Spell Check is Your Friend

Now some of you who know me are most certainly rolling your eyes at the title of today's post. As, I am the first to admit that I am not a very good speller. You would think that having a mother who was an English teacher for god knows how many years, I would be able to complete sentences and punctuate correctly, but alas, I cannot. Well, it's not so much that I cant, it's that I just don't really care. If you are REALLY that concerned if I put an extra t on a word, or use a past tense instead of a future, well then in my book, you aren't paying enough attention to what I am saying in the first place! HOWEVER, there is one place that I always spell and punctuate correctly, and that is on a resume. Your resume is your ticket to entry. And in today's assembly line mentality to finding talent, where every step of the process is automated and inventoried, stacked and filed, you need to do anything you can to stand out and convey professionalism. Misspelled words on a resume or incomplete sentences just looks sloppy and conveys to the reader that you just don't care enough. It's kind of like if you showed up to an interview in jeans, when you know the company wears suits! (Don't worry, I'll get to that whole topic at another time). So many of you ask how then do I stand out on paper, especially when there are so many resumes being submitted? And do all those resumes even get looked at? Again, I'll get to those topics soon enough as well. The following are my rules of thumb when it comes to creating a good resume and standing out...or in some cases, not being the stand out resume for the wrong reasons:

Cover Letters: WASTE OF TIME! In my sixteen years of being a recruiter, I don't know one recruiter who has ever looked at a cover letter! They go directly in to the garbage can. So, not only did you waste time writing them, but you also wasted a tree. Good job. Some people seem to think that a cover letter is meant to create a synopsis of your professional life and convey to the recruiter everything important about you and what you've accomplished and what you want to do next. I don't know about you, but I could never fit all that on one page, nor convey it in a way that really matters. Instead, let your experiences do the talking. If you must, create a ONE SENTENCE objective on the top part of your resume. But again, your experiences should speak for what you have done and what your strengths are, not some flowery love letter to a recruiter.

Paper/Pictures/Fonts: A piece of white xerox paper means the same as a hard stock piece of paper. Again, no one cares if you printed your resume on something that weighs more than my hand or not. A recruiter or a hiring manager has never sat around and thought, "wow, this guy must be REALLY good if he prints his resume on hard stock!" And by god, PLEASE never print your resume on anything but white paper! I know this might sound obvious but you would be surprised how many resumes I have seen where someone thought it was cute to have their resume on pink or jade colored paper...I am not kidding! And yes, I've seen this done even on executive level candidates resumes! You are not the star of Legally Blonde and pink paper and a hot tub video interview are not going to get you in to Harvard. I have created recruiting programs and recruited talent in several countries and yes, it is true that every culture dictates the norms for a particular society. In Europe, resumes, or CV's as they are called, typically show the candidate's picture, family origin, and size of one's family. However, that is not true in every country of Europe and most certainly it is not the case in America. If you are applying for a job in America, do not put a picture of yourself on your resume. It's just creepy and usually ends up being compared to other creepy resume pictures. In America we have a very strong non discrimination mind set and for very good reasons. Recruiters do not need nor want to see what you look like nor do they want or need to know about your family history, marital status or any other protected class information. Your skills and experience are all they need to know about you. Similar to the colored paper issue, never get all creative with your fonts. A recruiter doesn't gleam any sort of creative ability from your resume if you use some flowery font. Use Times Roman or Arial and call it a day. End of story.

Length and Depth: Again, I have been asked many times if a resume is too long or too short. My answer is always the same in that I say a resume should only be as long or as short as your experiences. If a recruiter tells you, "you really should only have a one page resume", that is just silly, especially if you have 25 years of experience to talk about! Now don't get me wrong, when documenting your skills and accomplishments at a particular job, no one wants to hear about how you planned the annual Xmas party or how you came up with an amazing new design for the company break room! Keep the experiences and accomplishments at a high level and relevant. Show action oriented accomplishments, goals met, etc. And if that means your resume is two or three pages, then that is what it is. No one will think anything other than that you have had some really great and noteworthy experiences.

Extra Curricular Activities: Ah yes, the age old extra curricular activities section. Also known as the "I'm not a loser and work all the time" section, or the "Let me show you I'm normal and actually do have a heart and friends" section. I think the above sums up this section in my opinion. However, I do think the section warrants its place, just not as a place to talk about your Boy Scouts ranking or your prayer group involvement. Rather, this section should be reserved for mentioning groups, clubs, or certifications that relate to your field. Believe me, employers do want to know that you have a heart and aren't a dork, but they can gather that in a face to face interview or on the phone rather than on paper.

So now you have the tools to write a noteworthy resume. The most important take away should be that a resume gets you in the door but you have to do the rest. In order to get in the door, show a recruiter on paper that you are damn good at what you do and make them feel lucky to have an opportunity to meet you in person.


Over and out,

JJ