Month: June 2008

Resume Language

An often overlooked element of every resume is the choice of verbs. Although most job seekers try to write a resume that will make an impact and have a strong impression, a large number fail at this. To maximize the effectiveness of your resume, you need to choose verbs with impact.

The typical bullets in the work experience section falls into one of three categories: No Verb, Weak Verbs, or Strong Verbs.

No Verbs

Some job seekers put bullets under their work experience that don’t have a verb. Typically, these are general responsibilities. Having responsibility for something says nothing about an individual’s success or potential in that role. Use of these should be minimized.

Examples:

  • Responsible for…

  • Ability to…

  • Strong experience with…

  • Accomplished at…

Weak Verbs

Passive voice and low impact verbs are slight step up from not having a verb, but they’re still not great. Typically, they focus on responsibilities and not accomplishments. The main problem with these is that they do little to differentiate one job seeker from another. Use of these should be limited.

Examples:

  • Charged with…

  • Reported to…

  • Interacted with…

  • Provided…

  • Monitored…

  • Oversaw…

  • Managed…

  • Assisted with…

Strong Verbs

Writing with strong verbs will do several things for your resume. First, it will sound better and less wishy-washy. Second, it will focus the reader on what you did, not what you were responsible for. Finally, it will force you to include examples of your accomplishments. Where possible, you should use strong verbs.

Examples:

  • Achieved…

  • Sold…

  • Designed…

  • Exceeded…

  • Implemented…

  • Streamlined…

  • Improved…

  • Saved…

  • Grew sales…

  • Reduced costs…

Try to use strong verbs and language that makes an impact. It will help your resume stand out. Just remember one thing, the choice of verb is only a component of writing an effective resume. Using a strong verb doesn’t guarantee that a bullet will make an impact. The key is providing examples of your success.

Hobbies on a Resume

I do not like to see personal information on a resume. I always wonder whether the job seeker ran out of professional information to put on their resume. Space is limited and anything you put on your resume is prioritized over everything else. So, family information, hobbies and volunteer work should not displace details that are directly related to the position you are seeking.

Now, having said that, here’s the last line of a resume I received:

Hobbies: Drag Racing, Camping, Dirt Bike Riding and Woodworking

If you’re thinking that I probably hate this – you’re wrong. This is one of the few situations where this is actually a positive on the resume – and it not because I like any of these hobbies.

The reason these hobbies are a good thing on the resume is because they relate very directly to the experience and goals of the job seeker. This individual has more than 20 years of experience with auto parts, auto repair and auto racing. Moreover, there objective is to work in an automotive repair service department.

With this background and objective, the Drag Racing and Dirt Bike experience become significant. The woodworking doesn’t hurt, but isn’t as significant.

Now, including Camping is a waste of space, but given that it’s only one word, I can live with it.

Worst Resume of the Week

I received a resume today that was so bad, I need write about it.  The resume is from a federal employee with more than 30 years in various supervisory and management positions within government.  The resume is almost a guide for what not to do.  Here are the basics:

  • 6 Pages – the resume is six pages long, written in paragraph form.  There’s no way I’m going to read all of this. 
  • 808 words – the first job listed has a description that covers one and half pages – a full 808 words.  This is longer than most resumes – I had to check this and pulled 10 other resumes at random and found they had an average of 668 words, with only four of them having more than 808 words. 
  • No accomplishments – I read the first page of the resume doesn’t have a single accomplishment on it (I stopped reading there). 
  • Acronyms – There are so many government acronyms in the resume, I honestly have no idea what this person did.
  • Hours per week – The job seeker listed for each job that it was a 40 hr/wk job and that the role was as a permanent employee.  This isn’t important information. 
  • Nine Digit Zip – The job seeker provided the full address for each position they held, along the nine digit zip code.  This is overkill.
  • Continuing Education – The job seeker lists EVERY class, seminar and lecture they have been to in their 30+ year career. Continuing education should be included on your resume.   But listing everything is overkill.  I really don’t need to know that this job seeker received one hour of EEO training in 1985, or two hours of safety training in 1976. 

