It's time to enter the job market, but this time you're ready to whip out a flashy new resume. You know what you want-the dream job. Now you need to figure out how to get there with a strong resume. As you do, beware of the myths. Here are some of the most devastating resume myths on the planet. Debunking these resume killers is a first step in crafting that winning resume.
Myth #1: Keep it to one page. If you've been around the block a few times, written (or rewritten) your resume a time or two, and applied for several jobs, this is a no-brainer. Nonetheless, I'm constantly surprised at the number of competent professionals who think that they have to squeeze their entire career history onto a single 8½ x 11" sheet of paper. Often, this leads to shrinking margins, tiny fonts, and even (heaven forbid) compressed character spacing. Don't do that to yourself. Obviously, you don't want to get carried away here (see myth #4). You're not writing a biography. Nonetheless, it's perfectly appropriate for a seasoned professional to take up to three pages. If you are a recent college graduate or have less than five years of experience, you are advised to stick to the one page rule. If you're twenty-three years old and have a multi-page resume, there had better be some very compelling material in order to justify the length. The bottom line is this: the content of your resume is by far the most important thing. Powerful content means a powerful resume. Make that your goal-not a specific number of pages.
Myth #2: Provide a list of your personal interests. You may love scuba diving, have a cat weighing 93 pounds, and were the secretary in your neighborhood cross-stitch association, but how relevant are those details in your professional life? The answer: not. Generally speaking, hiring managers are interested in how you can make or save their company money. If the "personal interest" details you listed are not relevant to that overall goal, forget it. They simply take up space and distract from the focus of your resume.
It is in your best interest to include only those non-professional qualities that could contribute to a company's success. Some people are bilingual. Some companies would pay a king's ransom to find a bilingual individual. Or if you have a background in the military, are a licensed pilot, or have security clearance, those are details that a potential employer may be very interested in. Rather than consign them to a place under "personal interests," incorporate them into a "professional features" section, or a "highlights and accomplishments," in a way that draws attention to them.
Myth #3: There are phrases that you just have to have. Wording is important. A resume ought to be a well-polished literary masterpiece. Unfortunately, there are a few overused, hackneyed, and meaningless phrases that people think they must have in their resume. They are called boilerplate phrases. They are bad. If your resume contains these killer-phrases, cull them out and replace them with something creative, fresh, and compelling. Compelling these are not:
Bigger is not better. Better is better. Here's what I mean. Rather than pull out every project, spreadsheet, client and novel idea you've dreamt up and copy/paste it into your resume, do something different. Pull out only the best. For "representative projects," include a list of the rock star projects-the ones that earned you a standing ovation at the corporate dinner, or got you a personal email 'thank you' from the boss. Big resumes are clumsy, clunky objects that simply waste trees and bore managers. Resumes that are well-written, concise, and to-the-point are the ones that stand out.
In case you do have some really outstanding material that you want to include with your resume, there is a way to do this without transgressing the rule of them. It's called an addendum. You can include attachments to your resume that are not part of the resume per se, but which supplement your resume in a substantial way.
Myth #5: Bullet points are awesome.
There is a long-standing trend in resume writing wants to put everything in bullet points. Why? Bullet points are so conventional that to question their presence in a resume is to question whether or not the earth is round. Think outside the bullet-hole box for a second.
Bullet points cause one's eyes to glaze. Reading through a list of bullet points is exceedingly boring. Try reading through your own list of bullet points. The way-better alternative to bullet points is something that I call the narrative approach. Quickly gaining vogue among qualified resume writers, this approach seeks to incorporate a story feel to the resume-a narrative.
Rather than glibly uttering a list of accomplishments, tell a story. It can be as interesting and creative as you want it to be. For example, under "ABC Corporation," write something like this: "I was hired at ABC to replace a team of two accountants. As the default head accountant, I spent my first six months in the position reorganizing the company's books and implementing a new project tracking system. Since this new system eliminated the need for my position as accountant, I was selected to replace the Vice President of Operations. During my four-year tenure as the VP of Ops, I implemented Lean management techniques that cut annual operating expenditures by 47%." How does that little story stack up to a bullet list? A narrative flow communicates the story of your career, your promotion, and your challenges, how you overcame them, what you did to enhance a company's portfolio, budget, or reputation.
Myth #6: A Killer Resume Will Get You the Job.
At the end of the day, regardless of how incredible your resume is, it's not going to get you the job. It only helps you get the job. A resume is a personal marketing tool. It should be freshly sharpened, repeatedly proofread, and constantly critiqued. But resumes don't win jobs. People do. Your resume should be powerful enough to get the hiring manager's attention. In addition, your resume should be intriguing enough to make a manager interested in what else you can do. Retain enough significant information to wow him in your interview. Your resume is only your first step, albeit a very important first step. Make it a good step, but realize that that dream job is still a few steps away.
