Resume Design: Tips and Templates that get Results!

By Rikka Brandon and Erin Mayer

 

Employers prefer crisp-looking resumes that get to the point. If your resume is wordy, unappealing visually, or boring- it will get tossed in only minutes.

Layout  
Add interest and clarity by using bullets, indents and varying font styles (such as bold and italic letters). Avoid using unconventional fonts or adding photos or graphics.

Length  
The general rule is: one page for early-career (entry level to 5-10 years); two pages for mid-career candidates. 

Job Data  
Provide the reader with relevant detail about your past and present employers, such as product information, size and physical location.  How many did you manage both directly and indirectly? What was your territory? Who were your customers, etc.

Measurables  
Quantify your job duties, reporting relationships and achievements with actual numbers.  Especially in the building industry, numbers are key.  You should be able to back up these tangibles with proof, as well.

Job and Education Dates
Make sure the dates are clear and without gaps. If you’re a mid- to late-career candidate, you can save space by lumping early-career jobs together. I would recommend NOT putting in phrases like ‘over 25 years experience in’ as it can age you rather than make you look experienced.  If you’ve got a role on your resume that is from years and years ago and is of no relevance to the position you’re seeking- leave it off.

Degree Credentials
Please be accurate-and honest. Misrepresenting your degree is unethical, and could result in consequences that are embarrassing-or worse.  Add in any certifications, awards, trainings, etc.  If you are currently working on a Six Sigma Black Belt- say that! If you’re only two classes away from an MBA, do tell!  List as many as you can that showcase your qualifications and ambition.

10 Keys to a Dynamite Resume!

By Rikka Brandon

To help you construct a better, more powerful resume, here are ten overall considerations in regard to your resume’s content and presentation:

1. Position title and job description. Provide your title, plus a detailed explanation of your duties and accomplishments. Since job titles are often misleading or their function may vary from one company to another, your resume should tell the reader exactly what you’ve done and how well you did it.

2. Clarity of dates and place. Document your work history and educational credentials accurately. Don’t leave the reader guessing where and when you were employed, or when you earned your degree.

3. Explicitness. Let the reader know the nature, size and location of your past employers, and what their business is.

4. Detail. Specify some of the more technical, or involved aspects of your past work or training, especially if you’ve performed tasks of any complexity, or significance.

5. Proportion. Give appropriate attention to jobs or educational credentials according to their length, or importance to the reader. For example, if you wish to be considered for an engineering position, don’t write one paragraph describing your current engineering job, followed by three paragraphs about your summer job as a lifeguard.

6. Relevancy. Confine your information to that which is job-related or clearly demonstrates a pattern of success. Concentrate only on subject matter that addresses the needs of the employer.
 
7. Length. Fill up only a page or two. If you write more than two pages, it sends a signal to the reader that you can’t organize your thoughts, or you’re trying too hard to make a good impression. If your content is strong, you won’t need more than two pages.

8.  Spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Create an error-free document that’s representative of an educated person. If you’re unsure about the correctness of your writing (or if English is your second language), consult a professional writer or editor.

9. Readability. Organize your thoughts in a clear, concise manner. No resume ever won a Nobel Prize for literature; however, a fragmented or long-winded resume will virtually assure you of a place at the back of the line. 

10. Readability. Be sure to select a conventional type style, such as Times Roman or Arial, and choose a neutral background or stationery. If your resume takes too much effort to read, it may end up in the trash, even if you have terrific skills.

Finally, I suggest you write several drafts, and allow yourself time to review your work and proofread for errors. If you have a professional associate whose opinion you trust, by all means, listen to what he or she has to say. A simple critique can make the difference between an interview and a rejection.

Two simple ways to get your resume read.

by Erin Mayer, March 2009

As a jobseeker, your most important tool is your resume.  Through this you get interviews, which lead to offers.  Thus, making sure it gets read by employers is one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of landing a great job.

Often, jobseekers are not aware of just how little time is initially spent determining if their resume represents a strong candidate who should be considered, or someone who should be discarded along with countless others.

What jobseekers need to remember is that employers usually start with a huge number of resumes.  The best jobs elicit massive numbers of applicants, and smart hiring managers frequently search for talent in vast resume databases.  In both cases, hiring managers must, of necessity, find a way to drastically reduce the number of resumes, while simultaneously making sure that the resumes they are left with represent strong candidates. There are two methods by which this is accomplished: personal review and electronic filtering/searching.

The personal method involves the employer going through each resume and determining if it will be saved for closer consideration or tossed out.  It is not unusual for hiring managers to make this initial decision in less than a minute.  With a quick scan, they will either be struck by your words and consider you, or find nothing that immediately appeals to them and toss your resume out with countless others.  In total, they likely see and understand less than 25% of the words on the page.  What they do see needs to pop, or the rest will never be read.

Although there are a number of outside factors affecting the outcome, there are two steps you can take to maximize your resume’s ability to catch readers’ eyes.  First, focus on formatting your resume.  Not chronological or functional formats, but the actual way the words and phrases are aligned on the page.  For example, using lists and bullets can quickly call attention to any series of information.  Indentations, italicizes, underlines, and the like may be used as well.  Every resume is different, so play around with different formats.  Choose the one that, at a very quick glance, most easily and effectively conveys your most impressive and qualifying achievements and characteristics.  By far the best help you can get in this regard is to have family members or friends read it.  Tell them they have 30 seconds to scan it, and then ask them what they got out of it.  Ask them how it portrays you, and what qualities were most clearly expressed in such little time.  There is no substitute for several sets of eyes…the benefit of having other people review your resume before you submit it cannot be overemphasized.  

The second step is your language.  Style, word choice, voice, and grammar can play a huge role in the effectiveness of your resume.  Keep your style short and concise.  Avoid excessive use of adjectives: this eliminates often-unneeded words to give you more room, makes your use of adjectives more meaningful, and helps keep the message clear and unobstructed.  Use powerful action words to emphasize your skills and achievements.  Be sure to only use the active voice.  This consideration requires special treatment.  People use the passive voice so naturally that they often do not even realize they are using it.  The passive voice is “less direct, less bold, and less concise,” all qualities you should strive for in your resume.  “The habitual use of the active voice…makes for forcible writing…of any kind.  Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by…[using] the active voice.” The Purdue University Online Writing Lab is a good resource for brushing up on the active and passive voices.  As far as grammar goes, strive for perfection.  Excellent grammar will do nothing but make your resume clearer and easier to understand, which will prove invaluable to someone who only has 30 seconds to look at it.  Check out a copy of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style.  Every quote above is from it (section 14 to be exact).

Electronic filtering and searching is the second method by which employers “weed out” resumes.  On TopBuildingJobs, employers can search through our resume database by company or keywords, such as Purchasing Manager, Vice President of Sales, etc…  Some companies run more specific searches on their own databases, sorting by any number of relevant words or phrases.  Identifying keywords for the position or area you are interested in can make sure your resume comes up when employers perform this type of electronic filtering.  Again, the possibilities are varied and numerous, and depend on the specific position, company, area, expertise, etc… that you are interested in. 

Maximizing your resume for both personal review and electronic filtering and searching will give you the best possible chance of having your resume earnestly considered and carefully read.  It is the first step a company takes in hiring you, so prepare for it carefully.  Go get that job!