by Robbie Miller Kaplan
1. Your resume should fit on one or two pages. If you have extensive work experience, it is fine to use two. If you are a new graduate, one is considered best. I have reviewed resumes that were seven pages in length when I was desperate to fill a position. But, the competition is too fierce to chance a lengthy resume. Never use a two sided copier.
2. For a two page resume, always put your name and page number on the second page. Use a paper clip to hold the pages together. Do not put your resume in a folder or plastic insert as it may need to be copied and distributed.
3. The tenses should all agree. The objective should be in the present tense, present experiences in the present tense, and past experiences in the past tense. Do not shift tenses.
4. If you have accomplishments in your present position that are in the past, you may want to include this information a few spaces below your current experience. This will emphasize the accomplishment and not cause a shift in tense. If you have past and present information for a functional resume, begin skill areas with the present information and follow with the past.
5. A dictionary should never leave your side. Sam Jeffries recruits for a Fortune 500 company and tosses out every resume with a misspelled word or typo. He views this as carelessness and is not interested in that trait in his employees. Always proofread for errors and check your spelling. Some culprits are hyphenated words whose meanings are changed without the hyphen. An error that once embarrassed me during a presentation was resign, when it should have been re-sign.
6. Edit your resume many times to improve word choice and redundancy. Give a copy of your resume to a trusted friend to proof and highlight the redundancies. Use a synonym dictionary, dictionary, and thesaurus.
7. Avoid using jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations. You want your reader to understand what you have to say. Degrees should be written out, with the exception of the following well recognized abbreviations: MD, JD, PhD, and DDS. If abbreviating these degrees, be consistent with others.
8. Don't use flashy colors, unusual, or odd sized paper. This often will attract the wrong attention. You don't want your resume to be passed around for the wrong reasons. A large defense contractor has what they call the "Resume of the Week." They make copies of the worst resume and circulate it throughout the office. A recent one ended with the statement, "Ask me how I lost 50 pounds."
9. Pay attention to the appearance of your resume. Avoid overcrowding. Leave at least one-inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides. Underline, capitalize, and use bold print for emphasis. Believe it or not a telecommunications organization recently received a resume that was written in pencil.
10. Reading your resume must be easy on the eyes. Recruiters may read hundreds of resumes a week and this can cause eyestrain. If your resume is difficult to read, for example, not enough white space or thick paragraphs, a recruiter may pass over your resume and never see your qualifications.
11. Bullets are eye catching. Use a small · o" and fill in carefully with a black felt pen. Other alternatives are the asterisk (~) and the dash (-).
12. You have just gone through a great deal of effort to write your resume. File your working papers and information in an accessible location and plan on updating it each year.
Send questions or comments to: shresumes@aol.com
Copyright © 2000 Robbie Miller Kaplan. All rights reserved.
Revised: January 15, 2004
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