Excerpt: The [Gulp] Resume

Jan. 24, 2005 -- -- In "Women For Hire: The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Job," author and expert Tory Johnson, the chief executive officer of Women For Hire, offers advice on every aspect of the job search. Here is an excerpt from her book:

Chapter Four: The [Gulp] Resume

You've worked hard to decide what you want and you have worked hard to get the experience you need to land a great job. But no one will ever know how wonderful you are unless you have a phenomenal resume. It is often the first point of contact with a potential employer. Will Rogers summed it up best when he said, "You never get a second chance to make a good first impression." A strong resume can make yours a lasting one.

Before you decide what to wear to the big interview or what to say to the recruiter, before you even step out the door, make sure you get your foot IN the door with a top-notch resume. You won't land a job based solely on your resume, but if it's smart and well-written it can lead to a world of opportunities. A sloppy, poorly written document will end up in the circular file, along with your career prospects. Your resume is an advertisement: the product for sale is you. It's the marketing tool you use to pique the interest of a recruiter. You've got to make them want to take a closer look.

First things first: never lie no matter what. Everything on that resume is verifiable by a potential employer. They can confirm your education, previous employment, association memberships and more. Honesty is not just the best policy; it's the ONLY policy when it comes to resumes. Stretching the truth on your resume will almost always haunt you.

Not only do some companies conduct background checks on many prospective employees, but also in some industries you never know who knows who. Meaning the person you are about to present with a phony resume may very well be friends with your former employer. Since you never know whom you may encounter, it is safest not to lie. Background checks may include verification of your previous job titles, dates of employment, day-to-day responsibilities and education history. If you are two credits shy of a bachelor's degree, do not check the BA box on an application. In some cases, even that small stretch will prevent you from ever being employed by that company.

You don't have to shy away from boasting about significant responsibilities and successful contributions. For example, if you are confident that your individual efforts on a team project helped save your previous employer money or generated profits, you may say that you 'spearheaded' or 'led' this particular effort. Just be prepared to justify the credit you are taking should an interviewer choose to focus on it.

By the way, there is no rule that says someone else can't prepare your resume. If you are really unsure of your writing skills, go ahead and talk to an expert for one on one advice. But remember, just because you shell out a hundred bucks for a so-called "resume professional" doesn't mean you have a better chance at getting the job.

The Top-to-Bottom Resume Guide for Chronological Resumes

There are countless resume styles and designs, but our experience shows that a simple, straightforward resume works every time. Perfection is the name of the game, so be sure to follow these step-by-step guidelines:

Personal Contact Information

All contact information should appear at the very top of your document. Be sure to provide an email address that you check frequently. If your regular email address is funkymama@whatever.com or vodkaking@funmail.com, it is definitely time to set up a separate email account using your first and last name specifically for your job search. [Hotmail and Yahoo offer them free and both enable you to check your account from any Internet connection worldwide.]

Make sure your phone number is correct with a professional voicemail message or answering machine on the other end. Skip the loud music, pet greetings and goofy jokes. List a cell phone number, with an equally professional greeting, if you have one.

Objective or Professional Summary

One of the problems with some resumes is the absence of a clear objective. Way too many otherwise smart people plug in the old stand-by: "Seeking a position with a multi-faceted company that will put my talents to good use while enhancing my skills." Huh? That's a bunch of nonsense that does not impress recruiters. Use this valuable space to convey your key capabilities and how you?re ideally looking to apply them.

Narrow it down

The recruiter wants an idea of what you want to do; be specific and indicate what you're seeking. Don't be scared of being pigeonholed into a dead-end job. You can target the industry, the specific job title, or both.

Bad Example: "A position in a corporation solving complex tasks."

Good Example: "A position in accounting."

Great Example: "A position in accounting focusing on internal audit."

A Very Specific Example: "A position in accounting focusing on internal audit in the entertainment industry."

Bad Example: "A position in a non-profit that helps children."

Good Example: "A marketing role in a child-focused non-profit organization."

Great Example: "A strategic marketing role in a child welfare agency."

A Very Specific Example: "A strategic marketing role in a government-funded child welfare agency."

Don't be obvious

If you're applying for an advertised position, don't make it obvious that you changed your resume's objective just for that job. Don't include company names, or the exact job title if it is obviously for that position.

Wrong Objective: "A position as Master of Creativity at CompuMedia Design."

