RESUME CHECK-LIST – To get more interviews and stand out from the rest.
Get more interviews by taking 5- 10 minutes now and improve your resume with these tips
HOW TO SHORTEN YOUR RESUME
Work History
On 1 line Title From and To Dates Co Name Industry
Highlight your title only
It’s a good idea to mention what each of your employers does or their industry. Potential employers consider the same industry a plus.
Only go into details for the last 4-5 years. Then indicate your previous Job Titles, From and To Dates, Company Names, Industry, and that detailed experiences are available upon request.
E.g.
Detail experience for these is available upon request.
PROJECT MANAGER 12/18 – 6/20 Web Designers – Internet
PROGRAMMER ANALYST 10/90 – 11/18 Disney – Entertainment / Movie Studio
PROGRAMMER 1/82 – 9/90 Bob’s Mfg Company / Manufacturing
DO NOT USE:
* Wide margins
* Icons that take several lines
* 18-inch size font
* Work History twice
* A lot of blank lines. Don’t take 6 lines for a title, from and to dates, and company name when it will fit on 1 line.
E.G. Title From and To Dates Co Name Industry
Don’t indicate environment if you already mentioned it in your job description
* If you want to mention it at the end of your job description limit it to 1 or 2 lines
E.g. C#, Java, PL SQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Windows, NT, ASP, VB Script, JavaScript
* References available, interest, hobbies, race, religion, false information (a degree you don’t have), or your picture.
This takes too many lines for every job. Put this once towards the top of your resume.
Environment:
COMPUTER-RELATED SKILLS, CERTIFICATIONS, AWARDS. This should be on your resume towards the top before your job history. Please add if necessary. It’s very important you have all technologies in demand that you know, on your resume. Let me know if any of these are redundant.
Awards or Job well-done letter: Certification(s): Languages: Scripting Languages: Databases: Operating Systems: Hardware: Software Packages: Software Tools: Development Methods: Development Tools: Internet / Intranet Technologies: Middlewares: Reporting Tools: Data Warehousing: OLAP Tools: ETL Tools: Data Transformation Tools: Data / Process Modeling Tools: Automated Data and System Design Tools: Version Control Tools: GUIs: Security: Methodologies: Management Tools: Compliance: Internet & Intranet: ERP: CRM: Supply Chain: EDI: Business Intelligence: Document Imaging: Application Packages: Financial Applications: Manufacturing Applications: Web Applications: Client Server Applications: Other Applications: Mission-critical enterprise systems: Enterprise systems: Backup Utilities: Platforms: Web Server: Web Application Server: Protocol: Testing Tools: Project Management Tools: Supervise:(maximum number of people, their titles, types of projects/applications, largest budget, etc) Industries:
Poor formatting – boxes, templates, tables, use of header and footers, etc.
Font Choice – poor font choice or style (Arial black or bold for the whole resume).
Font size is too small or too big (E.g. Arial 8, Times New Roman 10, etc.). Arial 10, Arial 12, Calibri 12 is a good size.
Functional Resumes as opposed to writing a Chronological Resume
* Paragraphs – Long Paragraphs instead of Bullet-points.
* Resumes sent as PDF, ZIP files, faxed, web page resumes, or mailed. Resumes not sent as a WORD attachment.
* Too many bullets under each job. The older the jobs the fewer bullet points. Don’t double-space bullet points.
* Resume in all capital letters.
* Doesn’t sound like he’s hands-on.
* Doesn’t have the hardcore experience, just superficial
* Sounds like he assisted with the work. His focus wasn’t on what we need.
* Too many blank lines between jobs and others
Missing important software, education, or certifications on the resume
* Too Duty Oriented – A resume that reads like a job description and fails to explain what the job seeker’s accomplishments were and how they did so.
* Dates not included or inaccurate dates.
* Gaps in employment (4 months between jobs). Fill in the gaps with what you were doing.
* Contact Info – none or inaccurate contact info, unprofessional email address. No last name.
* Personal Info included not relevant to the job. E.g. Hobbies
* Employer names not included and / or not telling what industry or product candidate worked on
* Lying, misleading (especially in terms of education, dates, and inflated titles)
* Pictures, Graphics, or URL links no one will call up
* Not easy to follow summary
* Resumes written as the 1st or 3rd Person
* Burying important info in the resume
OFFER WITHDRAWN because of false information on resume
Indicated on resume had a BS degree
Signed a legal document indicating had a BS degree
Background check indicated no degree and work history dates weren’t even close. Ironically the job didn’t require a degree
CEO at Yahoo was fired for saying he had a degree he didn’t have
Since all companies do background checks these days, make sure your resume is accurate.
The Ideal I.T. Resume – Comments from an IT Director
* My resume is a year-round process and trying to encapsulate 20+ years of experience in two pages seems ridiculous. I’ve settled in on four pages as my maximum.
* I’m constantly tweaking it for the skills and experience which exemplify me and what work I would like to do.
* Before I submit my resume formally it will be modified yet again so it is targeted for the job announcement.
* I’m a fan of simple and direct. Perhaps that’s my military experience speaking, but it’s effective. As someone who sits on many hiring committees, I’m a fan of someone who can quickly capture my attention and highlight their skills for the position.
* This is what I try to incorporate into my own resume. Most importantly, the resume should focus on results…what have YOU done, accomplished.