Updating The Résumé

[bjarvis]

I spent a chunk of last night working on updating my résumé... it's been seven years since I've last redrafted one and my old one was in bad need of an update.

I've absorbed much résumé advice over the years: some advice is solid ("craft it for the job you want, not the one you have") while some of it contradictory ("never exceed one page" vs. "you're not applying at McDonald's so 2-3 pages is fine"). At the moment, I'm still sifting through my activity reports of the past five years or so to distill a small list of good examples of project management, staffing coordination and management ability, but I hope to have a largely finished product by the end of the weekend.

Does anyone have any recommended web sites on résumé construction? I'm open to additional ideas on formatting and style.

Comments

[excessor.livejournal.com]

As a hiring manager, I can tell you what catches my eye (resume-wise):

- Do you use the term "responsible for" because it's too ambiguous. Start all your accomplishment bullet points with action verbs like led, completed, oversaw, supervised, created, coaxed, minced, cajoled, whipped, pled, bled, performed, or blew. If you can back up any of your accomplishments with reports or graphs, so much the better.

- Use metrics if you can. "Led my team through three ISO 9001 audits with only three minor discussion points" is better than "ISO 9001 compliant." Even better: "Increased my group's productivity by 45% over eight months in call ticket resolution." I ALWAYS ask about productivity numbers because I'm interested in the folks who think to speak in my terms.

- Use a decent typeface. Let other people check for spelling and double- or missing-word mistakes. Be consistent in your resume.

- Do not include your photo. Do not include things like your weight, your height, your general health condition, or your religious affiliation. While all are important, hiring managers do not want this material on your resume for fear that anyone can come back later and claim that a hiring decision was made on illegal grounds.

Good luck.