World's Largest Business Card

The following is posted as part of my participation in the Recruiting Blogswap:

From: Karen Burns, Working Girl

Anyone who reads and thinks about jobs, job-hunting, and careers is always running up against the resume.

In Working Girl's humble opinion, job hunters spend too much time fretting about resumes and not enough time out looking for a job. Why? Probably because you can sit and work on a resume in the privacy and safety of your own home. It's risk-free! At least until you show it to someone.

Yes, a resume is important, and you gotta have one, but guess what: It won't get you a job. In fact, most of what is useful to be said about resumes is negative. Thus follows:

A Long List of Resume Don't's

• Don't make a single mistake on your resume. Not the eensiest, teensiest one.
• Don't lie.
• Don't use jargon, or weird colored paper, or funny fonts and formats.
• Don't bother including a "references available on request" line (duh-does anyone think you will refuse to supply references?)
• Don't bother saying "health-excellent." It only makes employers worry about your health. Also, don't mention if you are married or divorced, or have children.
• Don't think you have to include every single job you've ever had. A resume should be targeted at a specific, actual job. Every piece of info on that resume should be pertinent to that job.
• Don't include "salary requirements." Only talk about money when an offer is on the table.
• Don't mention hobbies and interests. Who cares. One possible exception: if the hobby has some real connection with the job. (E.g., you are interviewing to write for Outdoor magazine and your hobby is mountain-climbing.)
• Don't list reasons for leaving past jobs. Are you crazy?
• Don't use a silly-sounding email address. If you do, you ARE crazy!
• Don't write your resume as a list of job responsibilities. Employers care more about whether and how (if?) you fulfilled those responsibilities. Focus on accomplishments.
• Don't allow your resume to be more than two pages at the very most. One is best. No one is going to spend more than 15 seconds looking at it anyway.
• Don't obsess over your resume. Make it as perfect as you can and then get out there.

WG feels that the best use of a resume is as a really large business card--a leave-behind after you have interviewed a potential employer.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Comments

[Rick75]

On the flip side, here are a few “DOs” for resumes:

DO lead the resume with a “professional summary” statement that describes who and what you are in the context of your skills and accomplishments. This describes the “value” you can bring to a potential employer.

DO make your resume graphically appealing so that it’s easy to read. You can accomplish this by dropping in boldface or italicized type or by using text “bullets” to highlight key points.

DO allow a trusted friend or family member to read it over for typographical errors and words or phrases that just might not make sense.

DO treat the resume as a marketing document that helps you “sell” yourself to an employer, primarily by addressing how you made a difference in the workplace rather than merely listing titles, roles, and responsibilities.