Writing a Professional Resume

I’ve reviewed thousands of resumes in my career – perhaps tens of thousands! So, you won’t be surprised that I have developed opinions about resumes and I have reasons why I eliminate some people from the running in a job based on what I see in their resume. In fact, depending on the competition, sometimes those things are petty: so your resume quality really matters.

Because I review resumes for friends, family or those looking for their next adventure, I’ve compiled a list of things over the years that I look for when I am looking for candidates for a particular role. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Cover letter: I rarely read them. What I’m looking for is found in the resume. I would skip this time-consuming step unless required by the hiring company.

2. Visual Style: You should not choose a strong visual flair unless the visual style is very compelling and a norm for your area of expertise like a graphic design role.

3. Key words: You should cater your resume to jobs you are drawn to. Study the job description and find key search terms. If you have experience with a particular search term then include it in your resume.

4. Details: Some things are so small that when they are missing, the resume stands out like a sore thumb.

   1. Spell check: There should be NO misspellings.

   2. Grammar check: If grammar isn’t your thing, ask a friend who has the skill to review your resume for you.

   3. Spacing between bits: Spacing between lines should be consistent. Spacing between parallel sections should be consistent.

   4. Consistency: Be consistent in your approach to each section. For example, if you list your job title first for a job in the employment section, don’t list company name first for other jobs.

   5. Length: Your resume should be no more than two pages and can be one page if you have less than 5 years of experience.

   6. No need to include unrelated work experience before or while attending college in the employment history.

   7. Format: Pdf is standard

   8. Tense: Past tense is best, but consistency is more important.

5. Don’ts

   1. Use pronouns

   2. Include a picture of yourself

   3. Include salary info or expectations

   4. Include things that indicate gender, political party affiliation, religion or national origin.

   5. Use an unprofessional email address: Imageek@gmail.com doesn’t send the right signal.

6. Career flow: I look for the following in career flows:

   1. Does this person jump around too often? Two years is a minimal amount of time that doesn’t cause me questions and I get more sensitive if there are numerous short stints.

   2. Title flow: Is there a steady build?

   3. Gaps in employment: This is never a positive thing but I suggest talking through the gaps instead of including the gap unless you can compellingly show how the gap will benefit the potential employer.

7. My favorite format

   1. Name then contact on top

      1. Address

      2. Email

      3. Cell phone

      4. LinkedIn profile

      5. Other professional profile links if you are a software developer or a portfolio link if you are a graphic artist

   2. Why me or summary of qualifications: Top 3-5 bullets that overview your skills, experience, accomplishments etc. for the job you are applying for

   3. Key skills related to the job. No more than 3 columns of 5.

   4. Employment: I would encourage you to follow the following format.

      1. Title

      2. Company

      3. Timing

      4. Responsibilities paragraph: This is a bit like a job description.

      5. Accomplishments bullets that begin with an action verb. Include numbers and percentages that show improvement or value delivered. Definitely communicate your part.

   5. Education/Certifications/Training

      1. College and above should be listed. Be liberal with certifications for popular technologies or tech listed in the JD you are applying. No need to put how fast you ran the 100 yard dash in 4th grade.

   6. References? I wouldn’t include this section. At most, say, “available upon request.”

   7. Additional possible sections: Add these if they move the ball forward for the hiring managers. You might have a master resume with all included so you can delete those that don’t apply for each job you apply for.

8. Interests/hobbies

   1. Accomplishments outside of work

   2. Awards, honors, scholarships

   3. Workshops

   4. Research or patents

   5. Service

   6. Publications

So that’s it! I expect your chances of standing out will increase and the chances of being thrown out reduced. I wish you luck in your job search.

HR Stream