Tips
Formatting an effective resumé.
By David White
Principal, Sheridan Pharma Talent Search
15+ years in recruiting
30+ years as an advertising copywriter to Associate Creative Director
INTRO
Over the recent years, resume formatting and construction have evolved:
Today, you’re going to have a basic resume and a number of job specific versions.
So get used to the idea of making easy revisions to your Basic resume.
You need a Basic resume
A basic resume would be similar to what you might post on LinkedIn and Indeed.
You need a Job Specific resume
When you have a specific job and its requirement for the position you’re applying for, you need to create a resume just for that position.
Don’t worry, it’ll be easy.
- Job specific resumes are NOT a complete rewrite, just some edits, some additional text, and a slight re-ordering of each section.
Why? You want the keywords and phrases appear in the Summary, and at the beginning of each section of experience where they occur.
Why This Is IMPORTANT!!!
Dirty secrets:
HR, Recruiters, and Hiring Managers skim resumes first, looking for relevant information.
If they don’t see it, most likely your resume is doomed.
IF THEY DO see what is relevant, then they will read it more closely.
Ugly Truth:
Most people initially reviewing your resume look to see why you DON’T fit the job.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR REUSME:
The Summary / Professional Summary
Done properly, your Summary will encourage the reader to keep reading!!!
So spend time getting it right.
Here’s how to create a proper Summary / Professional Summary
At the top:
Under your contact info at the top, should be the following:
Professional Summary or Summary
- We used to write an Objective -- Don’t!!!
- No Objectives because companies don’t care about your objective.
– They want to know what you can do for their organization, what skills you bring beyond the expected, and what are your accomplishments.
Basic Summary
Includes your range of skills & experience
Includes accomplishments – anything you can put numbers to;
- grew sales, review, client base, etc., by ##
- saved, reduced expenses, consolidated by --- & ##s
- awards
- promotions
- speaking engagements
- publications, interviews, quoted in articles
Accomplishments are what will distinguish you from your competition for the position!
Job Specific Summary
Same as above BUT…
- Includes relevant keywords and phrases from the job description specific to your qualifications
In General – Keep the Summary / Professional Summary Brief-
3 to 5 sentences
Or
1 to 2 sentences AND 3 to 5 bullet points
JOB EXPERIENCE SECTIONS
In General:
Order should be in the relevance to the position vs amount of time for each category of responsibilities
Job Specific resume
Order should in in relevance to the job description for the position you’re applying to
Company vs Position
Job title Company
If your industry / profession is status conscience such as law, banking, investments, other financial service, Entertainment, public relations, advertising (big agencies), and consulting to name a few, the Company on top, position beneath it.
Otherwise, Position above Company
Really Important!!!
If you’ve had two or more positions at a company / organization -
- Across from the company / organization’s name, put the start & end dates, or Start date and Present.
For each position, include start and end dates.
Why?
If you just put start & end dates for each position, at first glance or quick skim, it’ll look like you plotted your career on a pogo stick.
You know, job hopper.
What NOT to Include!
The expected
NO-
team player
timely
Microsoft Office
good communications
motivated
problem solving
etc
Length
The goal for your resume is to get a call for an interview!
So, do not put everything in your background in it.
- think of it as an appetizer, not the whole banquet.
Format
Keep sections short
- yes, two pages for those with experience — Except for Ph.D. life scientists, medical writers and medical directors – your CV needs to be as long as necessary to be complete.
Have space between sections – makes it easier for the reader to see key info!!!
- this document is a good example of what I mean
Do not write dense paragraphs!, aka “boilerplate” – the stuff you see in legal documents and software agreements designed to discourage reading except for those who like that stuff and have the time or jobs requiring them to read it.
One last comment
Don’t be surprised if a recruiter asks for a different format.
Do ask why.
If they tell you that’s what their clients want, then do it
What I’m telling you is the current, generally accepted format that I’ve learned in training sessions and online commentary by leaders in the category.