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They've
reviewed millions of resumes and seen it all. From the candidate
whose stated objective was to "seek a high-paying, relaxing job" to
the software developer who included a photo of himself bare-chested,
cavorting in the surf.
You'd be surprised at how many candidates leave out important facts,
such as the names and locations of companies where they've worked,
or include too much information, like the candidate who asterisked
her dates of employment with the caveat: "Please do not misconstrue
the fact that I have had 12 jobs in six years as job-hopping...I
have never quit a job!"
Is your resume working for you or against you? Here are seven signs
it may be time to tweak (or toss) your resume:
1. No Career Summary/Introductory Statement
Most hiring companies don't have time to match unspecified resumes
to open positions, so lead off with a career summary or introductory
statement that makes it clear what type of position you are seeking
and why you are qualified for the job.
2. Lack of Keywords and Phrases
To pass through a company's applicant tracking software, your resume
must contain the keywords and phrases it is screening for. These
words are not the verbs stressed in paper resumes, but nouns such as
job titles and technical skills.
To find out what keywords you should be using, read the job posting
or obtain the actual job description. You also may want to check out
the book 2,500 Keywords to Get You Hired by Jay Block and
Michael Betrus, which lists critical keywords for each career and
shows examples of how to use them in your resume.
3. No Evidence of Your Experience
Your resume should not merely list the jobs you've held; it should
provide specific examples of how you achieved success.
resume-writing professionals recommend using the PARS formula:
Describe a Problem, the Action you took, the
Results you achieved and Skills you applied.
4. Use of Personal Pronouns and Articles
With just two pages to sell yourself, make each word count. Write in
a telegraphic style, eliminating all personal pronouns and articles
like "the," "a" and "an." Removing the "I," "me" and "my" from your
resume not only frees up space, but creates a subliminal perception
of objectivity.
5.
Irrelevant Information
Irrelevant information keeps the reader from seeing your selling
points. Weigh each portion of your experience from the hiring
company's perspective to decide what to include and what to
emphasize. If you're applying for an engineering position, for
example, don't devote a whole paragraph to your job as a camp
counselor unless the position has elements that are transferable to
the engineering job. And never include information about your
marital status, personal situation, hobbies or interests unless they
are relevant to the job for which you're applying.
6. Poor Formatting
Unless you have no work experience or have held a number of
different jobs in a short amount of time, a chronological resume is
the most effective. That means using the following order:
-
Header
(your name, address, e-mail address and phone number)
-
Career
summary, profiling the scope of your experience and skills
-
Reverse
chronological employment history emphasizing achievements
-
Education
Since
poor alignment, spacing and use of bolding and caps make a resume
hard to read, you may want to use a resume template.
7. Typos and Misspelled Words
From the would-be administrative assistant who claimed to be a
"rabid typist" to the executive who boasted that he was
"instrumental in ruining the entire operation," misspellings
communicate that you have poor writing skills or a lackadaisical
attitude. Proofread your resume carefully and have several friends
and family members read it as well.
Last, remember that the purpose of your resume is to communicate
your experiences and accomplishments as they relate to an open
position and to obtain a job interview. Because each situation is
different, you should tailor your resume to each opportunity.
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice
editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job
search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace
issues. Other writers contributed to this article.
RESUME WORD
CLOUD
Here's a
link to an interesting tool that may help you discover what your
resume is really saying about you.
http://www.wordle.net/create
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