What is expected with resumes?

A resume should be visually appealing. The font should be neither too large nor too small. The use of bolding and underlining should be kept to a minimum, to call attention to only the most important items (job title, for example). It should not look "crowded." There should be no spelling or grammatical errors.

The purpose of the resume is to get you the interview. First, read the job description! Secondly, look at the company's website to gain an understanding of the company's business. The resume should show that you meet most of the requirements - that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the job. Try to find ways to demonstrate that you have a skill, rather than just saying that you do. For example, if it is a job in an un-airconditioned warehouse doing heavy lifting, the fact that you were on athletic teams could help. If it requires strong math skills, being a volunteer GED Math tutor demonstrates this.

Don't overlook school, sports, and volunteer activities as a way to demonstrate you have what it takes. If you worked a refreshment stand at the games, that demonstrates customer service and cash handling.

Where many people go wrong with resumes is they try to turn them into autobiographies. The focus needs to be on how you qualify for that particular job. Also, remember that the purpose of business is to make money. Try to demonstrate how you can help the company make or save money. This is through things like safety, attendance, customer service, accuracy, speed, regulatory compliance (carding when serving alcohol, for example).

Best of luck!

Kim

Similar to the job I am doing now, which is proposing professional services (IT engineers) to large, enterprise customers, a resume needs to answer the question of... how might this person help my business meet it's goals and objectives? To convey that in a resume (or in my case, a proposal), you need to do some research first- on the industry, field, or even some of your targeted companies you would like to work for, to understand what their goals might be. Look at the corporate websites, current news, financial info, or industry trends so you have a better understanding of what is this company trying to truly accomplish. Talk to people in the industry, if you can, or contact one of the companies and ask them for a mock interview. I'll bet you they would love to help. The goal is understanding what it is the company/industry is ultimately trying to accomplish, relate that to your capabilities and customize your resume to reflect that.

I see it all the time. A company asks for help with a small network issue, but after digging deeper and asking questions, we realize that the current network infrastructure cannot support some higher corporate mission. Once we understand the bigger picture and relate that to our team's capabilities, I can then customize my proposal to meet the need, and win the job. It's the same with a resume.

There have been a lot of changes in resume standards over the last decade, mostly generated by changes in interview standards, which have now moved to include behavioral interview approaches.

The change is best summarized by stating that the old way of interviewing was to only ask questions to understand skills and education and, while those questions are obviously still being asked, there are now additional questions designed to understand how a person has gone about taking action in the past and how they are likely to take action in the future.

So, suddenly, it is equally important to have your resume reflect not only your professional attributes, but also some personal insight as well, which is almost directly opposite to the old way of doing things.

I have seen several approaches to this, but the most successful approach appears to be to enter a summary / elevator pitch at the top of your resume that is written from the first person and gives the reader an option to form some level of positive impression of you.

A very basically structured example of this reads as follows:-

This is who I am (i.e. My name is ...and I am an recent grad / experienced professional)

This is what I can do (a one line summary of your skill set)

This is where I am strong and have had recognized success (e.g. beat a deadline or come in under budget, etc.)

This is where I want to continue to learn and grow (crucial to highlight so any potential employer knows you are someone with the desire to always learn and grow as a professional and a person)

This is something I am passionate about in my life outside of the office (this used to be a restricted subject on resumes but is now a strong insight to the type of person you are overall, not just while you are at work).

This introductory statement will allow the reader to either form a personal opinion about you or have respect for your passion and then will read the resume document with you in their mind in a position that is positive. Make sure to tweak it to reflect your situation and personality.

Otherwise, no longer is a one page resume a restriction for any organization from Fortune 100 level or above. The purpose of a resume is to pass on information and restricting it by size is counter productive to its primary purpose. For more junior people a 2 page resume, or even a 3 page resume at a push, is more than acceptable and, for a more senior candidate then pushing to 4 pages is also within today's normal parameters.

The one caveat to that statement is that there are still smaller firms who may not yet be aware that the standards of resumes have changed, so it is always worth keeping a one page resume summary / snapshot and if there's any doubt which resume is required then upload both so there is an option for the reader to choose the structure they prefer.

Another notable change for resumes is font type. The old way of doing things was to always use the serif font "Times New Roman". That is no longer the case for a few different reasons.

Firstly, there have been psychological studies that have proven that the human brain reacts positively to some fonts and negatively to others, regardless of the content of the document. The basis of the results for these studies is that instinctive human nature doesn't gravitate towards sharp, pointy things and if you look at the Times New Roman font, it is very pointy and sharp.

However, the sans serif fonts of either "Calibri, Arial or Tahoma" are all more rounded, hence warmer, hence more friendly and it allows the information on the resume to be read in a more positive light. Also, these days, the sans serif fonts are seen as more modern (rarely do you see an email or twitter message using "Times New Roman") and being seen as a modern professional who is current with the standards of today's technology, is crucial to be considered in this ever more technical world we live in.

Another way of making your resume valuable is to enhance it's online visibility. One solid way of doing this is to have a section at the bottom of your resume that lists your skill sets, i.e. data analysis or customer service, for example. This way, when Recruiters are searching online job boards or their own application databases then your resume is more likely to flag on those searches.

Also, it is crucial to list out any and every piece of tech you have had exposure to, whether it be practical usage or classroom usage as if you have a minimum of a basic understanding or above then it should be listed so you can elaborate on it later.

A prime example of this is is that, for my role as a Recruiter, Microsoft Excel is a typical requirement and if I am searching for people who have Excel skills, unless you have that piece of technology listed on your resume then your resume will not flag on my search.

Other things to be careful with are as follows:-

Avoid over formatting your resume as, upon uploading it to many of the Applicant Tracking Systems that store your information after you have submitted an application, the formatting of a resume can sometimes not be correctly assimilated to the system and information is inadvertently missed.

Finally, always list your name, phone number email, City & State, and your LinkedIn profile link at the top of your resume with your name set to a font size 2-5 levels above the rest of the resume.

Good luck!!