resume tips Archives - Palladian Career Resources

Why Your Resume Should Have a Summary Section

The resume I read today illustrated how important a summary section is. The resume was from a sales professional with around five years of experience. The resume started with candidate’s work experience. Although work experience is extremely important, you are limited in your presentation if you lead off with a work experience section.

A great way to start a resume is with a summary section. This section provides the primary sales pitch to get a hiring manager excited and interested in your resume. Without a summary section, it’s difficult to grab attention fast and keep it.

The problem with starting a resume with your work experience results from the order of the information. You need to put your experience in reverse chronological order. This puts the most recent position at the top.

If your most impressive experience is listed under your most recent job, you’re in good shape. Often, your best selling points will be scattered throughout your career and your resume. This is where a summary section helps. You can gather the most important elements and list them separately at the top of your resume.

To illustrate this, look at the top of the resume I received:

<Employer Name>, Account Manager Sept. ’08 to Present

Manage the relationships with key prospects throughout my region, to ensure that is best placed to win major contracts and associated services

Coordinate internal resources to respond to RFPs and secure business from both new and existing customers

Establish and strengthen customer relationships through developing an intimate knowledge of individual accounts and key stakeholders

The candidate has been in this job for less than a year and lists a few responsibilities, but no accomplishments. In sales, especially a field with large proposals that can take upwards of a year to win, it is difficult to show significant accomplishments in the first few months. This leads to an unfavorable impression of the candidate at the very beginning. He is a sales professional who has not had any success – not the kind of sales pitch that is going to get a person hired.

The core problem is how a hiring manager reads a resume. Hiring managers scan resumes very quickly, focusing on the top of the resume. They also will not assume a candidate is any better than what is presented, and will not assume a candidate has been more successful than the resume presents.

In the case of the resume excerpt above, a typical reaction will be to assume the candidate has been completely unsuccessful. Otherwise, the candidate would have listed something about his success. This leads to an impression in the first 15 seconds that the candidate is an unsuccessful sales professional. The resume will probably be rejected at this point.

The truth is the candidate does have some impressive accomplishments. Unfortunately, he is unlikely to get the opportunity to tell a hiring manager about them because his resume will be rejected at the start of the process.

The solution is easy. Write a short summary section highlighting the key accomplishments and skills of the candidate. This will get a hiring manager excited and motivated them to give a call.

How to Present a String of Short Term Jobs on a Resume

Some industries naturally foster high mobility, while others have undergone major turmoil causing businesses to come and go quickly. Regardless of the cause, if you held a number of short term jobs, presenting your work history can be a challenge.

The challenge comes balancing two priorities. First, you want to highlight your current experience and skills. Second, you want to emphasize your stability and reliability. Putting the jobs at the top of your resume satisfies the first priority but also highlights the lack of stability.

There are a couple of solutions. First, you can choose a functional or hybrid structure. In these structures, you focus the resume on your skills. Near the top of your resume, you list the key skills you want to promote and provide a detailed description of your experience and accomplishments with each skill. This can be very effective in technical careers.

Your goal with a functional or hybrid structure is not to hide your work history. You still need to show where you worked with start and end dates. The goal is to craft a sales presentation for your background focused on your strengths. Trying to hide your work history will backfire. At some point, a hiring manager is going to ask about your work history. If you have created a false perception, when the hiring manager learns the truth, it will cast doubt on everything else in your background.

A second option to consider is listing your work experience and explaining the reasons for leaving each job. If you have worked for a series of companies that all closed or downsized, explaining this situation can help. It explains to the hiring manager why you didn’t stay where you were. You should keep this brief, only a few words. Provide just enough for the hiring manager to understand the cause.

Choosing which option to take will depend on the elements you want to emphasize. You may want to highlight one or two employers because of the reputation of the companies. This requires a chronological resume with your work history near the top of your resume. If you want to emphasize technical skills, consider the functional structure. If you choose the functional structure, this doesn’t preclude you from also explaining why you left each position. You can do both.

Supply Chain Resume Review

The resume and cover letter I read this morning contained a number of mistakes I routinely see. The candidate is a supply chain professional from one of the biggest and best known manufacturing companies.

The cover letter was long, a full page, but it had very little substance. The bulk of the cover letter was content straight from the resume. In fact, there is nothing in the cover letter that isn’t also in the resume. In addition to the substance of the cover, there was a lot of hype. For example, the sentence below is taken from the middle of the cover letter:

I am an interpersonally-skilled team leader with a rapid advancement history and a unique blend of analytical and communication skills.

This sentence will do little to impress a hiring manager. The rapid advancement history is a plus, but the rest of the sentence is just hype. Even worse, the value of the characteristics isn’t clear. I doubt a hiring manager has ever said they need a person that is an “interpersonally-skill team leader” and has “unique blend of analytical and communication skills.” The hiring manager is focused on finding someone that can achieve specific results. Nothing in the cover letter references specific results and accomplishments.

This omission is emphasized in the resume. The resume starts with a Professional Summary. The first line is “Results-driven Logistics & Planning Manager with global supply chain management…” How can a person be results-driven, but fail to list a single accomplishment? It doesn’t make a good impression.