Right Objective: "A position as website designer in a media design firm."

Why bother at all?

The main point to an objective is to show your future employer that you know where your career is headed [at least for now!]. Recruiters will rarely help a wishy-washy candidate make career decisions in an interview. Further, if your experience or education aren't ideal matches for the position, an objective can help reassure the recruiter you did indeed mean to apply for that job.

Changing objectives

It is okay-- in fact, encouraged-- to have different objectives and even different resumes depending on the job for which you are applying. It's very common-- even expected and encouraged-- to promote different skills to different companies depending on the position for which you're applying. That's how smart people operate. Remember, this is a sales pitch and you want to offer the right product to each potential buyer.

An alternative to specifying an objective is to provide a summary of your professional accomplishments. This is especially effective if you have depth of knowledge in one or two key skills within an industry. It's also a good format to provide when networking and you don't want to be limited by a too narrowly focused objective statement.

Education

This section is at the top of your resume if you're a student or recent graduate. If you have more than a year a work experience since graduating, move your education to the end of your resume. List your most recent degree[s] first. Leave off the date of graduation if you have concerns about revealing your age. List honors, exceptional course work, majors, minors-- anything that enables you to demonstrate your acquired knowledge. If you're in college or have earned a degree, eliminate references to high school. List the dates and relevant coursework if you have attended college, but have not graduated.

Experience

You don't have to list every single responsibility you've ever had. Emphasize the most recent and most relevant. Describe your responsibilities with action verbs. For instance, rather than saying you were "responsible for in-store promotions," tell employers that you "planned, executed, and managed in-store promotions." Always keep it to the point. Pare down by asking yourself, "Will this statement help me get the job?" If the answer is no, ditch it. And use present tense for your current job, past tense for all previous employment.

Turn responsibilities into accomplishments

Too often resumes read like a rehash of a job description instead of a celebration of successes. Include the results that you achieved, not just the work you handled. "Pitched media stories generating 100 news articles per month" is much better than "Wrote and distributed press releases."

Be direct and concise. "Supervised staff of five" is better than "was responsible for supervision of five staff members."

Demonstrate how you have found solutions to organizational challenges. Think of your accomplishments in terms of the problem faced, the action you took and the results you achieved. Recruiters like to see the progression from Problem to Action to Results.

Quantify whenever possible. "Increased sales by 12 percent," "Generated 1 million dollars of new business," or "Repeatedly exceeded monthly quotas." Numbers are impressive, but be sure your references will confirm the figures if asked.

Research job listings to see what skills are asked for. Match your vocabulary to the employers'. Use buzzwords specific to an industry. This is especially important when resumes are submitted online as many recruiters search resumes by keyword. If your resume mentions "Internship at ABC, freelance production work for HBO and various commercials for key cable clients" but never mentions simple words like "television" or "broadcasting," your resume may never appear in an online search performed by a busy TV station's HR manager.

In temp situations, list the name of the company where you worked, not the temp agency, although be sure to specify that your position was in fact a temporary assignment. One note of caution: when completing employment applications, include the name of the temp agency as well. Do not imply that you were on staff directly at the company.

Keywords include industries, companies, products, software programs that prove how qualified you are for a particular position. You must let employers know you possess the right stuff, which often includes very specific, name-brand knowledge or qualifications such as SQL, JAVA, or Series 7.

Tailor each resume to the particular job you're after by including keywords directly from the job description. This gives you a better chance of being an ideal match.

Use brand names wherever possible. Perhaps you worked for a small, relatively unknown public relations agency, but worked on major accounts. List the big clients or products you were involved with.

Give a one-sentence description of any company or organization where you have worked, unless they were major corporations. Do not assume that anyone knows what Purple People, Inc. actually is.

Extra activities and associations are especially key to the resumes of career changers. If you are switching into IT sales after 10 years in pharmaceutical sales, you?ll need to demonstrate your seriousness about the IT industry. Listing an IT industry association affiliation or adult education certification in that field proves you are serious about the change. Remember to include any activities or honors that show your affiliation with your industry.

Action!It is imperative to start every sentence in your resume with an action word. Action words convey focus and drive. Keep in mind that it's important to vary your word choices-- no recruiter wants to see eight sentences beginning with the word 'managed,' which is among the most overused in resume history.

