Tag: Resume Writing

Failing to Customize

I read a cover letter of IT professional that was one of the most general I have every seen. It was over 300 words long but didn’t say anything of substance. In the IT field, technical skills and experience with those skills are the critical factors. Despite this, the candidate failed to specify anything about their technical skill.

The first sentence of the cover letter illustrates how general and unimpressive the cover letter was:

I am writing to express my interest in the position of [Network Administrator / Help Desk], advertised as being open with your company at this time.

Now, you need to understand that I haven’t advertised a network administrator or help desk position in a very long time. In fact, my firm doesn’t advertise positions much any more. We are very proactive in our sourcing of candidates for our recruiting clients. This resume was completely unsolicited.

Here is what I think happened. The job seeker had a template for their cover letter that they customized.  Over time, they grew frustrated with the lack of success and moved towards a mass mailing strategy, deciding to send their resume to hundreds of recruiters. They attempted to write a very general cover letter that would appeal to the greatest number. By doing this, they minimize their odds of impressing each recruiter.

In particular, putting the job title in brackets leads me to believe that the job seeker wrote this cover letter with the intention of replacing the actual job title each time they sent it out. When they decided to send out resumes to recruiters that didn’t advertise a position, they took the short cut and just sent the template without any changes. Not a great first impression.

The cover letter goes on with very general statements. When I finished the cover letter, my expectations were very low. I planned to read the first few lines of the resume to confirm my assessment of the cover letter.  The resume turned out to be much stronger the cover letter.

The start of the resume highlighted specific skills and experiences.  The job seeker had a number of impressive accomplishments, good skills and several certifications. Overall, I would say a pretty good network administration candidate. This was completely opposite to the impression the cover letter made.

Fortunately, the resume led off with several details that helped make a strong impression. If it had not, there is a good chance a hiring manager would read only the first few lines and discarded the resume.  The cover letter made such a poor impression the resume would only get a very quick look.

Implementing Company Strategy

The key to an effective resume is demonstrating the value you will provide a company. On a resume I reviewed recently, the job seeker failed in this basic goal.

Below is an outline of the content of the resume:

Education

Bachelor’s Degree (the degree was in a field unrelated to the career of the job seeker)

 

Work Experience

Job Title, Company, Dates (low level management position)

  • Implemented company strategy as a

  • Coordinated client service with <list of industries>

  • Ensure <industry specific regulation> compliance

  • Manage claims resolution

The resume went on to list several additional positions with similar bullets. This resume does nothing to differentiate the job seeker from others in their field.

The one thing that really stood out for me on the resume was first bullet. Remember that a hiring manager will scan a resume the first time they look at it. In that first scan, only the most important content is read. The reader will typically focus on the top half of the first page and the first line or two of each section. This makes the first bullet of the first job one of the most likely elements to be read.

This bullet says that the job seeker implemented the company strategy for their position. This is essentially saying they followed the guidelines for their position. It certainly doesn’t indicate something exceptional. I’ve actually read similar statements on a number of resumes in the past. My best guess as to why someone would put this on their resume is they can’t think of anything specific.

The rest of the bullets are equally unimpressive. The second lists their basic job function. The third lists a standard government regulation everyone in their industry must follow. The last bullet lists another basic responsibility. The overall effect of the four bullets is to emphasize how unexceptional the candidate is.

In a competitive job market, it is very important to show the value you will provide and why you are better than your competition. If you don’t indicate give a reason why you should be hired, the hiring manager won’t try to think of one for you.

Superhuman

Thursday night, I watch “The Real Superhumans and the Quest for the Future Fantastic” on the Science Channel. The show profiled individuals with abilities that are incredible and verge on superpowers. It was very interesting. When the show started, several of the people profiled in the show were presented in 30 second teasers. The purpose of the teasers was to get the viewer excited about the show and motivate them to keep watching. It obviously worked with me.

The teasers were very similar to a cover letter, the executive summary on a resume, or the tell me about yourself answer in an interview. The first person the show presented was the Iceman. The teaser showed the Iceman running on a snow covered road wearing only shorts. He didn't have shoes, a shirt or a hat – just running shorts.

