May 2008 - Does My Resume Stink Alesia Benedict 05/14/08

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And now, on to this month’s before and after...

This month’s contest winner really needed assistance with getting his old resume in shape for the job search. He had a long career –– which meant he had a lot of information – but was struggling to get his branding message across for his target position.

Off to a Slow Start

His old resume was fairly dated. He started it with the education section, a technique that is used by new graduates, not seasoned executives. He also listed the dates of his degrees which will give away age. True, employers will eventually find out the age of the candidate but remember, the job of the resume is to open the door. Having older dates listed can result in an immediate exclusion of the candidate rather than having the resume put into the “for further consideration” pile.

To counter any potential negatives associated with age, in his new resume I moved the education to the end of the resume where it belongs and removed the dates. The earlier experience prior to 1997 is placed into a paragraph under “Career Note” where the dates are deemphasized and job titles are highlighted using formatting elements.

The client had also completely neglected to introduce himself to the reader and establish a strong branding message. On the old resume, there was no summary or profile to give the reader a preview of what was to follow in the resume. The reader was left in the dark from the start.

I developed a strong positioning title line at the top that left no doubt to the level and function of the position he is targeting. I followed that with an executive summary that encapsulated his strong experience into a concise section.

Following the executive summary, I created a core competencies section full of keywords that related directly to his experience. This section is used as an at–a–glance section for the reader but also provides keywords for database searches. Since we do not know what phrases recruiters will be using, I included some that are similar and cover the same basic function such as “Product Strategy” and “Product Roll–Out” to catch as many keyword searches as possible without being overly redundant.

Digging for Gold

In the old resume, the client had given a basic overview of job duties and had not brought true accomplishments out where they would be noticed. Much was buried in the text and much was not even mentioned. During the development process, the client was able to provide me with additional information that he had originally considered unimportant. With these new specifics, I was able to bring more punch into the experience section. This was a great example of the value of an objective viewpoint and the importance of thoroughness in the provision of background information. I found jewels of accomplishments he didn’t realize he had!

In the original version, his job duties were vague and worded at a level that was not indicative of his success. The bullets on the old resume were too long to be effective and what achievements he did have were buried in the body. I rewrote his role description and brought forth his accomplishments in tight, hard–hitting bullets that carried metrics wherever possible to demonstrate the accomplishment rather than just describing it.

A huge mistake was made in the old resume with the inclusion of a personal section. Hobbies, dates of birth, health conditions – none of this information is used on a resume anymore and simply by including it, he has shown he may be out of touch with hiring laws – not a good thing. I made sure this information was not included in the new resume. He needs to be judged on his accomplishments and skills, not his marital status or health.

Visual Impression

The old resume was too busy with too many design elements and use of a serif font which made it more of a chore to read in 45 seconds. I streamlined the formatting and created a logical progression through the document that is easy to follow with the eye. I removed the months from the employment dates and went with years only. I kept design elements to a minimum using simply bolding and bullets to make it easier on the eyes. Now he is ready to jump start his career and line up those interviews!