Resume Preparation

1.         The most important rule: put your cell phone number (or work number) on your resume. Interviewers will try to call you during the day and you should make it as easy as possible for them to reach you immediately and directly with no phone “tag.”

2.         Put your email address on the resume, preferably in a “link” format.

3.         A resume is a marketing piece; make sure you list your achievements, awards, and accomplishments on the resume. These are the historical facts that distinguish you from other similarly qualified candidates.

4.           Unless you have a very specific “Objective,” leave it off your resume. An employer may use the objective to disqualify you for an interview if your objective doesn’t match the position that is open.

5.         Contrary to what is often taught in school, the preferred resume format is historical rather than functional. It is important for the decision maker to see, in chronological order, the positions and responsibilities you’ve had over the years.

6.         Each position listed on the resume should include the years of employment.

7.         Older workers sometimes leave early work experience off their resume in an effort to disguise their age, based on the assumption that companies prefer younger workers. This is a mistake. Firms prefer workers who are best qualified for the position and older workers have more experience, maturity, and insight than younger workers. In fact, age and experience provide older employees with a competitive advantage over younger workers; it is the one qualification that a younger candidate cannot offer.

8.         Proofread your resume and then have someone else proofread it for you. You don’t want typos, misspellings or unclear statements to hurt your chances for an interview.

9.        Depending on the number of years in the workforce, a one or two page resume is sufficient. The longer your resume is, the less likely it is to be read. Start your resume by putting down the required information (dates, employer, title, responsibility) and then add the information you are most interested in having a decision maker read. Everything you add after this point will dilute the resume, so add judiciously.

10.      Stylistically, your resume should be simple and straightforward. Attempts to make the resume fancy or eye-catching just detract from your qualifications.

11.      If your resume runs more than one page, do not put page numbers within the body of the resume since the actual page breaks will vary depending on the software and display mode on the viewer’s computer. The proper way to insert page numbers is in the header or footer. If you don’t know how to do this, leave it alone.

12.      Resumes today are typically emailed to an employer and emailed from one person to another within a company. Don’t bother faxing or mailing.

13.      Cover letters should be kept short and to the point, as they are often not read, especially if lengthy.

14.      Don’t call your resume a “CV” unless you work for an academic institution.

Sample resume

Michael G. Smith, Executive Recruiter

www.smithrecruiting.com

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