The teaser explained that the Iceman was running in Lapland, a location above the arctic circle. Let's look at the initial statement of the narrator:

It is January and the temperature is -26 degrees Celsius. This man has been running on ice and snow, barefoot, for over one hour. He does not have frostbite. He does not have hypothermia and he feels no pain. He has the power to live in the cold. To withstand temperatures so frigid others would die. He does this by willing himself to heat up.

Looking at this, the Iceman is positioned very clearly. The teaser leads off with an accomplishment. Running in freezing temperatures barefoot for an hour. This was presented to get attention fast. The teaser then explains the significance of the accomplishment – no frostbite, hypothermia or death. Finally, it gives an explanation of how he achieves these results – he wills himself to warm up.

When you write a cover letter or resume, you want to grab the hiring manager's attention quickly. Most people provide facts about their background, but little in the way of accomplishments. This is how most people would present the introduction to their resume.

Experienced at enduring cold conditions. 10 year track record of successfully running in cold weather. Able to warm up my body at will. Experienced swimming in near freezing water.

This teaser doesn't generate much interest. It's a set of facts that don't qualify the talent of this individual. A person in a polar bear club that runs around in a pair of shorts and then jumps in a local river for a few seconds every winter could have a similar start to their resume. The teaser in the show made it absolutely clear that the Iceman was far from ordinary – separating him from everyone else on the planet.

Another thing the teaser did was present the title of the individual – Iceman – before the teaser. This helped to create a single image of the individual that could be remembered. It is very helpful if you can generate a word or phrase in the mind of the hiring manager that they can use to remember you and your background. Something that symbolizes why you are exceptional.

If the teaser for the show was in fact a resume, cover letter or interview answer, it would go too far. I don't recommend giving yourself a nickname like the Iceman. Supply Chain Superstar, Manufacturing Man, or The Energetic Engineer would all come across very badly. What you need to do is create a picture of one or more accomplishments that is so clear and impactful that the hiring manager develops their own phrase to remember you.

Another noteworthy aspect of the teaser was the choice of people to profile. The Iceman was the first. There were other people in the program whose abilities are arguably much more impressive. So, why was the Iceman picked to be first?

The Iceman's ability and accomplishments were very easy to demonstrate quickly. Some of the abilities presented later in the show took several minutes to explain. They were too complicated to capture in a word or phrase. The Iceman, with just a nickname and a few sentences, could be presented very clearly.

This is a good lesson for your resume and cover letter. The most impressive accomplishment from your background may not be the best to present first. A less impressive accomplishment that can be read and understood very quickly could be more effective. The reason for this is the same as the reason the show had the teaser – motivate the hiring manager to read the rest of the resume. If the most impressive accomplishment is so complicated that the hiring manager doesn't understand it quickly, they may move on without ever getting it. This makes it completely ineffective.

Provide the Scope of Your Experience

I read a resume today that started with a section titled “Highlights of Experience.”  This can be a good way to start a resume because it focuses on the key elements of the job seeker's background. 

The resume I read listed a number of vague bullet points.  One in particular that I see on a lot of resumes was:

  • P & L Management

Having profit and loss responsibility for a department or company is a great experience.  Many positions require this background and it is good to list it.

The problem with the bullet the job seeker listed is it gives no measure of the scope of the responsibility.  I can't tell if the guy managed a bake sale with a $20 budget over a weekend or had a billion dollar budget he managed for a decade. 

Adding just a little detail – number of years and the size of the budget – gives sufficient detail to understand the scope of responsibility.  For example:

  • Full P&L management of budgets ranging from $2 million to $5 million over eight years.

This bullet provides sufficient background on the P&L experience to help differentiate the job seeker.  Without providing detail, the hiring manager will do one of two things.  They may discount the experience as insignificant and forget it or they will ask for details of the experience in an interview.  If you want the your P&L experience to be a selling point, provide the details up front.  Otherwise, you need something else in your resume to sell your potential and get you the opportunity to interview.

Accomplishments

If you have read a number of my posts on resumes, you probably know that I'm a strong proponent of providing accomplishments and not just responsibilities.  Listing “P&L Management” is a responsibility.  The rewritten bullet above adds details of the scope but is still just listing a responsibility.  Having a lot of responsibility is good, but it's what you do with it.  For example, the US Congress is responsible for passing the budget of the federal government.  If we were looking at a Representative or Senator, there is no bigger budget in the world to manage.  Despite this, the size of the budget deficits we have had is not a selling point for P&L Management. 

