Common Resume Questions
This week, I thought we would review some of the key areas for which I consistently receive questions, leading into April where we will be featuring our annual "Spring Makeover Series," proven very helpful in providing readers with visual representations of what I write about week after week, and of course actionable strategies to improve your own résumé.
Some FAQs include:
Q: I can do anything and everything and I want the hiring manager to know that. How should I organize my experience so they understand I can fit into multiple roles?
A: While this may seem like an effective strategy, it is actually quite the opposite. I cringe when candidates tell me they can do anything, they just like working with people, and don't have an idea of what type of jobs they will be applying for. While I certainly understand the need to not limit options in today's job market, a one-size-fits-all blanket strategy is rarely effective. Instead, one should really try to identify a primary objective, even if this means you have a secondary or tertiary objective requiring modified résumés. If you try to present yourself as a jack-of-all-trades you suddenly become a master-of-none; clearly not a good presentation of your candidacy. Defining your purpose is the critical first step in crafting an effective résumé, a step that facilitates your understanding of what your target audience is looking for and what keywords to incorporate into your résumé. While you may have thought broadening your scope on your résumé would yield more responses, it is likely it is doing the opposite.
Q: What are some of the common mistakes candidates make that can be easily avoided?
A: There are several areas on a résumé to which candidates don't really pay enough attention. I've found this isn't as a result of a lack of effort, simply a lack of understanding as to what can distract a hiring manager and disqualify a candidate. Some of these areas include:
Unprofessional or incomplete résumé headings
As simple as it seems, review your résumé heading! Never include a work phone number or your company's 800# as this could tell a potential employer that you do not value your company's resources (the hiring manager does not know if your employer is aware of your search or not, so don't assume they will think this practice is acceptable). Include your cell phone number only if you can answer it professionally every time it rings! Review voice mail messages for all the numbers listed on your résumé and ensure they are reinforcing your professional not personal image. Lastly, be sure you have a professional email address. Don't use email addresses with your graduation year, birth year, etc., these are very easy to spot and can destroy strategic efforts to minimize a candidate's lack or abundance of experience.
Spelling mistakes, typos, and poor grammar structure
Proofread, proofread, and then proofread again! Overlooked mistakes send a message to the reader of your attention-to-detail or lack thereof. Have someone else proofread your résumé to be sure you are submitting an error free document. Turn off the grammar checker in Word once you are sure your résumé is written effectively. This will avoid your résumé appearing with green wavy lines under certain sentences. Fragmented sentences will likely appear throughout your document, and there is no need to try to avoid this as it is a very effective way to write a résumé. Turning off the grammar checker will ensure that the reader is not distracted by the green lines!
Emphasizing job duties instead of achievements
Hiring managers are not as interested in what you were paid to do; they are more interested in where you went above and beyond and contributed to the success of your employer. While you need to include some information on what you were responsible for on a daily basis, emphasis should definitely be placed on the value you contributed to your employer, being sure to distinguish achievements from responsibilities through a separate subheading or formatting selections.
Selecting the wrong formatfor your résumé
When considering a reverse chronological, combination, or functional format, choose wisely based not only on your desire to present your experience a certain way, but also the knowledge that hiring authorities prefer reverse chronological or combination résumés, and traditionally dislike functional formats. I see a lot of functional résumés that really do not need to use a purely functional format, instead could have used a more savvy combination format which would have pleased the hiring manager while still achieving the focus the candidate was seeking. While combination résumés can be more difficult to write, the fact that they are a hybrid of the two other formats makes them a wiser choice if you seek to focus the hiring manager's attention on certain aspects of your career (possibly by pulling out related achievements and responsibilities in a Career Highlights section appearing before the Professional Experience section) while minimizing potentially disqualifying factors (such as limited related or recent experience, large employment gaps, frequent job hops, etc.).
Q: What are some tips and tricks of professional résumé writers?
A: When I first started to write résumés and would ask my mentor questions, she would often respond with a suggestion and the comment, "it's not rocket science, it's just common sense." At first I disregarded this statement until I began to understand what she was really saying - résumé writing strategies have to be tailored to each candidate's background, current objective, and key strengths; there are no set rules or maps to follow. As a candidate or a beginner writer this is not really what you want to hear. Instead, you want to know the "rules." Well, there are a lack of rules in the résumé writing business, and while some feel this is unfortunate as it makes résumé writing much more difficult and strategic, it stems from the need to craft individualized résumés based on the specifics of each candidate and their current career interests. So, to answer a question about the "tips and tricks" of a professional résumé writer is somewhat futile as each résumé is unique, built upon an individualized strategy to serve that client and achieve their career goals. Having said that, the fundamental efforts of a professional résumé writer begin with a clear understanding of what the client wants to do. Only when this is understood can one build an effective strategy to present, prioritize, and relate experiences, education, and strengths to garner the attention of the target audience. Similar to a brochure for a product, each résumé should reach out to the target consumer (the hiring authority), telling them why they should "buy" the candidate. To do this well you really do have to use common sense, performing diligence in identifying your objective, understanding the core skills sought for those roles, and incorporating value propositions to "sell" your candidacy.
