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You have written your résumé. To your untrained eye, it looks pretty good to you. So you are ready to send it out. Unfortunately, a successful résumé isn’t dependent on whether or not you like it but on the opinion of hiring managers. As a result, you have to look at your résumé from an employer’s perspective.
Let’s take a look at the common subheadings of a résumé and explore what employers like to see. Based on the information provided, self-score your existing résumé.
· Heading: The heading of your résumé should include your name, contact information (address, phone numbers, email address). Follow these tips to ensure that your heading is following proper résumé protocol: (1) avoid providing your work number. Potential interviewers may interpret the inclusion of a work number as a lack of loyalty on your part since you are job hunting on your current employer’s dime. (2) Don’t include your home phone number if young children and/or non-English speaking family members tend to pick up the phone. Instead use your cell phone. If you don’t own a cell phone, then kindly asks residents in your household to let the home phone go directly to voicemail (3) When you are searching for a job, don’t pick up your cell phone in places where you are not able to talk, such as on a train or in the middle of lunch meeting. If you don’t know who is calling, let your cell phone go to voice mail.
Critique: Does the heading of your résumé include your full name, address, professional sounding email, and a contact number? Yes / No
· Objective/Profile Statement: Your profile statement should provide a summary of the skills, knowledge, and abilities you feel are most important to the position you are seeking. This means that if you have more than one career interest, then you will need to adapt your profile for each interest.
Here’s a sample of an effective profile statement.
Strong, diverse background in accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing within various environments, leveraging analytical and problem solving skills to achieve positive results. Excel in managing multiple financial/accounting/HR activities concurrently. Uphold highest level of professional and personal ethics; well-versed in regulatory requirements. Proficient in use of technology to support top-priority business goals, including Excel, QuickBooks, and Intuit’s Enterprise Solutions software.
Critique: Does your résumé go beyond the usual seeking-an- opportunity-to-grow type of statements? Have you taken the time to delve into what you can offer an organisation? Yes / No
· Professional History: Your professional history must be packed with accomplishments. Each profession has different standards as to what constitutes accomplishments. For example, an accomplishment for a teacher may be the ability to create curriculum that is suitable for all learning styles. On the other hand, an accomplishment for an administrative assistant can be the streamlining of files that allows for accessibility.
Many job seekers are under the impression that accomplishments have to contain numbers. This is not the case as noted by the examples in the previous paragraph. A gauge you can use as to whether something is an accomplishment or not is this: are you proud of the said activity? Did the activity win praise from others?
Critique: Does each position have at least three noticeable accomplishments? Note: the number of accomplishments varies from individual to individual. Use the number three as a realistic gauge. Yes / No
· Format: If you are using a Microsoft Word template, scratch it. Interviewers are used to seeing those formats again and again. Be creative and create a format that suites your specific goals and work history. In addition, if you have used a résumé template before, you can attest to the fact that you have no creative control. Depending on the template, you may not even be permitted to add extra bullets statements, if necessary. You are subject to the template layout and can’t veer away from the design because if you do, you run the risk of a formatting disaster on your hands.
Critique: Does your format highlight your accomplishments by being original? Yes / No
· Font face and size: Don’t use a small font face and size just to keep the résumé a one-pager. It will make it difficult for the decision maker to read small lettering. Please understand that résumés don’t have to be one page. If your résumé needs to be longer to include all the relevant information that is fine. Hiring managers expect résumés to run up to three pages. Choose a font size that is easy on the eye.
Critique: Does your résumé have an easy to read font face and size? Yes / No
· Action oriented sentence starters: Your résumé should never include the words “I” or “we.” For example, instead of writing, "I implemented," begin the sentence with "Implemented." Here is a list of action words you can use in your résumé. They are split into categories for easy use.
Management action words: analysed, coordinated, delegated, executed, incorporated, motivated and oversaw.
Communication action words: addressed, authored, persuaded, summarised, renegotiated, reported and wrote.
Creative action words: conceived, conceptualised, created, designed, developed and produced.
Detail-oriented action words: approved, compiled, edited, inspected gathered, and proofread.
Critique: Does each sentence of your résumé begin with an action word? Yes / No
You know when your résumé is ready to be submitted when you score 100 percent on the evaluation above. Good luck!
Linda Matias
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