Even better than providing the scope of the responsibility is providing a specific accomplishment.  Something like this would be great:

  • P&L Management:  Full P&L management of budgets ranging from $2 million to $5 million over eight years.  At ABC Company, took over a department with a $4 million budget that had missed budget by $250k the prior year.  Implemented new cost control procedures and replaced numerous suppliers, leading to a $125k positive variance the first year.

If you were a hiring manager looking for a manager that could manage a budget effectively, this example would make a significant impression. 

Compare this to the original bullet that is typical of so many resumes.  The original bullet does nothing to differentiate the job seeker from their competition.  The second bullet provides some good information that may separate the job seeker from some of their competition.  Only the 3rd bullet sells the candidate's background.  If we were looking at three candidates, I know which one I would want to interview first.

When to Use Abbreviations and Acronyms

Each industry has specific terminology and language that is common within the industry but unknown outside the field. This jargon can be so common in an industry that some practitioners forget that others outside the field have never heard many of terms.

When you write a resume, this can lead to a big mistake. Using too much jargon can make your resume unreadable for hiring managers in another industry.

The easiest way to confuse a reader is with unnecessary abbreviations and acronyms. A reader may be able to figure out the basic meaning of a technical phrase but an acronym is often impossible to decipher. This makes it important to avoid acronyms.

When you have the choice of writing a multi-word phrase that is specific to your industry or writing the acronym, use the phrase. If it is a phrase you are going to use repeatedly, you can put the acronym in parentheses and then use the acronym later in your resume. By doing this, you define the acronym for the reader.

The one use of this technique that I absolutely hate is when a person writes out a phrase, provides the acronym and then never uses the acronym or phrase again. The point of including the acronym is to make the text more concise by only writing out the phrase once. This only works if you have a long phrase that you use often and can replace with the acronym. If you don't use the phrase multiple times, there is no benefit to adding the acronym. It actually makes the text less concise.

If you have one technical phrase you want to use in your resume, this isn't a critical concern. The real challenge is integrating multiple terms and phases. The more jargon you use, the less comprehensible your resume will be. A hiring manager doesn't want to spend a lot of time figuring out what your resume means. If they can't see the value you offer quickly, your resume might get discarded.

As a general rule, try to keep the number of highly technical terms to one or two per paragraph. More than this, and the terminology may detract from the impression you make. 

If you are seeking a position within the same industry, this is less of a concern. It is critical to limit the technical terminology, jargon and acronyms when you are attempting to change industries. 

Too Much Tech Speak

One of the resumes I reviewed today went overboard with the technology terminology.  The job seeker worked in the aircraft industry.  In their most recent job, they listed the models numbers of 19 separate components.  These models weren't airplane models like 747.  They were the model of valves, servos and electronic controls. 

It should be obvious that this level of detail should be avoided.  The type of equipment that this individual has experience with can be summarized very effectively in a few words.  Instead, the job description is nearly 500 words.  I'm a strong proponent of short, concise resumes, and recommend 250-500 words.  That's for the entire resume – not just one job.  Then entire resume was over 900 words long. 

This is far too long.  The level of detail is too high and it's a very tough read.  Few hiring managers are going to read much of this resume.  Most will discard it.

The resume is made even worse by a major omission.  The job seeker failed to include his job title. I can guess what job this person was doing, but it's only a guess.  Without a job title, it makes it very difficult to assess the job seeker. 

I think I know what happened that led to a resume this bad.  The job seeker started writing about their current position.  He is proud of the range of technical expertise and wrote in great detail, including specific information intended to impress a hiring manager.  Once written, it was absolutely clear to the job seeker what their employment entailed and they forgot to include a job title.  They may also feel that a job title pigeon holes them in a way that misses some of their capability.

A hiring manager looks at a resume from a different perspective.  It's likely the hiring manager is not a technical expert.  They may not understand the significance of many of the terms used, and will disregard this information.  Terms that help categorize the job seeker are very helpful and the job title is at the top of the list. 

We're moving into a tougher economy.  Think about how this resume will be reviewed. 

