Why is “IT” on your resume?
Quite a few resumes have landed on my desk throughout my career. “Interesting” is an understatement when describing the things I’ve seen, which often make me ask the dreaded question… “Why is THAT on your resume?” I decided to share with you what “IT” is, along with some alternatives on what you can do instead of doing “IT”.
The dreaded “IT” includes:
Labels like “Email”, “Address” and “Phone number”
You do not need to label these items in the resume header. I’m pretty sure the average person recognizes email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses. If more than one phone number is listed, label them to distinguish the “mobile” (or cell) number from the “home” number. I remember a resume that actually listed 2 cell numbers, just pick one.
Non-professional email addresses
I can’t help but laugh at some of the very creative email addresses people have as their motto. I remember seeing email addresses that made me think, “What does THAT mean?” For example, “[email protected]”, “[email protected]”, and “[email protected]”, to name a few. These highly creative email addresses distracted me, even briefly, from the task at hand: assessing the candidate’s skills, qualifications, contributions, and accomplishments to determine if they can complement the needs of the team and the business. Although creativity is a great qualification for many jobs, save it for the next big project. Stick with [email protected] for your job search and resume.
“And the like” or “Etc.”
What exactly does this mean in terms of your qualifications for the job you are doing? Imagine that you are the hiring manager and you are reading the following on a candidate’s resume:
“Execute strategies, etc.”
“Collaborate with team members and the like.”
“Managed Programs, etc.”
“Increased profits and the like.”
Doesn’t there seem to be something missing from these claims? Substance – is what is missing. If your resume is your marketing document, tell recruiters exactly what “etc.” and “and the like” mean. As? First, remove the “filler words” [as we would label these in Toastmasters]. Second, use real facts from your background that clearly illustrate your value. Leave nothing to the imagination of the hiring manager. Be specific, be detailed, be concise. Here’s an example: “Devised and executed profitable sales and marketing strategies, exceeding sales targets by 20%.” Now, doesn’t this give a much better picture of its value?
“Hard Worker”
If you have “hard worker” on your resume, review it immediately. Instead, use your accomplishments and contributions to show hiring managers how hard you work through the impacts you’ve made and why they should hire you as a member of their team.
“[Credential] Certification Candidate”
If you haven’t taken or scheduled the certification exam yet, why is THAT on your resume? Instead, use your cover letter to indicate your plans to take the exam in the near future. If you are scheduled to take the exam, use your cover letter to mention that you are scheduled to take the exam and specify the date. This demonstrates your commitment to professional growth and desire to be considered a certified expert who is prepared to make long-term contributions toward the success of the business.
“Computer Literacy”
Where do I start? There is absolutely too much technology to try to figure this out. Due to the wide range of programs, languages, systems, software, and hardware in the world, be specific when listing your technical skills on your resume. For example, “Technical proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint” is a clear indication of your skill set.
University Course Numbers
Course numbers mean nothing to hiring managers and take up valuable space on your resume. For recent graduates with little or no relevant professional experience, it is strongly recommended to list the name of completed college courses that are relevant to your target job. Just don’t use course numbers. Also, consider truncating some course titles that may be too long. For example, instead of listing “Introduction to Marketing,” include Marketing or a higher-level marketing course, like “Strategic Marketing,” which is much more impactful.
Active links of copied and pasted text
So you used a template but didn’t customize the content? Did you really copy and paste content from the template into your resume? It is never recommended to copy and paste content from templates or any other source. But if you do, be aware of active links back to the site you copied the content from. A general rule of thumb is not to copy and paste content from templates. Instead, use templates to guide your thought process, but create your own resume content that is relevant and specific to you.
A long paragraph of information.
If your resume contains a paragraph with 15 lines of text below a job, you’re hurting your marketing efforts. Think of a written announcement or billboard at the train station or on the side of a bus. Will the ad with 15 lines of text or the ad with 3 short but very informative lines of text be more apt to read? If your answer is the latter, review your resume immediately. If it’s wordy, have a professional resume writer revamp it for you. Comprehensive but concise is the key.
His sign
Save your signature for the cover letter.
The resume serves as a promotional tool that you use to promote your qualifications to a potential employer. You may decide to work with a certified professional resume writer to develop this essential promotion tool, or you may decide to develop it yourself. Either way, the ultimate goal is to capture a job interview using a high-quality resume (and cover letter), concisely written, packed with relevant keywords and validating content – the collateral.
Just stick with the most informative stuff and remove THAT other stuff from your resume.