RESUME ESSENTIALS –Everyone benefits from reviewing the basics.
As a consultant, I receive many resumes from bright, intelligent, articulate and educated individuals. The information on how to write a resume can vary widely, but there are some very distinct basics to make sure that your resume does not immediately leave the “consider” pile.
1. Keep your resume to one page. Yes, you can get all that information on one page. If you absolutely must have two pages, make sure your contact information is on both pages and that the pages indicate: 1/2 & 2/2.
2. Font. My favorite is Garamond at 11 or 12. Times New Roman at 11 or 12 is also very acceptable. As a recruiter, I once had a resume with such an ususual font, I could hardly make out the phone number to call and ask him to fix it. He wound up being a bit of an odd duck to boot. He came in to my pre-submittal screening throwing around his waist-length dark hair and strutting. It was an interesting day.
3. Margins. No larger than one inch all the way around and no smaller than one-half inch all the way around. Yes, it can be mixed up a bit with smaller margins on the top and bottom of the page than on the sides or the other way around. Just keep it neat and visually appealing.
4. The Header. This is your name, address, phone and email address. It should be in bold, centered, and on a minimum of two lines. Your name should also be about a font size of 14. This is so that the hiring manager can very quickly and easily see your name and pull your resume out of the stack for futher review.
5. Your name. Put your legal name (at least first and last, but including a middle initial is also fine) not a nickname. Yes, everyone calls me "Charly", but my name is "Paulette". I can tell them my nickname on the phone or in the interview. Actually, it's a great ice breaker.
6. Your phone number. When a potential employer calls, you want them to get your best “you”. If you are going to use your home number, make sure that anyone else who might answer is well briefed on phone etiquette and how to take a proper message. If you are going to use your cell, check your voice mail greeting. Loud music while someone is waiting to leave a message is obnoxious and unprofessional. Additionally, keep your greeting professional, friendly, and short. There are times to just let the call go to voicemail. If you're in the middle of something and cannot give the caller your full attention, let it go to voicemail. At that moment, your voicemail is your best “you”.
7. Your email. I_love_bunnies@email.com RedHeadedScotsman@email.com.
Take a moment to look at your email address. It is often a good idea to create a new address with your name just for professional correspondence. There are free email services available all over the internet. The three most popular are Yahoo, Google, and Hotmail.
8. The basic elements. They are a Summary of Skills and Qualifications (To include industry specific certifications), Education (including relevant training courses)and Work Experience. Yes, volunteer work counts if it directly relates to you professionally.
9. The very basic no-no's. Leave out the following: Birthdate, Social Security number, Photo, Marital Status, Height & Weight, Age, Religion, Race, Sexual Orientation, Number of Children, Disabilities and anything else covered under the non-discrimination laws. Including any of these things may get your resume kicked out of consideration before you even begin. This kind of information on your resume puts the employer in a situation where they could be sued for discrimination. (You wouldn't do that, but others might.)
10. No Paragraphs. Only write bullet statements. The reader needs to get to your information very quickly and paragraphs are a visual disaster. It is very difficult to pick out the pieces they want and need to see if they are reading through a four or five line paragraph. Help your information be seen with concisely descriptive bullet statements.
***I do understand that certain industries require very different resumes from the one I'm discussing. This article does not address those varieties. (ie. theatre, DOD, etc.)
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