The main purpose of the resume is to introduce a job applicant to the potential employer. A well composed resume is supposed not only to attract the employer’s attention but can also say a lot about an applicant’s character. And as we keep mentioning, you will never have the second chance to make the first impression. Does this mean that in order to be noticed by the employer you resume should be as unique as possible? Not necessarily. Quite the opposite.
The time when resumes were mostly screened by a live person is becoming history now. The use of standardized electronic tools is getting increasingly popular in the screening process these days. And the uniqueness of each resume makes this process more complicated.
Note: Details are to be found in our article Writing a Computer-Friendly Resume
In spite of the fact that recruiters or hiring managers at average spend 20-30 seconds screening each resume, one should take the resume preparing seriously. From the first lines the resume should grab employers’ attention and make them wish to meet the job applicant in person. If it happens, your resume reached the target. Different recommendations are given in respect to both the layout and the content of the resume to make it stand out of the crowd. In respect to the form, we think that the resume should be laid out to emphasize strongest points in your background. The use of fancy fonts and colours would definitely attract attention, but will they help present you as a serious business-like person? Hardly. There is always at least one exception from any rule though. If you apply to a company that advertises children’s books, the look of your resume may be an additional chance to demonstrate your creativity. It is up to you to decide. We would like to dwell on the information that should be included in your resume.
First of all, resume should begin with your name and necessarily your contact information. As your contact information you may indicate your phone numbers (both home and cell) and email address. You may also list your address. However, the necessity to include the address information remains questionable for us, as there are really very few cases when this information might be considered as job-related. Providing an employer with a non-job related information might put them (employer) in the position when they need to prove that this information did not affect their employment decision. We witnessed a case when an applicant was screened out by a recruiter only because the applicant resided in the area that seemed to be too far from the company’s location. The applicant had not even been asked about his intention to relocate.
Although we advocate the standardized form of resume, there are several dos and don’ts for different occasions. For instance, while most employment counsellors would not recommend you to include information on interests or hobbies into your resume, sometimes there is no harm to deviate from the rule, if this info might be relevant to the role you pursuit. For instance, if you are applying for a librarian job, your mentioning of your interest in reading is quite permissible, if not welcome. Moreover, some non-career accomplishments or unusual hobbies can arouse curiosity and interest and help get your foot in the door.
What ultimately should not be listed in the resume is the information on national origin, citizenship, health, marital status, current salary, personal characteristics such as weight, height etc. It is hard to believe, but sometimes you can see those data on somebody’s resume.
There are different viewpoints of including a professional objective into the resume. We know that some hiring managers do not read it, explaining, that if an applicant is applying for a particular job, there is no need to mention it again in the resume. However, we would advise to adhere to the commonly accepted resume standard and include your professional objective in your resume. First, it clearly states what kind of job you are interested in. Second, it helps a person who gets your resume first map it to the right job.
Try to understand a recruiter’s situation. There is a pile of resumes on their desk and they are under pressure of urgency to find a suitable candidate. If you were in their shoes, you would probably first look for something that would give you an immediate hint to decide whether an applicant meets the minimum requirements for the job and is worth further consideration. Resume summary is exactly what most recruiters built their initial screening process upon. Summary lists briefly your most significant qualifications and achievements by means of using necessary keywords.
Different opinions exist about where to list education and other qualification-advancing achievements – at the beginning or the end of the resume. We would rather leave it up to you to decide. If you are a newly graduate and, let’s say, your Harvard law degree is what you are proud of, nothing shall prevent you from listing it before your work history. We just wanted to specify one thing. As a matter of fact, the labour market is becoming more and more divers these days. More and more immigrants with different backgrounds are entering it. And, of course, it is not a secret that first education of many of us was obtained out of Canada. Do not hesitate to mention where you got your education. Names of many colleges and universities seem odd for Canadians unless you specify that they are located overseas. It also will make the background check process much easier and free of confusions. Important! Do not forget to indicate receipt of a diploma or degree, verifying that you not just attended that school for a while but complete your education program.
The next step is collecting all relevant information on your work history. Let it be quite extensive, but try to recall all your achievements, obtained skills, completed training – everything that seems to be relevant in your career. This extensive self-description is going to be a “master copy” of your resume. Perhaps, you will never submit it, but it will contain all necessary information that you can easily modify or filter out, when required. “Master copy” is a content that you will play around later.
The most important thing about effective resume writing is NOT preparing an effective resume once and for all. It is about ABILITY to CUSTOMIZE your resume every time you apply for a role. Master copy might be used later for preparing different versions of your resume.
At the further stage of customizing your resume, remember that providing accurate information about yourself is as important as not providing some excessive, unnecessary information. Carefully study your master copy and sort out what should be included and what can be omitted. Your scope of responsibilities in your previous jobs may encompass what is important for one employer and might be completely irrelevant for another.
As we already mentioned, each version of your resume should be tailored in accordance with what the employer is seeking. Hence, it is paramount to focus on those particularities that are specified in job posting or job description and avoid dwelling on any extra information. Although it is not common as it was before, some applicants still list even those achievements and work experience that is not relevant to the job they apply for. We understand that you might be proud of every milestone in your career, but you need very discreetly focus on the most relevant points of your work history and present them in the most favourable manner. Moreover, mentioning the least important experience and qualifications sometimes may evoke suspicion. Being involved in numerous projects does not guaranty that you succeeded in all of them. Very often, applicants list the projects they were involved indirectly or for a very short period of time. It is not worth mentioning such projects in your resume unless you could substantiate that you would be able to tackle them, be you hired. Be careful, there is a very fine line between intentional misrepresentation of your background and presenting yourself in the best light. Do not mention anything that you will not be comfortable talking about later in an interview.
Next, choose the type of your resume. There are three well-known types of resume: chronological, functional and combination. Whatever type you choose, it should be easy to read.
Note: About different types of resume and advantages and disadvantages of each of them you can read in the article “Types of Resume”
The next important step in resume writing is prioritizing the content that you decide to include in your resume by importance and relevance to the job. List the most significant job-related responsibilities and functions first. Remember about the first lines that are supposed to grab attention. Describe precisely what you did using action verbs and lay out your job descriptions in bullets format.
At the end of resume you can mention all additional skills you have, such as computer programs proficiency, language skills etc. Do not forget to list professional affiliations you are with.
Finally, one more hands-on advice: always keep your resume up-to-date. First, practice makes perfect. Second, in these days’ market you’ll never know what’s going to happen next and when. You may be happy with your current job and think about long-term and promising career in your organization. But one day your company can decide to undertake changes that could involve reductions or, in the best case scenario, you may be offered a better opportunity elsewhere.
Following, we wanted to offer you the most popular resume layout. For this example, we have chosen a chronological format.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Name
Contact information
Professional Objective
Summary
Education (or you can list it at the resume end)
Work history or professional accomplishments
Name of the company
Position title with tenure dates
Scope of responsibilities
Technical Skills/Languages
Awards
Professional Memberships or Affiliations
References (usually upon request)