Top 3 Do’s and Don’ts of an Effective Résumé

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Top 3 Do’s and Don’ts of an Effective Résumé

One of my responsibilities at work is to lead the interview and hiring process for my department. Over the years, I have noticed certain common inclusions that appear on many résumés. Some good and some bad. Unintentionally, I find myself interviewing candidates with résumés that include the following positive characteristics. Since each résumé and job description are different, there are a plethora of rules I could list here, but in the interest of your time I decided to focus on the top 3 Do’s and Don’ts of an effective résumé.

DO:

1. Be easy on the eye. Résumés that are too wordy and/or unorganized are not pleasing to an employer’s eyes. With sometimes hundreds of résumés to go through, these résumés will often get quickly pushed to the “NO” pile. Make sure your résumé is reader-friendly.
2. Lead with action verbs. Remember that you are highlighting what you have personally accomplished, not your team or company. Action verbs can help show that you are a key part of these successes.
3. Use quantifiable statistics and results when possible. There is no better way to show your effectiveness than to prove it with numbers. Consider the following statements;
   1. Worked to increase sales productivity each quarter.
   2. Increased sales productivity by 73% last quarter, leading to a profit growth of $1.2M.

Which sounds better? The answer is ‘statement b’. Anyone could make the first statement, but it’s generic and doesn’t hold much weight. The second statement proves that you know how to make the company more money. Employers will like that!

DON’T:

1. Use slang. Just because you and your friends or colleagues know what a word means doesn’t mean that your potential employer will. Key information can easily get lost in translation. The one exception would be commonly used verbiage used in a specific industry.
2. Include outdated and irrelevant past experience. This could give the impression that you are trying to cover up the fact that you don’t have much relevant experience or are unqualified for the position. It’s better to beef up relevant experience to fill space.
3. Lie. This may sound obvious, but the temptation to lie can creep in as you do your best to stand out. While your intentions may be justifiable, having to continue that lie into the interview, and potentially throughout your career, is not worth the trouble. In fact, it can lead to ugly dismissals as well. You should find a job that wants the real you. You’ll be much happier that way.

Visit gregryanresumewriter.com to perfect your Résumé and Cover Letter today!!