Myth #1: Keep it to one page. If you've been around the block a few times, written (or rewritten) your resume a time or two, and applied for several jobs, this is a no-brainer. Nonetheless, I'm constantly surprised at the number of competent professionals who think that they have to squeeze their entire career history onto a single 8½ x 11" sheet of paper. Often, this leads to shrinking margins, tiny fonts, and even (heaven forbid) compressed character spacing. Don't do that to yourself. Obviously, you don't want to get carried away here (see myth #4). You're not writing a biography. Nonetheless, it's perfectly appropriate for a seasoned professional to take up to three pages. If you are a recent college graduate or have less than five years of experience, you are advised to stick to the one page rule. If you're twenty-three years old and have a multi-page resume, there had better be some very compelling material in order to justify the length. The bottom line is this: the content of your resume is by far the most important thing. Powerful content means a powerful resume. Make that your goal-not a specific number of pages.
Myth #2: Provide a list of your personal interests. You may love scuba diving, have a cat weighing 93 pounds, and were the secretary in your neighborhood cross-stitch association, but how relevant are those details in your professional life? The answer: not. Generally speaking, hiring managers are interested in how you can make or save their company money. If the "personal interest" details you listed are not relevant to that overall goal, forget it. They simply take up space and distract from the focus of your resume.
It is in your best interest to include only those non-professional qualities that could contribute to a company's success. Some people are bilingual. Some companies would pay a king's ransom to find a bilingual individual. Or if you have a background in the military, are a licensed pilot, or have security clearance, those are details that a potential employer may be very interested in. Rather than consign them to a place under "personal interests," incorporate them into a "professional features" section, or a "highlights and accomplishments," in a way that draws attention to them.
Myth #3: There are phrases that you just have to have. Wording is important. A resume ought to be a well-polished literary masterpiece. Unfortunately, there are a few overused, hackneyed, and meaningless phrases that people think they must have in their resume. They are called boilerplate phrases. They are bad. If your resume contains these killer-phrases, cull them out and replace them with something creative, fresh, and compelling. Compelling these are not:
- Superior communication skills.
- Results-oriented professional. (This one is particularly bad)
- On time and under budget.
- More than 10 years of progressively responsible experience.
- Team player.
- Strong work ethic (or "hard working")
Bigger is not better. Better is better. Here's what I mean. Rather than pull out every project, spreadsheet, client and novel idea you've dreamt up and copy/paste it into your resume, do something different. Pull out only the best. For "representative projects," include a list of the rock star projects-the ones that earned you a standing ovation at the corporate dinner, or got you a personal email 'thank you' from the boss. Big resumes are clumsy, clunky objects that simply waste trees and bore managers. Resumes that are well-written, concise, and to-the-point are the ones that stand out.
In case you do have some really outstanding material that you want to include with your resume, there is a way to do this without transgressing the rule of them. It's called an addendum. You can include attachments to your resume that are not part of the resume per se, but which supplement your resume in a substantial way.
Myth #5: Bullet points are awesome.
There is a long-standing trend in resume writing wants to put everything in bullet points. Why? Bullet points are so conventional that to question their presence in a resume is to question whether or not the earth is round. Think outside the bullet-hole box for a second.
Bullet points cause one's eyes to glaze. Reading through a list of bullet points is exceedingly boring. Try reading through your own list of bullet points. The way-better alternative to bullet points is something that I call the narrative approach. Quickly gaining vogue among qualified resume writers, this approach seeks to incorporate a story feel to the resume-a narrative.
Rather than glibly uttering a list of accomplishments, tell a story. It can be as interesting and creative as you want it to be. For example, under "ABC Corporation," write something like this: "I was hired at ABC to replace a team of two accountants. As the default head accountant, I spent my first six months in the position reorganizing the company's books and implementing a new project tracking system. Since this new system eliminated the need for my position as accountant, I was selected to replace the Vice President of Operations. During my four-year tenure as the VP of Ops, I implemented Lean management techniques that cut annual operating expenditures by 47%." How does that little story stack up to a bullet list? A narrative flow communicates the story of your career, your promotion, and your challenges, how you overcame them, what you did to enhance a company's portfolio, budget, or reputation.
Myth #6: A Killer Resume Will Get You the Job.
At the end of the day, regardless of how incredible your resume is, it's not going to get you the job. It only helps you get the job. A resume is a personal marketing tool. It should be freshly sharpened, repeatedly proofread, and constantly critiqued. But resumes don't win jobs. People do. Your resume should be powerful enough to get the hiring manager's attention. In addition, your resume should be intriguing enough to make a manager interested in what else you can do. Retain enough significant information to wow him in your interview. Your resume is only your first step, albeit a very important first step. Make it a good step, but realize that that dream job is still a few steps away.
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