An ad is posted for a technical position by a large aircraft component's manufacturer.  This job seeker sends in their resume.  In a strong economy, the company usually gets a couple hundred resumes.  With unemployment rising they could get more than a thousand. 

The first step in the screening process is for a human resources representative to review the resumes, and cut get the total down.  A good goal might be to cut the 1,000 resumes down to less than 100.  This means that 90% of the resumes get eliminated by someone that is not a technical expert. 

There is a very good chance that this job seeker will get rejected at this stage.  The screener just doesn't have the time to figure out what the job seeker did.  They have a thousand resumes – they're going to find some good people. 

Example of a Terrible Resume

I received a resume that does a terrible of job of selling the job seeker.  The candidate is an experienced sales manager, with over 20 years in his field.  Despite a long career in sales, this individual didn't sell their potential.

The first problem with the resume was the length.  It is one page and 190 words.  In 20 years, this job seeker should have more to write about than this.  A good rule of thumb for an experienced professional is two pages and 400 words – double the length of this resume.

The length of the resume is made even worse when the content is considered.  Of the 190 words, 77 are devoted to the candidate's hobbies.  Details such as an interest in "travel and camping" and the fact that the candidate is a "healthy eater and non-smoker" don't need to be on the resume.  The hobbies section is full of information that has nothing to do with the candidate's career. 

The presentation gets even worse in the work experience section.  The listing of experience is very short and gives little detail of what the individual did.  There is one bullet on the resume that indicates a pattern of success.  The individual lists that he was salesman of the year for his company eight separate times.  This is a great detail to list but the information isn't sufficient.  There's nothing that indicates how large the organization was or how many other sales people worked in sales at the company. 

Another problem with the resume is the listing of the employer's information.  The job seeker provides the phone number for the company and then in bold writes "please do not contact at this time."  I don't understand why they job seeker decided to put the phone number if he didn't want a hiring manager to call it. 

Overall, this resume fails to sell the potential of the candidate.  It has little substance about the career of the job seeker and provides a lot of detail on hobbies unrelated to the job.  

Resume Order

The order of the information in your resume makes a significant impact on its effectiveness. The top of the first page will be read the most closely. Often the reader will only scan the remainder of the resume. This makes it essential to convey the most important information at the top.

A hiring manager might have two or three requirements for a position that a job seeker must have. The other requirements may have some flexibility, but the two or three most important often cannot be compromised. When the hiring manager looks at a stack of resumes, these key requirements are the focus.

To ensure that you don't get rejected for a position that you are qualified to do, you need to highlight these requirements at the top of your resume. The challenge many job seekers face is knowing what highlight at the top.

Recent College Graduates

When you graduate, a company will hire you for your potential, not your experience. This makes it essential to highlight your education. A good order for a recent college graduate's resume would be:

  • Education

  • Skills

  • Work Experience

  • Activities

Professionals in a Technical Field

Technical fields often prioritize technical skills over all over attributes. When you write your resume, you should emphasize the skills that are most critical to the position. A good order for a resume would be:

  • Technical Skills

  • Work Experience

  • Education

  • Other Skills

Professionals in Non-Technical Fields

In a non-technical field, your experience and ability to do a job is most important. This information should be emphasized first. A good order for a resume would be:

  • Work Experience

  • Education

  • Skills

Over the course of your career, the order of your resume will change. I see resumes from experienced professionals that keep the same information at the top of the resumes.  This is a mistake.  Continue to revise your resume to emphasize the most important information to the hiring manager.

Prioritize Information on Your Resume

When you write your resume, you need to select the most important information to emphasize.  Your resume will be judged on the most prominent content.  It is not unusual for a resume to be rejected in the first 30 seconds it is read.

How Resumes Are Screened

When a hiring manager has a lot of resumes to review, the first priority is to identify the top contenders and eliminate the rest.  If a job seeker has a background that is clearly not a fit, it’s discarded immediately.  The content in the top half of the first page of the resume may be the only thing read.

If you present information at the top of your resume that is unrelated to the position you are pursuing, you run the risk of getting rejected before the hiring manager reads your entire resume.

Example

A resume I received recently demonstrates how prioritizing poorly can hurt the overall impression.  Below is the professional summary from the top of the resume (with some identifying information deleted):

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

A dedicated, forward-thinking professional with experience in sales management, recruiting and supervising staff and interior design.

