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Resumes That Shine By Terri Winters
I don't know about you, but sometimes I really wonder where my resume goes when I respond to a job listing. Sometimes I'm convinced I'm not sending an e-mail message across town, but am actually beaming my resume to an alien universe where the term "technical writer" isn't even in the vocabulary. In reality, however, I know that my resume is probably just sitting in someone's e-mail in-box or lost in a stack of paper on a manager's desk. Having built and staffed four tech pubs departments over the last ten years, I can share a number of things you can do to help make your resume "shine" and catch the attention of potential employers. For starters, remember who your audience is. Assume the person reviewing your resume is overworked and most likely reviewing resumes after hours. As the job applicant, your job is to make reviewing your qualifications as quick and easy as possible. Having spent many late nights poring over resumes, I've noticed that resumes that catch my attention share a number of elements. When updating your resume before your next job hunt, consider the following: Be Brief. For a hiring manager, reading a resume longer than two pages is cumbersome and time consuming. Seeing a long resume--no matter how well it's written--makes me wonder why the applicant was unable
to trim their job history to two pages. The last thing you want to do is raise questions in the employer's mind before they've read anything. Have an Organizational Strategy. I like to see a resume that has a definite strategy in presenting the information. For example, some
applicants use the first page to tantalize the reader. Page one of this type of resume includes a highlight of the applicant's experience and lists specific technical skills. The objective is to make the reader want
to turn the page and learn more. Page two then builds off of page one. It offers a detailed work history and highlights specific projects and accomplishments that demonstrate the applicant's knowledge,
resourcefulness, and initiative. Write Concisely. Remember that your reader is probably over-worked and tired. Make your resume easy to read. Keep
the language as brief and concise as possible. Use active voice, avoid the use of personal pronouns, and use articles minimally. Design a Clean and Simple Layout. Use white space effectively so that headings jump off the page. Choose a common, easy-to-read font. Personally, I prefer serif fonts for body text and sans serif fonts for headings. However, I've seen many resumes formatted entirely in easy-to-read sans serif fonts (such as Arial) that are quite effective. Be Truthful. A good interviewer will look for items on your resume that seem too good to be true. Exaggerating your skills might look good on paper, but if a potential employer even suspects you might be stretching the truth, you've blown your opportunity. Make Sure It's Perfect. As a technical communicator, your resume is a textual representation of your basic communication ability. To demonstrate your mastery of the written word, your resume and cover letter MUST be perfect. Make sure both are free of grammatical errors and typos. Include a Cover Letter. Including a brief cover letter demonstrates a high degree of professionalism. More importantly, it shows potential employers a certain degree of respect and demonstrates you care about doing things "the right way."
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The Devil Mountain Views -- Nov/Dec 2001 |
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