Résumé–Job Search Lessons Learned: 12 Key Take-Aways (06)

Now that we have our detailed and supporting information ready, let’s create the most awesome [advertised] résumé ever! But, how? I am going to be transparent, there are too many ways to go about this. In fact, it can be overwhelming. There are so many templates and so many opinions on what works best with the ATS (automatic tracking system), recruiter, hiring manager, and so forth. Even then, depending on your industry, the format and color scheme can change significantly. For six months, I edited my résumé on my own, taking into consideration all these factors, scouring the internet for free advice, and finally deciding to seek a professional’s help. Based on all that, the following is my advice (and opinion) on what to do. This résumé is the one utilized on job boards, LinkedIn, etc. When you are applying for a job or networking with a specific individual, you will have custom résumés, discussed later.

The advice listed is aimed towards professionals that have years of career experience already. If you are a student, just entering the workforce, this will be good information to know; however, you would not implement it the same way.

If you have the content, and it is not just fluff, two pages are good. This document will live on the internet as a PDF but is created in Word. That way, no matter who downloads it, you know that it will look the same everywhere. While searching, you will want your LinkedIn to be a very similar format, albeit it will have more sections and more content within the sections. In a study done by the Nielsen Norman Group, they discovered that most quick, online reading is done in an “F” pattern. With résumés specifically, you have about six (6) seconds. Yes, six seconds. While you build out your résumé, keep that in mind. The whole point of your résumé is to capture the individual’s attention to want to know more about you and how you can help them solve their problem(s).

If you’d like to follow along, you can see my résumé here (keep in mind, it has probably changed slightly from the time of this writing). There are four major sections: contact, summary, professional experience, and education & certification. I decided to add an accent color to mine, a more neutral color that happened to also ‘describe’ me, blue (RGB: 46/11/181 to be specific). It is strategically placed on headings and job titles only. Visually this helps the reader quickly organize the page in their mind. I also bolded keywords throughout my résumé.

Contact

Your name is on top and the largest font on the page; I used 16pt. Address, but only the city, state, and zip code. This is only indicating that you are local to the position. Telephone number, please don’t put your current work one. A professional looking email address and stick with the major free providers. HotMale1983@hotmail.com and the like is not professional. It should also be a clickable link. They shouldn’t have to try to click it, get a little frustrated, then select, copy, open an email, create new, paste. They should be able to click and all of that done for them. In fact, you can even take it a step further and put in the coding to create the subject as well. The next line would contain relevant social media links and a personal website. You should only do this if it is professional. If you talk about your latest shenanigans, don’t invite your future boss to see them.

Summary

Your summary, but don’t title it ‘Summary’. I utilized two professional certifications that are allowed to follow behind names. You can also utilize the future title or role you are looking for. There are a lot of ways you can spin it to with key adjectives to set you apart. This is also the same font size as my name plus italicized to stand-out more on the page. This is more of a quick elevator pitch of who you are and what sets you apart. You can approach this in a paragraph format or bullet-pointed one.

Experience

Within the Professional Experience section, I have the role title as the clear dividing point with the company standing out underneath. The job title should be a generic, general public one. Sometimes HR gives out weird titles and sometimes doesn’t even describe your role properly. So, use one that most will understand. For example, at my last job, there were four different levels for one role. Mine was Senior Advisor. That doesn’t translate well to anyone outside the company. I decided to use III instead; therefore, Project Manager III.

According to the “F” pattern, you should have your most important information as close to the job title as possible. In the 2016-2017 versions of my résumé, I had each experience divided into two sections: role and accomplishments. The role area is where I would highlight my matches to most job descriptions that I was looking for. That way the reader would immediately think ‘match’. The accomplishments area is where you prove your worth in a specific way. Using figures and examples of efficiencies implemented, revenue gained, profit increased, and so forth. In the 2018 résumé version, I have taken away the general role descriptions and left in just accomplishments. For the Professional Experience section, the goal is to have 10 to 15 years’ worth of relevant experience. I do have a smaller font sentence at the end stating “Previous experience as…, ”.

Education

Last but not least, Education & Certification. The degrees are bunched together and the certifications are bunched together, with the most relevant ones on top. If your professional certification is more relevant for the role you are looking for, list it first, even before your degree. In my case, I am going back to school for a Master’s. I personally want to advertise lifelong learning, so I listed that first notating that it was in progress. I would highly recommend not listing the dates or graduation year in this section. This could potentially lead to inadvertent, sub-conscience age discrimination. Similar to the Professional Experience, I have a smaller font sentence at the end stating “Additional , …”. I have too many degrees and certifications to list on a résumé.

Congratulations, you are a professional résumé writer now! No wait, wait…I lied, something in the standards just changed. You have to go do some more research. In all seriousness, I hope this has helped and at least pointed you in the right direction. Put your own spin on it to make it yours. There is not going to be one format for everyone. In fact, I change formats constantly. Your résumé is a living document.

So here is a question to the community:

“What advice would you give the community on your most important marketing tool, your résumé?”

Thank you for your time,