  • Communicates effectively with diverse professionals and workforce, analyzing and evaluating situations quickly to provide options for resolution.
  • Led division to ##% sales growth within # months with a closure rate of ##%.
  • Experienced Kitchen Designer, familiar with all major brands of solid surface and natural stone.
  • Learns new information easily and applies knowledge in practical manner to meet goals and objectives.

 

The structure of this section doesn’t guide the reader to a single impression.  It starts by stating the individual is a “dedicated, forward-thinking professional.”  This isn’t a bad way to start, but it isn’t great either.  Dedicated and forward-thinking are good qualities.  They don’t do a lot to separate the job seeker from other candidates.  Vague qualities like this just don’t do a lot.

The next phrase lists three areas of expertise – sales management, recruiting and supervision.  This starts to build an image of the job seeker.  The sentence ends with an add-on: “and interior design.”  This confuses the presentation.  Just when the job seeker establishes an image of a sales manager, they through in interior designer.

The four bullets do little to clarify the situation.  The first bullet is another general list of skills that are difficult for a hiring manager to assess the potential value.  The second bullet reinforces the sales management experience with a  specific accomplishment that is impressive.  The third bullet then goes back to the interior design skill set.  Finally, the fourth bullet gives general skills

The content of the resume’s summary isn’t a problem.  The issue is how it is presented.  Changing the order and emphasis can make a big difference.  For example, the resume could be rewritten to emphasize the sales management background:

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Successful sales manager, experienced in recruiting and developing sales teams within the interior design field.

  • Led division to ##% sales growth within # months with a closure rate of ##%.
  • Communicates effectively with diverse professionals and workforce, analyzing and evaluating situations quickly to provide options for resolution.
  • Dedicated, forward-thinking and adaptable professional, capable of learning and applying new information quickly to meet goals and objectives.
  • Experienced Interior Designer and Kitchen Designer, familiar with all major brands of solid surface and natural stone.

 

This emphasizes a sales management career and makes a clear presentation for this field.  The information is almost identical to the original presentation.

If the job seeker wanted a role as an interior designer instead of sales management, the summary should be written to emphasize this experience and deemphasize the sales management experience.

Should My Education or Work Experience Go First on My Resume

Deciding the order of information on your resume is an important step in your search.  The order indicates the relative importance of information.  The content at the top of the first page is most likely to be read.  As you progress to the end, it becomes less likely the hiring manager will read everything.

This is similar to the way a newspaper is organized.  The most significant and important stories are put on the first page at the top.  On TV, you see this with lead story in a news program.  In fact, almost every media, including books, magazines, movies and music, is structured with the most appealing content at the top.

Your resume should be organized in a similar manner.  What is the most important aspect of your background?  This goes at the top.  Let’s look at a few examples:

New College Graduate:  Individuals that recently (in the last year or two) graduated with a bachelors, masters or PhD should put this at the top of their resume.  This is the most significant element of their background and demonstrates their potential for a new career.

Technical Experts:  Engineering, IT and other technical specialties prioritize technical skill very high.  Often, the skill level with specific technologies or disciplines is more important to a hiring manager than anything else.  In this case, the technical skills should be featured.  This can be done by starting the resume with an executive summary or a skills section that demonstrates these skills.

Experienced Professionals:  Individuals that have worked in a field for a number of years usually will want to lead with their experience.  Starting the resume with an executive summary and then the work experience section makes the most sense.  It highlights the experience doing the job that the job seeker is pursuing.  Often, prior experience in the same role is the most important attribute a hiring manager wants.

Career Changers:  If you are attempting to change career fields, your decision of what to prioritize may change.  Your experience won’t be as significant in the new field.  In this case, you may want to highlight your transferrable skills or your education first.

Unusual Specialties:  There are some experiences, skills and abilities that are unusual and in high demand.  Being able to speak a foreign language, possessing a government security clearance or experience managing hospital construction projects are examples of specialties that are rare.  They are often non-negotiable requirements for some positions.  There are a lot of specialties that are rare and in demand.  If you possess have experience in one of these areas, it should be highlighted on your resume.

Bottom line: Approach your resume as a sales pitch for your background.  Lead with your strengths and make the best impression.