Four Steps to a Resume that Gets Noticed

How would you like resume advice from someone who actually reviews resumes as part of their job? Well, look no further because that's exactly what I have for you today.

On my post titled Five Commonly Asked Resume Questions, a reader left this comment:

I haven't prepared a resume in almost 20 years, but I receive several every week. The ones that I pause to look at are those that:

1) are very relevant to what we do and what we are looking for

2) are clear and concise, not filled with puffery

3) are well formatted and presented 

4) ones that were referred to me by a colleague

Good advice, huh?

Here are my comments on these:

• Of course you have to have experience relevant for the job. Otherwise, they aren't going to look at you twice. And why should they? (and for that matter, why would you even want the job -- you would likely fail at it?)


• What's "clear and concise": accomplishments, backed up with numbers/facts, in a bullet-point format (starting with action words).


• What's "puffery": All sorts of stuff that doesn't make a case for why you should be hired. For example: that you were on the chess team in high school, that you hold the city record in the 5k run, and that you're actively involved in your church and the Boy Scouts. I'd also lump "objective statements" in this group, but I know others would disagree.


• In addition to having good content, your resume needs to look good and have a logical flow -- like it comes from an organized, competent mind.


• Yes, we all know the power of networking, and here it is in item #4. Let's face it, a resume that's handed to a hiring manager from a co-worker, friend, etc. has a MUCH better chance of being looked at and, as a result, a much better chance of getting you an interview. Hence the importance of having a strong and growing network.

Anyone have anything else to add to this list?

Comments

[leslie]

i like objective statements because when looking over a bunch of resumes at a time, it's nice to have that one-sentence to see what the person's skills are and what they want to do.

if job experience is in different fields, sometimes it's difficult to gauge if the person actually will fit into the role at your company.

[Steve Mertz]

Good stuff Free Money! I would also say that right at the top of your resume have all of your contact information-don't make the potential employer look for it because they won't! Another thing to keep in mind it that most resumes are initially scanned by a computer and if you don't have any specific keywords in your resume-you're not going to make the cut. I recently put up a few job boards and have noticed that employers are very specific in what they want today. If you don't have the specific requirements they are looking for-don't bother