Although I could continue giving examples of problems with this resume, the bottom line is that it fails.  Despite the overwhelming amount of detail, I don’t understand what this individual has done or what they are qualified for.  There is also nothing that indicates to me what this job seeker is seeking.  Without the answer to these questions, it’s impossible to make a connection to an opportunity.  I’m left with two options:  click delete or take a lot of time interviewing the job seeker to answer these questions.

Professional Development on Your Resume

Developmental Roles

One of the resumes I looked at today was from a very successful sales rep. This individual had a good track record over the last 10 years. They listed a number of examples of growing sales and exceeding expectations. Their background is impressive.

When I got to the bottom of their resume, it just stopped. The end of their resume (with names masked for confidentiality):

<Retail Sales Company> City, ST Mo/Year to Mo/Year
Management Trainee

Performed and managed operational functions with a high degree of autonomy and initiative.
Developed and executed innovative strategies to enhance service levels.

Education:

<School Name> University, City, ST Mo/Year
Bachelor of Arts

This resume misses two opportunities. First, during this individual’s career, they list no continuing education or professional development. According to their resume, their education stopped when they graduated.

Second, the two bullets for the Management Trainee position highlight autonomy and innovation, instead of successfully mastering the skills and techniques of the training program. I’m sure this firm taught a good regime of management, leadership and sales skills. Based on the career progression after this position, I’m confident that the job seeker got some benefit out of the position. And yet, the most noteworthy thing that they have to talk about is that they were “autonomous” in a training program.

A much better approach would be to detail the skills learned and the experience mastered during the training. This could go in the work experience section or in the education section. It really depends on which area needs to be strengthened.

Cover Letter Example

Here’s the first paragraph of a cover letter I got today.

Hi,

I am <Full Name> and I am looking for gainful employment with a company that is seeking professionalism, transitional skills, and someone to become an asset to their company.

My first impression is that this is a little too informal – I don’t see many cover letters that start with “Hi”. After this, the introduction of “I am <Name>…” is a waste of space.

The rest is very bland. It essentially says that the job seeker is looking for a job and that the company they want to work for will hire people that professional, skilled and a benefit to the company – as opposed to all the companies out there that try to hire unprofessional, unskilled people that are a detriment to their company.

Another problem with this is that the job seeker doesn’t say they meet these very low requirements.

Now, this job seeker is actually a senior manager in the IT field, and they have some good skills and experience.

Here’s a reworded version that I would prefer:

To whom it may concern:

I am an extremely experienced IT manager with a successful track record of selling large IT systems to commercial and government customers. I am seeking a sales management or account management role, where I can utilize my experience at opening new accounts and winning government contracts.

The reason I like this working is twofold. First, it is specific. It states clearly what the job seeker is seeking. Instead of “gainful employment,” the role and industry are clearly mentioned. Second, the statement goes on to show what the job seeker will do for the company – open new accounts and win government contracts.

Remember, the cover letter is just a teaser to get the reader interested. It should focus on how the job seeker is going to provide a benefit to the company – and not just say “and be an asset to the company.”

Military Resumes: Assets Managed

One piece of information that I see on a lot of transitioning military officer resumes is the value of the assets that were managed. The numbers are usually very large but not necessarily impressive. Here’s an example from a JMO’s resume:

Coordinated unit readiness efforts including the maintenance of 22 vehicles and equipment valued in excess of $150 million.

While $150 million is a lot of money, the fact that the military spends a ton of money on high tech vehicles doesn’t mean a whole lot. If you were hiring this person, would it make a difference if they what equipment they were commanding? A vehicle replacing the Humvee, the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle), costs $528,000. An M1A1 Tank have a replacement cost of $4.3 million. Back in 1996, we were spending $18 million on each Apache Helicopter.

The dollars do reflect the complexity of the equipment, but what’s important is the scope of responsibility.  That is dictated more by the number of vehicles and the number of people commanded. If you were assessing experience, who would be more impressive, someone that had command over one Apache, four M1A1 tanks or 34 MRAPs? The dollars are the same, but the responsibility isn’t.

Another reason that equipment value shouldn’t be on a resume is that it is very rare on civilian resumes. Having it on your resume if you are transitioning from the military just sets you apart – but not in a good way.

Bottom Line: The dollar value of military equipment is a minor detail. There are a lot of other details of your experience and accomplishments that are more important and should be on your resume instead of the dollars.