Keep the great questions coming and when possible your question will be published in the column or answered personally. Best of luck to you this spring as you makeover your own résumés!
Some FAQs include:
Q: I can do anything and everything and I want the hiring manager to know that. How should I organize my experience so they understand I can fit into multiple roles?
A: While this may seem like an effective strategy, it is actually quite the opposite. I cringe when candidates tell me they can do anything, they just like working with people, and don't have an idea of what type of jobs they will be applying for. While I certainly understand the need to not limit options in today's job market, a one-size-fits-all blanket strategy is rarely effective. Instead, one should really try to identify a primary objective, even if this means you have a secondary or tertiary objective requiring modified résumés. If you try to present yourself as a jack-of-all-trades you suddenly become a master-of-none; clearly not a good presentation of your candidacy. Defining your purpose is the critical first step in crafting an effective résumé, a step that facilitates your understanding of what your target audience is looking for and what keywords to incorporate into your résumé. While you may have thought broadening your scope on your résumé would yield more responses, it is likely it is doing the opposite.
Q: What are some of the common mistakes candidates make that can be easily avoided?
A: There are several areas on a résumé to which candidates don't really pay enough attention. I've found this isn't as a result of a lack of effort, simply a lack of understanding as to what can distract a hiring manager and disqualify a candidate. Some of these areas include:
Unprofessional or incomplete résumé headings
As simple as it seems, review your résumé heading! Never include a work phone number or your company's 800# as this could tell a potential employer that you do not value your company's resources (the hiring manager does not know if your employer is aware of your search or not, so don't assume they will think this practice is acceptable). Include your cell phone number only if you can answer it professionally every time it rings! Review voice mail messages for all the numbers listed on your résumé and ensure they are reinforcing your professional not personal image. Lastly, be sure you have a professional email address. Don't use email addresses with your graduation year, birth year, etc., these are very easy to spot and can destroy strategic efforts to minimize a candidate's lack or abundance of experience.
Spelling mistakes, typos, and poor grammar structure
Proofread, proofread, and then proofread again! Overlooked mistakes send a message to the reader of your attention-to-detail or lack thereof. Have someone else proofread your résumé to be sure you are submitting an error free document. Turn off the grammar checker in Word once you are sure your résumé is written effectively. This will avoid your résumé appearing with green wavy lines under certain sentences. Fragmented sentences will likely appear throughout your document, and there is no need to try to avoid this as it is a very effective way to write a résumé. Turning off the grammar checker will ensure that the reader is not distracted by the green lines!
Emphasizing job duties instead of achievements
Hiring managers are not as interested in what you were paid to do; they are more interested in where you went above and beyond and contributed to the success of your employer. While you need to include some information on what you were responsible for on a daily basis, emphasis should definitely be placed on the value you contributed to your employer, being sure to distinguish achievements from responsibilities through a separate subheading or formatting selections.
Selecting the wrong formatfor your résumé
When considering a reverse chronological, combination, or functional format, choose wisely based not only on your desire to present your experience a certain way, but also the knowledge that hiring authorities prefer reverse chronological or combination résumés, and traditionally dislike functional formats. I see a lot of functional résumés that really do not need to use a purely functional format, instead could have used a more savvy combination format which would have pleased the hiring manager while still achieving the focus the candidate was seeking. While combination résumés can be more difficult to write, the fact that they are a hybrid of the two other formats makes them a wiser choice if you seek to focus the hiring manager's attention on certain aspects of your career (possibly by pulling out related achievements and responsibilities in a Career Highlights section appearing before the Professional Experience section) while minimizing potentially disqualifying factors (such as limited related or recent experience, large employment gaps, frequent job hops, etc.).
Q: What are some tips and tricks of professional résumé writers?
A: When I first started to write résumés and would ask my mentor questions, she would often respond with a suggestion and the comment, "it's not rocket science, it's just common sense." At first I disregarded this statement until I began to understand what she was really saying - résumé writing strategies have to be tailored to each candidate's background, current objective, and key strengths; there are no set rules or maps to follow. As a candidate or a beginner writer this is not really what you want to hear. Instead, you want to know the "rules." Well, there are a lack of rules in the résumé writing business, and while some feel this is unfortunate as it makes résumé writing much more difficult and strategic, it stems from the need to craft individualized résumés based on the specifics of each candidate and their current career interests. So, to answer a question about the "tips and tricks" of a professional résumé writer is somewhat futile as each résumé is unique, built upon an individualized strategy to serve that client and achieve their career goals. Having said that, the fundamental efforts of a professional résumé writer begin with a clear understanding of what the client wants to do. Only when this is understood can one build an effective strategy to present, prioritize, and relate experiences, education, and strengths to garner the attention of the target audience. Similar to a brochure for a product, each résumé should reach out to the target consumer (the hiring authority), telling them why they should "buy" the candidate. To do this well you really do have to use common sense, performing diligence in identifying your objective, understanding the core skills sought for those roles, and incorporating value propositions to "sell" your candidacy.
Keep the great questions coming and when possible your question will be published in the column or answered personally. Best of luck to you this spring as you makeover your own résumés!
posted by Dear Sam at Thursday, April 05, 2007
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