Resume Writing 101: Program Recap

Resumes are not only your brand, they are the key to unlocking the door to interviews and potentially your next job.

Thank you to Paul Cecala of Cecala Career Consultants for an honest and reflective presentation on how resumes function in today’s career landscape. Ensuring your resumes are concise, impactful, and formatted correctly can help fight your way through Applicant Tracking Systems while grabbing the attention of human eyes. So let’s take a deep dive into how to craft the right resume for your needs.

Purpose and Philosophy

The purpose of a resume has not changed that much over the years – getting the interview. Before that can happen, your resume needs to pass all of the initial screening processes, whether that be electronic, human, or a combination of both. Your resume needs to WOW the reader, which is easier said than done. In fact, hiring manager’s spending on average 6 seconds reviewing a resume before making a decision whether to advance that candidate on to the next round of the hiring process.

When crafting a resume, you need to think like, talk like, and act like the person who is responsible for reviewing resumes. Company or personnel research may help you determine what they are looking for in a successful candidate; don’t be afraid to network toward that HR person or hiring manager to get your name in their minds, whether there is an open position or not. Be sure to prioritize your resume to the job description and use appropriate keywords; they can sniff out a generic resume in an instant! Prove what you say in your position state so that your accomplishments are clear. Length does not matter; the shorter the better, but go with your gut to ensure that your skills and accomplishments are documented and easy to find.

KISS and the 3 “Ables”

When crafting your resume, keep it short and simple (KISS). Short is relative so follow any application instructions regarding length; if none are provided, use your gut. Remember those 6 seconds! Also, ensure that your resume is easy to ready but using simple language; if the job is very technical, than you can use technical language. Remember, it might be an outside agency that is screening your resume first and may have little or no knowledge about the job you are applying for. Check for understanding by having someone else read your resume.

Be sure your resume is:

• Readable – spelling and grammar are important so be sure to proofread your work. There is something known as “Resume grammar” where certain conjunctions are no longer necessary; use your best judgement.
• Understandable – People want to know what you can do so frame your resume around action statements followed by a result statement. Prove what you have done, don’t just tell it.
• Scannable – Ensure your resume is easily scannable not only by the Applicant Tracking System but also the human eye. Ensure proper use of headings, white space, etc. and be sure to have different formats of your resume available.

Crafting the Impactful

Your resume should not just communicate content, but rather communicate content that will change minds, particularly the mind some the HR personnel or hiring manager that is reviewing the seemingly endless resumes and job applications. Start with a position statement that is not just a summary of your qualifications, but is an objective reflection of who you are. Focus on your accomplishments, not duties, particularly by using quantifiable results. Your accomplishment statements should highlight your actions, the results, and the benefits of your work; try craft statements that are results driven, quantifiable, action oriented, and keyed toward the job you are applying for. This can more easily be done by using action verbs rather than nouns to frame your statements.

3 Types of Resumes

Chronological

The most common and most traditional resume type is the chronological. This type focuses on your employment history, starting with your current/most recent job, and your achievements within each job. This type of resume is great for an experienced candidate with no gaps in employment and helps show advancement within a specific field or industry. HR personnel tend to like this type of resume as it is easy to follow and find the data they are looking for.

Functional

This type of resume focuses more on your accomplishments and skills rather than a clean work history. Functional resumes are more preferred by hiring managers who are looking to verify one’s ability to complete the duties of the job through past achievements, regardless of where those achievements were earned. The functional resume allows for some flexibility and is a great tool for those undergoing a career change, recent college graduates, or for individuals suffering from long-term unemployment.

Combination

Certainly becoming more preferred and popular, the combination resume is just that – a combination of the chronological and functional. It combines that importance of work history and skills that may be very flexible in highlighting a candidate’s strengths while still being easily digestible. It is much easier to tailor these resumes to the specifics of the job you are applying for and can camouflage potential red flags without being too obvious.

Formatting

Here are some formatting tips that you should always use when creating your resume:

• 0.5 – 1inch margin all around
• Use 1 font type, particularly sans serif – it is much easier on the eyes
• 12 point font size, but no smaller than 10
• Left justify for readaibility
• Grammar and spelling count
• Use bolding and underlining carefully to highlight strengths – no more than 10%
• Use tabs to make lists appear like a table
• Save and send in MS Word (Name.doc) or PDF (Name.pdf)

When crafting a resume to upload to electronic applications and Applicant Tracking Systems, keep these tips in mind:

• Use plain text and save as a .txt or .rtf file
• No special formatting – lines, boxes, shading, etc.
• Keywords are set apart by using white space
• Use simple text, not italics
• Use simple bullets
• Do not use headers or footers
• Separate lists by tabs, not commas

More Information

If you have any questions related to crafting the ideal resume or anything related to your career, please visit Cecala Career Consultants or contact Paul directly at pcecala@cecalacareer.com. A recording of the program is available on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/AY_xhB3qHTw.

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