With another
214,000 jobs added to the US job market in October 2014, US unemployment
fell to a recovery low of 11.5%, below the long-term average. However,
the job market is still highly competitive, with hiring managers
receiving piles of resumes for each opening. So what can you do to give
yourself an edge in such a competitive market?
Over the
years working in the employment industry I have seen thousands of
resumes from just about every industry. The one thing that gets me is
that no matter what college you went to, no matter how talented you may
be in your profession, very few people seem to be any good at writing a
great resume.
Unless you're a
professional resume writer
like myself, resume writing can be a tedious task to say the least, and
most people just default to doing a google search for a free resume
template, which they then download and populate with their own career
information. Job done.
This means that the vast majority of resumes out there tend to be
very similar, and as such, contain the same mistakes. Not that many
people bother to research
resume writing techniques beyond browsing a few articles that are easily found online.
This presents a golden window of opportunity for you however: all you need to do is put a
little more effort in, and suddenly your resume will stand out head-and-shoulders above the rest.
So, without further adieu, I give 4 of the most common mistakes
people make on their resume. By following this resume advice, you will
leapfrog the masses and position yourself at the front of the line for
job interviews!
1. Using a Generic Career Objective
At a conservative guess, I would say that at least 80% of all resumes
have a completely redundent career objective at the top of their page.
Why? Because generic resume advice online tells you to personalize your
resume for each job application: "show the hiring manage that you want
their position".
Yes, this is true. However, adding a generic career objective doesn't
achieve this...at all. The following example career objective is what
seems to crop up on resume, after resume, after resume:
"experienced HR specialist looking for an opportunity at a young and
ambitious company where I can utlize my skills and experience for the
benefit of the organization".
This is pointless! Obviously, if you are applying for a job, it is
kind of a given that you are going to apply your skills and experience
to benefit the company...I mean, what else were you thinking of doing?
To include such a career objective is a pure waste of resume space.
At the end of the day, you want your resume to be a short and concise
marketing tool, packed with good reasons why the hiring manager should
give you an interview. My advice: skip the career objective, and include
a professional profile section instead. This can be used to introduce
you as a professional; highlighting your key achievements and core
skills.
2. Missing Company Description
When writing your Professional Experience section, obviously you want
to include a selection of bullet points that identify what you did
within that role, what you achieved, and what made you good at that job.
Most people fail to also provide the reader with insight into the
size/scale of the business involved.
Some sort of company description is essential, in any industry. It is
needed to give your job role and achievements context. For example, as a
restaurant manager, without citing on your resume the number of tables
within the restaurant, the value of the menu, and other tangible
measures, it's hard for the reader to fully appreciate your
achievements. A restaurant manager in charge of 25 floor staff and 60
tables is a far different situation to someone with 10 tables and 3
floor staff.
When writing your professional experience section, be sure to start
each job with a summarizing bullet point explaining the scale of your
role. You can work this information into one or more of the bullet
points. Be sure to apply this technique across your entire professional
experience section.
3. Inclusion of Day-to-Day Responsibilities
What is a resume? A resume is a marketing tool, designed to get you
an interview. It achieves this by showing that you have experience
and/or skills needed to be good at and excell in the job role being
advertized. This means, your resume should be concise, engaging, and
show the reader that you are GOOD at what you do. Bullet points are easy
to read and can effectively summarize your skills, your previous duties
and experiences, in a way that will impress a hiring manager.
A bullet point should not be used to list out endless day to day job
responsibilities. You do NOT want to take the job description for the
position you're applying for, then match up all your previous jobs that
also included similar duties, and write a corresponding bullet point. If
you do this, you are merely showing you can perform the job's basic
requirements. A recruiter is looking for more than just the bare
minimum. They want someone who will be great at the job!
When writing your bullet points, yes you need to include job
responsibilities to identify the more complex aspects of what you did in
that role, however you want to focus on writing bullet points that:
- Show what you achieved in your job
- Show you went that extra bit further, beyond your realm of duty
I've seen too many secretarial resumes listing "kept reception
area tidy and clean and presentable for clients". No hiring manager
wants to read this, or see that you can water the plants on a daily
basis.
Have a think before you finalize your resume; consider what each
bullet point contributes to your resume. If it seems redundent, that it
identifies something
anyone in your role performs, then eliminate it!
4. Lack of Quantified Information
Quantification: the process of turning information into numbers.
Probably the most valuable of all these 4 tips, is to try to quantify
your resume and your achievements. We are all aware that most hiring
managers spend mere seconds reviewing resumes - one way to grab their
attention is to use numbers. Number stand out on a resume.
When talking about your achievements, be sure to cite specific figures, and write them in numerical form:
- increased revenue by $100,000 in first 2 years
Too many times have I read on a resume that someone has managed
to increase revenue, streamline efficiency, reduce overheads....but the
writer has failed to provide a figure demonstrating so!
In addition to achievements, quantification should be incorporated in
your company description also; as a manager what was the company head
count? As a nurse, how many beds were on your ward? As an estate agent,
what was the average value of the property on your patch? Give a fugure.
It's bound to catch the recruiter's eye, and it will also help put your
work into context (as explained in number 2 of this article).
Avoid making these 4 mistakes when writing your resume and you will
avoid making the mistake that probably 80% of all others make. Your
resume isn't there to earn you a job, it's just about separating
yourself from the crowd and earning an interview. You don't always need
to use professional
resume services,
it's possoble to do the job yourslef - just follow the key rules
outlines above, keep your resume short, concise, targeted, and THINK
about everything you include, before you include it.
