ATTN: HR & Personnel people,

[JustAsking]

Haven't been in the HR field in about 3 years but was in it for almost 10 and you got a lot of good advice here. I agree with you that the younger one is the easier it is to keep a resume to one page but (and I'm about your age) you may still be able to do it if you list most recent relevant job history then use bullet points to list your skills and achievements; degrees, certificates, etc. at the bottom. Not quite the traditional format we were used to when we got out of college.

A lot depends on where you are geographically and what field you're in.

The resume is only to get you an interview, not to get you the job - so you want to list enough to get their attention but not try to explain everything. Most people make the mistake of loading so much information into a resume that the reader gets tired of wading through it before he/she has finished. Also, as the previous poster said, any time you can use the exact terminology that was used in the job posting, by all means use it.

Good luck!

This is excellent advice. The resume is to get you the interview, so consider it a document that markets you, and not a highly detailed chronicle of your career.

Hmmm...what if you've had only one professional job for the past 5-10 years, and everything before that was just summer jobs, internships, or work study positions that you held during college/grad school? Should one even bothering mentioning those college jobs? Does a resume look bad with only one job on it?

I agree with this, too. If you are early in your career, put down all your jobs. If you are well into your career, put down detail in only the career oriented ones. A good rule of thumb for those who are later in their career is that you should have one page for every decade of employment. However, that doesn't mean you put each decade on a separate page. The exception to the rule is if you have any awards, citations, publications, or patents. If so, you can go to an additional page.

Jobs should be listed in descending chronological order, also with decreasing level of detail as you go back in time. I am 59 and my first career is only few sentences on the last page of my resume, although it I was in that career for almost ten years. On the other hand, my previous three positions in my last company take up the first two pages.

There are some things I didn't see mentioned here. Since space is at a premium, each word is very important. Starting sentences with high impact verbs is better than passive sentences. For example,

Managed a team of 20 people responsible for.....
Created new processes for....
​

Make sure you include things that demonstrate how you were regarded in your job in terms of responsibility and level of supervision. For example the following items tell a story of how much responsibility was given to you and how much supervision you needed to do your work.

Solely responsible for the design and implementation of....
Reported directly to the regional manager....
Managed a team of 20 people.....
Managed a budget of $500k/year.....
​

Also, try to include as many numbers as you can. Numbers are far more powerful than words because in a resume because they communicate objective information about your performance rather than just your own opinion about your performance. And since they are easily verified, they are more convincing. For example,

Received the "Top Ten Salesperson Award" for 3 years...
Reduced production costs for xyz product by 17%....
Increased sales in my region by 15%....


​

For management positions it is also good to put some details about the company you were working for so as to put your management experience in context. For example,

XYZ Corporation is a worldwide distributor of fiberglass molding products with an annual sales of $140M.

​

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[smallscott]

I'm an HR Manager for a non-profit responsible for hiring aand recruiting. I think Arial 12 is a good font size. A few things that I cannot stand to see on the resumes that come across my desk:

1- The objective does not match the job. When this happens it makes me wonder if I hired you for this position are going to be committed to this job? I have a few different resumes because my background applies to different fields that I am interested in and that my skill set matches.

2- Keep it down to 2 pages. You can go back a far as you like just keep your resume to 2 pages. There is trend that I am seeing now where people are summarizing their skill set rather than highlighting their duties and responsibilites for each job. I like this because it saves me time.

3- Keep your cover letter to 3 paragraphs. People have sent me resumes that have their life story in the cover letter. I don't read it! I look for key words and keep it moving. If the resume is strong and relevant to the job, I might go back and read the cover letter to look for salary expectations.

4- Make sure that you have an email address that is your name or initials or something professional and not your play email address. Email addresses are free nowadays. I literally have seen email addresses like babybooboo4@xxxx.com or yogagoddess@xxxxx.com. Do you really expect me to take you seriously?

5- I cannot emphasize this enough- SPELL CHECK, SPELL CHECK, SPELL CHECK. I interviewed someone last week who talked about her attention to detail. When the interview was over I look read over her information again. On her cover letter, resume and application there were so many misspelled words that I just put her file to the side.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your search.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

So..pink, scented stationery...

Yes? No?

lol, whatever works!

 

[Principessa]

No not at all, you have the opportunity to show the progress of your skills in your job through the years. In addition it shows dedication and commitment to your current company.If any summer jobs or internships are relevant by all means include them. I myself have left off my lifeguard experience on my resume many, many years ago.

I haven't included my lifeguard or retail management experience in eons

 

[SR_Blarney_Frank]

Never been in HR but have made hiring decisions on close to a dozen people. My experience:

1) Do your best to avoid sending your info to an HR person. Use linkedin.com or find a recruiter who can identify the hiring manager. You've essentially jumped over a stack of hundreds of resumes downloaded from the company website.

2) One page isn't an absolute must. But keep in mind you'll have about 20 seconds to make an impression so be efficient with what you include. Play up your strengths and downplay your weaknesses. Sounds obvious but I sometimes get cover letters which start out, "Hi, I've been unemployed since I was laid off two years ago and don't have any direct experience but..." Toss.

3) Do not attempt to stand out with wacky fonts or gimmicks. You'll just look unprofessional. 12 pt arial narrow is perfect.

4) Give the most weight to your current or last position and get increasingly brief as you go back in time. If you have 25 years relevant experience make it known (I agree, leave off the lifeguarding) but don't spend a full paragraph on a job you had for 2 years back in the early '80s.

Good luck man!