A common practice has been to put a headers such as
"EDUCATION" and "OBJECTIVE" in a column down the left side of the page
and the details or those heading in a column down the right side of the page. While this
may be appealing to the eye, a computer scanning program will ignore the columnar format
and merge the columns together into one line, reading it from left to right. Columnar
formatting is also commonly used in the heading. In the following example, this
eye-appealing format….
..….. will be misread by some scanner software
as:
John Can D. Date
12362 Avenue J Res: 899-555-5555
Suite 640 Bus: 1-899-555-5558
New York, NY 10020 Fax: 1-899-555-9444
Because the scanners will not read tabs and
columns, the telephone numbers run together with the street address. To highlight new
section headings, use capital or bold letters for section headings (i.e. Objectives,
Education, Experience, etc.), and place the section heading on its own line. The heading
information should also be treated in a similar manner:
John Can D. Date
12362 Avenue J, Suite 640
New York, NY 10020
Res: 1-810-555-5555
Bus: 1-810-555-5558
Fax: 1-810-555-9444
jcd@isp.com
Some software programs will read common bullets
like those seen on this page, while other programs will substitute other funny characters
like the sum symbol "å ". Since you cannot be sure what character the
company’s software will actually read and print for a bullet, it is probably wise to
forgo the use of bullets. Highlight your accomplishments at each job (no more than 3
highlights per job) by indenting the line, using bold characters, small capitals or
slightly larger font. If you must have bullets, use an asterisk *.
Print the résumé on standard 8.5 x 11 inch bright
white paper using black ink. This produces a strong contrast and reduces scanning errors.
If you are mailing the résumé via the post
office, send the résumé and cover letter unfolded in a large flat envelope. A crease
though a sentence in your résumé might render the résumé illegible.
Paper clip, do not staple, the pages together,
making sure that each page contains your identifying information.
Résumé Content
We recommend a combination chronological and
functional résumé format. For example, use the names of your employers as a section
headings then list your position titles below these as sub-section headings. Beneath each
position title, write 3 statements that describe your qualifications or achievements. For
example:
XYZ Company, Los
Angeles CA
January 1993 - October 1997 |
| Project Manager |
Responsible for a team of
software implementation specialists. As the project leader, assumed responsibility for the
implementation and upgrade of the Financials version 7, utilizing full life cycle
development including the use of RAD (Rapid Application Development) and JAD (Joint
Application Development) methodologies.
* Approved recommendations for business improvements
* Conducted prototyping for Asset Management, Budget, General
Ledger and Costing
* Approved customizations or data conversion requirements.
|
Use nouns instead of verbs. Recruiters and Human
Resource personnel use key words and code numbers to electronically search through
résumé databases, and the keywords they use tend to be nouns rather than verbs. For
example, use "Project Manager" rather than "managed software implementation
project."
Some résumé writers recommend an opening
paragraph summarizing your career with a 30 second ad or that captures the reader’s
attention and encourages them to read more of the résumé . However, this paragraph is
often written more for the job-seeker than the Recruiter or Human Resource person.
Résumé writers often pack this paragraph with fluff— predictable clichés, action
verbs and power phrases. For example, we often see power phrases such as
"Results-orientated", "Solid leadership", or "excellent written
and verbal communication skills. " But today, fluff doesn’t cut it. Computer
databases catalog a candidate’s education, skills and experiences. Employers and
recruiters never query a database for phrases such as "Results-orientated."
Other résumé writers suggest the opening
paragraph be used to state objectives. Typically, they recommend the objectives be kept
broad to avoid locking yourself out of positions for which you were qualified, but were
not stated in your objectives. However, many résumés we see contain such broadly stated
goals, they translate to "I’ll take anything that pays money." For example:
"A management position in a manufacturing
environment encompassing professional development, personal achievement and the
opportunity to share in the growth of the company and its employees."
After reading that paragraph, the reader still is
without a clue as to what this person does or for what position he/she is looking. The
average résumé reader spends less than 1 minute reading your résumé . The opening
paragraph must set the framework for your career history and direction. Pack your opening
paragraph with jobs titles and other nouns that will be used for keyword searches or will
otherwise define your career history and future aspirations. For example,
"Award winning MBA Operations Manager,
Certified Quality Engineer, first-tier Automotive OEM supplier, seeks position as
Operations Vice President, Plant Manager or General Manager. Willing to relocate within
the U.S."
Employers and recruiters now use sophisticated
computer software to match job openings with résumés. Some software programs use coding
methods or artificial intelligence to match the skill sets required for specific job
opening to skill sets found in the résumé. The opening paragraph above assists H/R
personnel in coding the résumé for computer matching, and it enables keyword data
queries.
In today’s marketplace, a candidate is very
much like a package on a shelf. Prospective employers shop the aisles in this market and
select packages of skills that are needed to complete current projects. Whether or not you
are selected depends on the company’s current requirements and how you quantify and
advertise your skills.
Résumés that draw response are those that are
easy to code or categorize. Difficult résumés are those that are vague in direction, or
the stated objective simply isn’t supported by the education or experience. It is not
enough to state where you have been or the positions you have held in your career. The
résumé must quickly and clearly state your skill sets and the specific position or
general direction of your search.
Lastly, forget about that old rule to hold your
résumé down to one page. The computer programs scanning your résumé do not care if
yours is 1 page or 3 pages. Cut the fluff out and pack in the keywords that will be used
for searches. You might even consider a paragraph at the bottom of your résumé that
includes nothing but keywords. The following keyword paragraph might be included in a
résumé for a consultant that is seeking a position as a Project Manager for a company
that is installing the enterprise-solution financial software package, Peoplesoft:
KEYWORDS: Project Manager,
Implementation, Peoplesoft, Financials, RAD, Rapid Application Development, JAD,
Joint Application Development, Prototyping, Accounts Payable, Asset Management, Budget
Administration, General Ledger, Project Costing, Windows 3x, Windows 95, Microsoft Office,
Microsoft Project, PS nVision/Query, PS Projects, People Tools I & II, People Code.
