RESUME MYTHS
RESUME MYTHS THAT NEED TO GO AWAY
To the astonishment of the young man from Atlanta, I told him that his Resume is headed straight for the trash can—fast.
Somehow, with astute and brilliant attention to detail, he had crammed everything about his incredible background in languages and journalism—into one page.
The Font was way too small.
The margins hardly existed at all
He had created so many “months” here and there that the chronological events ran together without meaning.
His Professional Summary was not bad, but it was made terrible by the constant use of the word “I”. The presentation was self absorbed and boring.
To top it off, he announced that he is going back to school to learn to become a dentist. When I asked him if he really wanted to be a dentist, he said definitely—no. I don’t think I would want him as my dentist.
Now this individual is totally misguided, but not a bad fellow. He is simply following some outdated conventional wisdom that will not serve him or anybody he knows.
When I quoted him a reasonable price for re-doing the Resume, he was shocked. One can only wonder. Think what dental school is costing in comparison to having his resume fixed. He loves languages, journalism, and creativity.
In truth, it would wonderful to be able to help him, but that’s not what he wants. One wonders, though, because he did post his “need” for help on an alumni job board.
So many are in this predicament of having a resume that shuts doors, rather than opening them.
Know that:
• The demand for a one-page resume went out the door with the horse and buggy. A resume simply has to be as long as it has to be—depending on what you have done. The most likely and okay place for a one-pager is for somebody just out of college. Period.
• Stuffing it all on one page just creates clutter. Nobody wants to read it.
• Sticking in all the words you think will be “scanned” is a myth not worth following. The words just get lost if they don’t have meaning.
• Dates need to be by the year, not the month. Let them ask in the interview, if they are interested, about the months.
• The Professional Summary may turn out to be the only thing read. Therefore it must be crafted with skill and thought and must be a summation of all the incredible things that are relevant to the position you are applying for.
• It is wise to have someone whose editing skills you trust, read the resume and give you an honest critique.
A constant complaint is that resumes are sent to job boards—and there is not a reply. Try not to take it personally. It is totally possible that the document ended up in the trash.
Reports come forth that temps are brought in to collect the resumes from a job board—and told to throw away all the ones that occur after 60 have been put in a pile.
This is why getting in front of a decision maker to ask just for advice—not a job—is such a good idea. They give you good ideas and names of other people to talk to.
To get in to see a decision maker, one needs a super cover letter. And, it’s not hard to do this. Cover letters are always one page, and consist of four paragraphs. A good career coach can help you with this.
Professional resume writers are all over the place. Choose wisely, and don’t necessarily go for the cheapest. Check out experience, and references. Get referrals from friends you respect, who have resumes whose content and appearance you can respect.
Remember that computers are really our friends, in that resumes can be changed, ever so slightly, to fit all appropriate situations.
For life—always have a great resume ready. You never know when it will be needed.
Beth Ross Ph.D.
212-876-1759
www.bethross.com
bross2734@aol.com
To the astonishment of the young man from Atlanta, I told him that his Resume is headed straight for the trash can—fast.
Somehow, with astute and brilliant attention to detail, he had crammed everything about his incredible background in languages and journalism—into one page.
The Font was way too small.
The margins hardly existed at all
He had created so many “months” here and there that the chronological events ran together without meaning.
His Professional Summary was not bad, but it was made terrible by the constant use of the word “I”. The presentation was self absorbed and boring.
To top it off, he announced that he is going back to school to learn to become a dentist. When I asked him if he really wanted to be a dentist, he said definitely—no. I don’t think I would want him as my dentist.
Now this individual is totally misguided, but not a bad fellow. He is simply following some outdated conventional wisdom that will not serve him or anybody he knows.
When I quoted him a reasonable price for re-doing the Resume, he was shocked. One can only wonder. Think what dental school is costing in comparison to having his resume fixed. He loves languages, journalism, and creativity.
In truth, it would wonderful to be able to help him, but that’s not what he wants. One wonders, though, because he did post his “need” for help on an alumni job board.
So many are in this predicament of having a resume that shuts doors, rather than opening them.
Know that:
• The demand for a one-page resume went out the door with the horse and buggy. A resume simply has to be as long as it has to be—depending on what you have done. The most likely and okay place for a one-pager is for somebody just out of college. Period.
• Stuffing it all on one page just creates clutter. Nobody wants to read it.
• Sticking in all the words you think will be “scanned” is a myth not worth following. The words just get lost if they don’t have meaning.
• Dates need to be by the year, not the month. Let them ask in the interview, if they are interested, about the months.
• The Professional Summary may turn out to be the only thing read. Therefore it must be crafted with skill and thought and must be a summation of all the incredible things that are relevant to the position you are applying for.
• It is wise to have someone whose editing skills you trust, read the resume and give you an honest critique.
A constant complaint is that resumes are sent to job boards—and there is not a reply. Try not to take it personally. It is totally possible that the document ended up in the trash.
Reports come forth that temps are brought in to collect the resumes from a job board—and told to throw away all the ones that occur after 60 have been put in a pile.
This is why getting in front of a decision maker to ask just for advice—not a job—is such a good idea. They give you good ideas and names of other people to talk to.
To get in to see a decision maker, one needs a super cover letter. And, it’s not hard to do this. Cover letters are always one page, and consist of four paragraphs. A good career coach can help you with this.
Professional resume writers are all over the place. Choose wisely, and don’t necessarily go for the cheapest. Check out experience, and references. Get referrals from friends you respect, who have resumes whose content and appearance you can respect.
Remember that computers are really our friends, in that resumes can be changed, ever so slightly, to fit all appropriate situations.
For life—always have a great resume ready. You never know when it will be needed.
Beth Ross Ph.D.
212-876-1759
www.bethross.com
bross2734@aol.com
posted by Beth Ross
@
5:39 PM
0 Comments
0 Comments :
Post a Comment
<< Home