A Good Cover Letter

Here’s a cover letter that I got with a resume:

I am currently looking for a position with a biotech or medical device company in the <Metro Area> area. I have over 5 yrs experience in the pharmaceutical industry and over 10 yrs total in sales. I am extremely driven and I have many accomplishments to my name.

Thank you in advance for reviewing my resume. I look forward to the opportunity to speak with you.

I like this cover letter a lot. It’s very concise, so I’m likely to read it. That’s the key – I usually don’t read more than a few sentences of a long cover letter. If you write several paragraphs, I’ll probably just read the first sentence of the first two or three paragraphs, and then skip on to the resume.

The letter is specific, giving the industry and geography the candidate is seeking. It also provides some interest with some information on the job seeker’s experience.

A cover letter doesn’t need to be several pages long. In fact, a short cover letter is much more likely to get read.

Your Questions

Every interview will conclude with the interviewer asking you if you have any questions. It’s expected that you will have a couple. Remember that you’re still being interviewed at this point, even though you’re asking the questions.

Five things you want to accomplish with the questions you ask:

  1. Get a better understanding of the position and the opportunity

  2. Learn more about the company

  3. Learn more about the culture and working environment

  4. Build a closer relationship with the interviewer

  5. Demonstrate that you have done your homework and prepared for the interview

Four common question types:

  1. Review the company’s website and read recent press releases. Ask a question about a new initiative the company is pursuing and how it will affect the company.

  2. Ask a question about an aspect of the job description not covered by the interviewer.

  3. Ask the interviewer to discuss why they joined the company and why they’re still there.

  4. Ask the interviewer to explain the key challenges that the position you are interviewing for needs to overcome.

One thing that many job seekers don’t consider is asking the same question to each interviewer. There’s no reason why you can’t get different perspectives. If you have a couple questions prepared, you may be able to use them through a full day of interviewing. Just remember, the questions need to be related to the interviewer – for example, an engineer shouldn’t ask technical questions about the position to interviewers from non-engineering fields. On the other hand, you could ask each interviewer how they feel about a newly announced plan for a corporate merger.

Company Address

One of the resumes I read today listed the full address of each employer. This isn’t common, but I have seen it a number of times. Job seekers going overboard in the level of detail they are providing. Here’s the format the job seeker used:

Company Name: 123 Main Street, City, ST 12345-6789 Telephone: (123) 456-7890
Start Date to End Date Job Title

Not only did the job seeker provide the address and phone, they listed the full nine digit zip code. I couldn’t tell you my four digit zip code extension and am not interested in knowing yours from every job you have held.

It is important to include the location of each position you have held. This helps tell the story of your career. The detail, though, can be limited to the city and state (or just the country for some overseas positions).

There are two main problems from providing too much detail. First, it takes up space that you could use for more important information. Second, it obscures what’s important. The job title is the last thing listed. This made it more difficult to find. Now, it wasn’t a terrible chore to find – it may have taken an extra second or two on each position. Unfortunately, your resume might only get a 15-30 second look from a hiring manager before they decide to keep it or toss it. With five positions, do you want to waste 5-10 seconds of that time having the reader look for you job titles? That could be as much as a third of the time your resume gets.

Bottom line: Make sure you provide the important information and leave out unimportant details, and make sure the important stuff is easy to find.

The Laundry List

At the top of a resume I received recently was a laundry list of “Areas of Expertise”:

Areas of Expertise

  • Operations / Manufacturing
  • P&L Responsibility
  • Business Plans / Operating Budgets
  • Business Development
  • Bid Estimates / Contract Negotiation
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Six Sigma Methodologies
  • Consolidation / Organization Development
  • Supply Chain / Purchasing
  • Market Research
  • Product Development
  • Outsourcing / Reverse Sourcing

This is something I see a lot. Job seekers listing keywords that they think will get attention. The problem is that it doesn’t set you apart. There is nothing here that says that the job seeker is good at at any of these.

Now, I’m a proponent of having a skills section that is a laundry list of keywords – so why is this bad?

The target audience for the skills section is a computer – specifically the database system your resume may have to get through with a lot of large companies. These databases look for keywords, so you better have them.

The problem with this resume is that they keyword list was at the top. The top of the first page of your resume is the most valuable real estate – far too important to waste on a keyword list.