongly
recommend them.
-
Resume coaches say "brevity is
better." We disagree.
There is nothing wrong with a resume that runs to four, five or more
pages, provided it's describing things helpful to the hiring process as
described below. However-- bullet points
and well-organized information is the format you should follow.
-
Be 100% honest with your statements and listed
accomplishments. No fluff, no exaggerations.
-
Top left
summary. Many
candidates' resumes have an "Objectives" section at the top of their
resume. We encourage you change this to a "Summary" section
that briefly describes you, including your experience, education, years of
experience, etc; this makes it easier for we and our clients to get a quick
read about who you are.
-
Many
technical candidates have a whole
section entitled "Technical Skills" or "Technical
Experience." If you think having this listed in your resume helps--
especially during key word searches-- then do so!
-
Ideally
you would have headings on your resume in this order (with supporting text
under each): "Summary", "Certifications",
"Professional Experience", "Technical Qualifications" and
"Education".
-
Don't
just say where you worked-- describe what positive things you ACCOMPLISHED.
If you brought a project in under budget, if you shortened a delivery cycle, if
you tightened up security, you fixed a software problem, you won an award, or
if you make a client happy, SAY SO. Accomplishments, even small ones, get
noticed.
-
Get
a family member or friend to proofread your work. (Other
wize u wil hAve
embarasing typose.)
-
Run it by
your recruiter (like us). We'll tell you where to tweak it and
help you make it even more effective.
-
Do your research when you submit a resume. Put a cover letter on top of your resume
that discusses why you meet ALL (or at least 95%) of the requirements and job
description, and if possible, address it directly to the hiring manager.
This is the mark of a real professional and shows that
you've taken the time and energy to read the requirements carefully, to visit
their website and do your homework.
Hope
you find these suggestions to be of help no matter where you land, and best of
luck in your job search!
If you found this article to be helpful,
please
let us know- and share it with others. All the best!.
ross.statham@dogwoodservices.com,
jbowler@dogwood.net
Talent Perspectives: Insights for Busy
Professions is a series of brief articles that help build winning teams,
provide insight on talent and provide organizational development ideas.
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are (C)
Dogwood
Services Inc.
Talent Perspectives
13194 US Hwy 301, Suite 222 -
Riverview, FL 33578-7410
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