Accelerate, accomplish, achieve, adapt, address, administer, advance, advise, align, allocate, analyze, appraise, approve, arrange, assemble, assign, assist, attain, audit, author, automate,balance,budget, built, calculate, catalogue, chair, clarify, classify, champion, coach, collaborate, complete, compile, compose, compute, conceptualize, conduct, consolidate,contain,contract, contribute, control, coordinate, correspond, counsel,create, critique, cultivate, cut, decrease, delegate, demonstrate, design, develop, devise, diagnose, direct, distinguish, diversify,double, draft, edit, educate, eliminate, enable, encourage, engineer, enhance, enlist, establish, evaluate, examine, execute, expand,expedite, explain, extract, facilitate, familiarize, fashion, focus,forecast, formulate, foster,found, generate, handle, head, identify, illustrate,increase,influence, implement, improve, increase, indoctrinate, influence, inform, initiate, innovate, inspect,install, instigate, institute, instruct, integrate, interpret,interview,introduce,invent, launch, lead, lecture, leverage, maintain, manage, market, mediate, mentor, moderate, motivate, navigate, negotiate, nurture, obtain, operate, orchestrate, organize, orient, originate, overhaul,oversee, partner, perform, persuade, plan, prepare, present, prioritize, process, produce, program, promote, provide, publicize, publish, purchase, quadruple, recommend, reconcile, record, recruit, reduce, refer, refine, regulate, rehabilitate, remodel, repair, reorganize, represent, research, restore, restructure, retrieve, revise, save, screen, shape, solidify, solve, specify, stimulate, strategize, streamline, strengthen, summarize, supervise, survey, tabulate, tailor, target, train, translate, travel, trim, triple, update, upgrade, validate, write.

Skills & Interests

Activities and skills that demonstrate leadership roles, honors or special talents and abilities should be listed at the bottom of your resume. This includes languages in which you're fluent or conversant and specific computer programming or technical skills. List personal information, such as hobbies and interests, only if it relates to the job.

Professional affiliations, such as associations and volunteer organizations, are definitely worth noting. Employers want employees who are involved in their industry or community. It is always impressive to list any offices or special roles you have held in these organizations. This is especially crucial for career changers or recent grads -- if you have limited experience in an industry, you can prove your commitment by listing organizations you have joined to get involved in your new field -- so be sure to join!

Extra activities are especially key to the resumes of career changers. If you are switching into IT sales after ten years in pharmaceutical sales, you'll need to demonstrate your seriousness about the IT industry. Listing and IT industry association affiliation or adult education certification in that field proves you are serious about the change.

Avoid the obvious!

"I'm a real people person" is very generic. Your skills need to be specific, unique and measurable. If you do consider yourself to be a good people person, explain in what way -- like excellent negotiating skills, strong leadership experience or a persuasive sales style.

What to Leave Out

Do not write "Reference available upon request." It is assumed that you have good references. If the employer wants to contact them, he or she will ask you for names and numbers. Use the space for more valuable information. Age, marital status, family situation, sexual orientation and religion should not be included on your resume. Salary history does not belong on your resume either. Pictures, symbols, graphics or other gimmicks that do not scan properly should be excluded. If you're in a creative field, this supporting material can be used in a portfolio, not a resume.

Have Your Resume Assessed

Ask friends and professionals to review and critique your resume. Beyond checking for mistakes, this enables you to test its overall effect. Find out if your objective is clear, if your experience seems to lead to the position you say you are looking for. [An added bonus: having friends, family and career counselors review your resume may just spark a great contact in their minds.] Remember that computerized spell check doesn?t notice mistakes such as "the" versus "he" or "is" versus "if." Only a human eye will catch those errors.

Here are some questions to ask resume assessors to make sure you are presenting an accurate and positive picture of yourself, and to anticipate questions from recruiters:

After reading my resume, what do you think my ideal job is?

Which of my experiences are most impressive?

Is anything unclear, inconsistent or confusing?

Is there anything positive you know about me that does not appear on my resume?

In addition to your friends and professional contacts, find a stranger and ask her the same questions.
The best idea is to find another job seeker and swap resumes. Someone you've just met will likely have a different-- and more neutral-- perspective.

Excerpted with permission from "Women For Hire: The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Job" by Tory Johnson. Copyright 2002, Perigee.

Tory Johnson is the CEO of Women For Hire, which produces high caliber recruiting events nationwide that connect leading employers and professional women in all fields. Visit womenforhire.com for details and tools to advance your career.