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Being someone that just entered the job market about 2 months ago after graduation from a four year school, I placed the emphasis on creating a résumé to give to potential employers. In fact, I even met with some of my universities “career development” professionals that help me craft and hone my résumé, making sure that it was the best it could be.
But according to many of the tech, productivity, and social media experts online, my résumé was all wrong. According to many of these outlets I shouldn’t even be using a résumé at all.
I consider myself to be a tech-geek type of guy, trying to keep up with the latest and greatest stuff online and in the technology realm. But I notice most times that many of these “experts” online give advice that they and their direct colleagues hold to be true and not what the mainstream still knows to be true.
The résumé is dead… sort of
The social media experts will tell you that the résumé is dead, and that if you are trying to get a job in today’s market that using one will not only get you overlooked, but will almost guarantee you not to get a job.
That’s not entirely the truth.
The idea that the résumé is dead could be true in some fields, like graphic and web design, marketing and social media jobs, some development and programming jobs, etc., but to say that it is dead (period) is pretty hyperbolic.
So, here is what these experts should really be telling you:
“A résumé alone is in bad company”
Why you need more than a résumé
Listen, if you are going for a position in the aforementioned fields, then making something other than a résumé is the right thing to do. But, if you are in the other 90% of applicants in the world in other fields you have to have a strong résumé along with some other things.
I will give an example of something I know the best, software development. When applying for a programmer analyst or developer type of position it’s important to have the following things:
- A strong résumé. Also ditch the “objective” section, that is so 2000′s. Instead consider using an “executive” or “skills” summary where you highlight what you are the best at right off the top. It helps when HR people are going through hundreds if not thousands of candidate profiles.
- A creative, well thought out, custom, cover letter. Cover Letters is where you can show some more about yourself that isn’t in your résumé and where you can show your communication skills. Also, if you have heard of the position through someone in the company, this is a good place to name drop. Yeah, maybe a little sleazy, but it works.
- Information regarding your current or latest projects. Including a link to your site or online profiles at GitHub or Codeplex (remember for software developers) is an awesome way to show potential employers that you are busy and that you really love to do what you are applying for.
Giving your employer some stuff to pick through rather than just a simple résumé will surely get you noticed. I remember how interested my potential employers were when I had that I wrote about technology and software and included links to some of these writings.
Remember, it isn’t that hard to stand out from the status quo; anything more than a résumé and dinky cover letter will do the trick.
How to hone your résumé to be the best it can be
Since you need a résumé for most “mainstream” type of jobs, you need to make sure that it is honed and looks awesome. I don’t agree with the “social media experts” that employers will laugh at the idea of sending in a résumé in 2011, but I do agree that they will if you don’t meet the following criteria in your résumé.
- No spelling mistakes. Seriously, NO SPELLING MISTAKES. Checking for spelling errors is cheap. If you have spelling errors on your résumé you should consider it to be complete garbage.
- No cliché and run-of-the-mill résumé sayings. If you have “strong interpersonal skills, productivity skills, and communication skills”, that’s pretty cool. But don’t write it like that. Cookie-cutter sayings are noticed a mile away by HR professionals. Be creative and avoid clichés like the plague.
- Length doesn’t really matter. Many people argue about this but in reality having a two page résumé is pretty good. I don’t agree with the idea of student coming out of college only having one page résumé. To me that means you really haven’t done enough. Coming out of school mine was about a page and three quarters and after talking to a few HR reps in large companies that looked it over, they all agreed that the length was good. Don’t worry about length, worry about content.
So, the next time you are online looking for a job just see how many companies don’t require a résumé; it won’t be many. Unless they are social media companies. But, if you want to make sure that you résumé is kept up with the times, try to include more than just a simple, dull, boring résumé with cover letters and links to other work online.
I’m amused how much emphasis you put on spelling errors, and then 2 paragraphs later write “Coming out of SHOOL mine was about a page…”
Whoops. ;)
Yes, whoops is right :)
The resume is certainly far from dead especially in fields where there is a lot of face to face interactions as in corporate sales careers. I’m a former hiring manager in the pharmaceutical industry and too often, I see resumes that are just simply rehashes of job descriptions of past positions. Although there should be some job descriptions on the document, these do not separate the candidate from the hundreds of other candidates out there for the same positions. They all start to look the same.
In order to be successful with resumes, one must stand out and one of the things I always suggest is that in addition to just job description text, one should have unique success examples that highlight various skills that will be important to the job being interviewed for. These are unique successes that nobody else can claim and the more impressive these are (specific sales figure achievements for example), the more one will stand out from the piles of other resumes sitting in the HR staffer’s office.
The big advantage any job seeker has is to realize that most resumes look the same. Same boring language, same boring content and same boring format. Your challenge is to create a resume that first attracts attention visually and secondly is interesting enough to draw the employer in.
“That so few dare to be different is an incredible opportunity” Guru Eduardo
I really like your point about including links to stuff if you’re looking for a job in the tech field. I can imagine your potential employers would be impressed with your links to your writing–it would be cool to have a guy apply for a techie job who could also kick butt when it comes to writing articles. It shows you can articulate your thoughts and communicate well with the client. Kudos!
As, what I call, a resume strategist, I direct my customers to focus on skills, talents and achievements and not responsibilities. Qualified achievements are most important. You just never know where that recruiter is going to start reading first so you want your resume to be filled with only achievements relevant to the job. And if you feel you don’t have a lot of achievements (though I can usually help my client to find quite a few), then you fill your resume with skills that you have learned and illustrate your inherent talents in the job/industry.
Transferable skills are also really important for those who are looking to branch out into a different job.
Studies have also proven that cover letters are typically overlooked by recruiters. Certainly that is my experience as a past recruiter and as a resume strategist. When you have 500 resumes+cover letters to go through, resume is king and that’s where I suggest that my clients spend 90% of their work.
You didn’t mention linkedin. What are your thoughts on how your tips apply to linkedin? I find that linkedin doesn’t support the most effective resume format and I’m trying to work around that…..
The interview is more important. A well qualified person with no personality will not get a job over someone a little less qualified with a great personality. I’ve gotten a few jobs having no idea what I was applying for :-)
Well, I still believe in resumes. They need to be structured and polished and express what needs to be expressed, but they are still valuable and workable. Amen, they are not quite dead.
No doubt that some fields no longer focus on the classic resume. However, they are alive and well in most industries.
My best piece of advice is to ensure the decision maker actually sees it. Review the job ad and the company website to find out exactly who your future boss is, and make sure that s/he gets a copy. Don’t let an HR flunky screen you out.
Also, as someone who regularly scan resumes, get rid of the ‘say nothing’ phrases. Thoughts like ‘out of the box thinker,’ and ‘highly skilled engineer’ are just filler. As stated above, take the time to spell out some of your projects, and how your skills were applied.
If you’re interested in jobs with the federal government, I recently wrote an article on the subject:
http://www.morebettersmarts.com/2011/08/get-a-government-job/
Also, and I have seen this before, make sure your email address is professional. Names like ‘misskitty69′ or ‘keggerdude,’ shouldn’t be at the top of your resume. Gmail is free, so get a new address.
Rick