by Gwen Harrison, CPRW, NCRW
Advanced Resumes & Career Strategies
The job search process itself can be intimidating to most people. The thought of leaving a relatively secure job, losing your job, or accepting a new job that may or may not work out is somewhat frightening. After all, your very livelihood (and that of your family, if you have one) is at stake.
These risks, and the resulting fear, can sometimes cause job seekers to focus on one aspect of their job search-such as their resume–to an almost obsessive degree. After all, everyone seems to have a different opinion on what your resume should include and what it should look like. A job seeker could easily waste a lot of time making changes to their resume, to comply with all the different advice they’ve heard in the past, or will hear in the future.
In fact, asking for resume feedback from anyone who is not employed in Human Resources or Management in your industry can do more harm than good. These individuals lack the knowledge about your industry that is necessary to provide informed suggestions about your resume. Chances are your friends and relatives all make their living in different ways, or maybe some have even been retired for a few years. Your best approach is to simply provide them with copies of your resume, tell them about your job search, and ask for their assistance in circulating your resume. Don’t ask everyone possible for resume feedback, and weigh any advice you do receive very carefully before implementing it.
When you receive negative or conflicting feedback from recruiters, you should carefully ponder their recommendations-especially those of recruiters who specialize in your industry or field. However, you should also keep in mind that recruiters are individuals, and have their own preferences and opinions as to how your resume should be presented. Many of these opinions are based on what makes their job easiest, and not necessarily what will be most effective in marketing your background, winning interviews, and beating your competition.
For example, some recruiters prefer that all candidate resumes use the same sections, in the same order. This consistency makes it easier for them to read and manage the resumes they receive. However, let’s say a recruiter is searching for an IT professional. Putting the Education section on page 1 may work well for Candidate A because she has just completed a Master’s degree in Computer Science. On the other hand, Candidate B has more of the skills and experience the company wants, but he only has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. If you are Candidate B, you don’t want your Education section on page 1, since your skills and experience are more impressive and relevant than your degree.
The bottom line is that you should carefully consider any relevant advice you receive from recruiters, HR professionals, and managers in your field or industry. However, keep in mind their own personal preferences and biases will play an important role in their recommendations. Ultimately, you are the one who has to defend your resume in an interview with a potential employer. Therefore, you must know its contents frontward and backward, and you must be 100% comfortable with the format and content. Focus on circulating your resume widely with confidence and enthusiasm, and be sure to follow up on the resumes you distribute, to achieve maximum job search results.
Yes, your resume should be as perfect as possible, since its job is to make a favorable first impression and win interviews. But while the quality of your resume is very important, whether you should use “reduced” rather than “trimmed” in a sentence has little or no impact on the success of your job search. To achieve your career goals, you must choose how you spend your time and set your priorities carefully. Your ability to accurately recognize when it’s time to move on to the next step is critical to your job search success. Don’t spend too much time on your resume. After all, it’s only one part of your job search. Your success also depends on resume distribution, networking, ad responses, follow-up, Internet resume postings, and all the other job search techniques at your disposal.