Another problem with resume and cover letter relates to the career progression of the job seeker. This individual spent more than ten years with his last employer. Then, more than six months ago, he stopped working there. There is no explanation why. There are many candidates who have been laid off due to a downsizing or facility closure. Despite this, a hiring manager is unlikely to assume the candidate way laid off. It is more likely the hiring manager will assume the candidate was fired.

If the job seeker was fired, this isn’t a deal breaker. He was with the same company for more than ten years and received a couple of promotions in the process. Most companies will look past a termination, if the candidate can explain why the problems leading to the termination won’t occur in the future.

Recommendations:

A Short and Concise Cover Letter: The cover letter needs to be cut down to under 100 words. At more than 300 words, it isn’t going to get read.
Include Accomplishments in the Cover Letter: The cover letter needs to have some substance. Adding a couple of accomplishments demonstrating past successes can make a very good impression.
Add Accomplishments to the Resume: In a 10+ year career, with a couple of promotions, the job seeker must have done something right. Include a few accomplishments on the resume.
Explain the Gap in Employment: The job seeker has been out of work for six months with no explanation why they left their last position. Including a statement in the cover letter why the job seeker is unemployed can answer what is likely to be the top question by a hiring manager.

Newly published in 2010: Get the best book for Manufacturing Resumes

Resume Writing for Manufacturing Careers - Front Cover

Resume Tip

Resume Tip: Listing awards received on a resume is a good idea if they demonstrate a skill or accomplishment that relates to the job.

Resume Tip: Listing awards received on a resume is a good idea if they demonstrate a skill or accomplishment that relates to the job.

Some job seekers list the awards they received on their resume. This can be a good idea. An award from an employer, customer or industry association provides a third party validation of your success. Some job seekers list awards unrelated to the job or provide no information that explains the award. In either case, it is unlikely an award presented without details or unrelated to the job will help the job seeker.

Present awards that directly relate to the job. Include specifics, including your actions, the competition for the award and how your contributions benefited the company. This will make an impressive presentation. No matter how proud you are of an accomplishment, if it is completely unrelated to your career, it will not add value on your resume.

Resume Tip #12

Resume Tip: Other candidates applying for the same position will have a similar background to you. Set yourself apart with specific accomplishments.

Resume Tip: Other candidates applying for the same position will have a similar background to you. Set yourself apart with specific accomplishments.

In today’s economy, you can count on your competition being as qualified as you are. The candidate that gets hired will demonstrate the potential value they offer better than the other candidates. “Show me, don’t tell me.” Present specific accomplishments and examples of situations where you have used key skills. Most candidates will speak in generalizations and look exactly alike in the hiring manager’s eyes. The candidate that stands out will create a clear image in the mind of the hiring manager of what their performance will look like.

Resume Accomplishment: Saved Less Than 1%

I read a resume today with an accomplishment that stood out. The accomplishment stated the job seeker had saved $60k in the last year on a $14 million budget. This works out to 0.4% of the budget – a very small amount. Despite this, the accomplishment was noteworthy.

In spite of declining sales, labor and expenses were managed proportionally leading to a favorable budget variance of $60k.

The reason this accomplishment is significant is the context the job seeker provides. The company is facing declining sales. This is common today. Managing in a declining sales environment poses unique challenges. Companies have fixed expenses that do not fluctuate with sales. This requires a manager to adjust variable experiences significantly to maintain margins.

The job seeker was able to manage the change in volumes and achieve results similar to plan. In a different bullet, the job seeker provided background details on the position, including responsibility for a budget of $14m and a staff of 140 employees. This provides the scope of the responsibility.

Although the accomplishment is a great addition to the job seeker’s resume, there is one additional detail that would improve it. Adding some measure of how much sales had declined would show a more complete picture. If sales dropped 1%, adapting would be easy. On the other hand, if sales dropped 50%, managing expenses to match this would be a tremendous accomplishment.

Resume Tip #10

Resume Tip: Include on your resume training classes that directly relate to the core skills and activities of the job you are pursuing.

Resume Tip: Include on your resume training classes that directly relate to the core skills and activities of the job you are pursuing.

Staying current in your industry and developing new skills is important to success in a career. This is also important in your job search. Listing the professional development courses you have completed can help sell you to an employer. The key is staying focused on the courses that are relevant. Many job seekers go overboard and list every course, seminar and workshop they have completed. Many of these end up being routine courses every job seeker would have taken, such as basic orientation classes, safety courses or annual regulatory compliance classes. These do not differentiate the candidate.

In our 2008 survey of resumes, we found three quarters of the resumes included continuing education courses.

Functional Resume Example

I read a functional resume today that illustrated clearly why most people should avoid this resume structure. Functional resumes organize information according to the skills or experiences of the job seeker, not the individual jobs. This resume type can be effective for some individuals, but most people are better served by a chronological resume.

The resume was organized with the following sections:

Experience
Accomplishments
Education
Special Training
Technical Skills
Affiliations
Awards & Honors
Professional Work Experience

The resume had a number of problems. By far the biggest was the disconnect between the Experience and Accomplishment sections and the Professional Work Experience section. The Experience section described the candidate’s background in a single paragraph. The Accomplishments section contained a series of paragraphs, each describing a skill.

