Resume writing tips

I recently talked to a friend about resume writing. We struggled over the what to do when you have 20 years of diverse experience at 6 or more different places.

Here are some resume writing tips we agreed make sense:

• DO know what type of job you are after before you start to write.
• DO keep it clean. No one wants to read a cluttered mess of 8pt, single space type.
• DO keep it focused on the type of career you want to follow.
• DO summarize your experiences upfront. Include a short summary of your diverse professional experiences (or industries your worked in if that’s relevant).
• DO include for each job: company name, city/state, mm/yy-mm/yy, your job title(s). For each job, highlight your most significant accomplishments. (e.g. “Led project that resulted in ____”. “Developed promotion that raised share of wallet __% for that quarter.” “Automated a manual process that resulted in significant manpower and cost savings.”)
• DO try to tell a story. Somehow, your past experiences have led you to where you are today. Try to get that point across. If you worked in market research initially, then that helped build the foundation for your direct marketing experience.
• DO highlight if you managed teams or had staff reporting to you.

• DON’T include references. Save them until you are asked for them.
• DON’T have more than three pages. That’s already too long, but might be necessary to tell your story.
• DON’T include: personal hobbies, reasons for leaving, irrelevant job details.
• DON’T be boring. Sure it’s hard, but think of the person reading your resume. You want to get him/her excited to talk to you.

Get a few people you trust to review your resume and be prepared for criticism. A different perspective will help you cut out unnecessary info.

One final tip — DON’T LIE! It has become more common for managers and CEOs to lose their job because they embellished experience or education.

Good luck job hunting!
-Roland



Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional who hates to revise his resume. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.