Both the Experience and Accomplishments sections described a senior executive with advertising and sales experience. The Professional Work Experience section showed a series of jobs, listing the title, company and dates only. The job titles listed in this section were for retail store manager positions. None of the jobs mentioned a VP role in any field, and did not show any advertising or business development roles.

Further clouding the picture was the Education section. The job seeker had bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science. None of the jobs, skills, accomplishments or experiences had anything to do with the IT field. I can understand a person getting a bachelor’s degree in one field and then working in another field. I have trouble understanding what would cause a person to get a master’s in a field but never work in a job remotely close to that field.

If you choose a functional structure for your resume, you need to create a clear picture of your career. Chronological resumes are much easier to write. The sequence of jobs and time in each position helps show the capabilities of the job seeker. In a functional resume, experiences and accomplishments are not tied to a specific position. This can cause confusion.

Recruiter Assessment

As a recruiter, I can’t see a situation when I would want to interview this candidate as long as they have this resume. The resume presents three primary areas of expertise: senior management of advertising and business development, retail store management and IT.

The job seeker did not list any positions where he held a senior management role and no positions in advertising or business development. If I had a VP position, I would find someone with experience in the field long before considering this candidate.

If I was filling a retail store manager position, the candidate would get a solid look, but still not fair well. None of the accomplishments on the resume have anything to do with retail. I would question why a good store manager has to list accomplishments from other fields and can’t include one from retail. There are a lot of good retail managers that can show clearly their performance and accomplishments. They will have a big edge over this candidate.

IT jobs are an even a bigger stretch. The field changes quickly and a few years out of the industry can put someone technically behind. With only a couple degrees and no work experience, the person would only be qualified for an entry level role. In those roles, more recent graduates would have an edge.

You may be wondering if this job seeker has a chance to get hired. With this resume, it’s very unlikely. With a targeted resume focused on one field and a better presentation of the job seeker’s skills, experience and accomplishments in that field, he would greatly improve his chances. The key is to create a solid sales pitch for the desired role.

Choosing a Font for Your Resume

Everyone wants their resume to look good. The font your choose can have a big affect on the presentation of your resume. Some fonts look great on a computer screen. Others look better in print. There are also fonts that look unprofessional no matter how they are viewed.

Everyone wants their resume to look good. The font you choose can have a big effect on the presentation of your resume. Some fonts look great on a computer screen. Others look better in print. There are also fonts that look unprofessional no matter how they are viewed.

There are two types of fonts – Serif and Sans Serif. Serif fonts have details at the end of the lines that make up letters. Sans Serif fonts do not have these details. Below are two of the most common fonts:

Serif Sans Serif

The font on the left is Times New Roman and the font on the right is Arial. Serif fonts are common in print and read very well in this format. They are more difficult to read on a computer screen. Sans Serif fonts are much easier to read on a computer screen. When choosing a font, you will need to decide if you want your resume looking best on screen or in print. For most job seekers, a sans serif font will be the best choice since their resume will be looked at much more on screen.

Selecting the type of font is just the starting point. You then need to choose the specific font. There are two primary factors you should consider. First, you want a font that looks good. Second, you want a font that is widely available. There are fonts that are rare and only show up in a few programs. If the reader of your resume does not have the font you choose, the program will try to find a close match. Unfortunately, the close match might not be that close.

One of the fonts that is being used more frequently that is not yet widely available is Calibri. This is the default font in Microsoft Word 2007. It’s a really good looking font. The problem is that older systems don’t have it. I was working on a computer that didn’t have Word 2007 today and opened a file that had been created in it. The system chose a font that looked like a cartoon font (I would show you what it looks like, but it isn’t a common font and you might not have it). The resume looked terrible.

Common Fonts

Sticking with one of these fonts will not guarantee that every reader of your resume will see it exactly the way you want, but it will improve the odds. These fonts are available on more than 90% of the computers on the internet. By contrast, Calibri is on less than half the computers (code style provides statistics on the availability of fonts).

If you absolutely have to use a font that no one else on the planet has, there are options. You can embed the font in the file. Word allows you to do this in the Tools menu under options. Embedding the font will allow a reader of your document to install the font on your system. Not all fonts can be embedded though. Some have licensing limitations that prevent this.

You may be bored with Arial or Verdana, but they look reasonably good. Another font may look better, but may also get replaced with something much worse.

Resume Tip #8

Resume Tip: Don’t over exaggerate your experiences or accomplishments.

Resume Tip: Don’t over exaggerate your experiences or accomplishments.

Your resume is a sales pitch for why you should be hired. You are expected to present your background positively, but this does not mean that you should characterize your experience as something that it isn’t. Your resume must be an honest depiction of what you have done. Some job seekers think exaggeration and lies will get them a job. In reality, one over exaggeration can cause a hiring manager to doubt everything in a resume and reject the candidate.

Some job seekers with great accomplishments struggle with presenting them so they will be both impressive and believable. If you are uncertain of the impression you are making with your resume, get a second opinion.