common myths

Most of the common myths about resumes come from people who still live in a paper world. The fact is that resumes are now rarely on paper. The means by which to manage paperless documents has been on managers’ desks for over 15 years. If a manager is still using paper, they’re probably looking for a job just like you. If the resume isn’t on paper, many of the common myths are no longer valid, and I’ll explain a few below.

I understand that for many this transition away from paper can be painful, but it is a necessary step towards a better and more productive life. Paper is a habit, it is better to break it, and many of the reasons for this should be obvious. Paper can only be in one place at a time. The paper must be read. You can’t do an accurate keyword search on paper. The list goes on and on and up to the very health of the planet.

Here are some things you should do to combat the many common myths about resumes.

Ignore the 2 page limit

There are no page limits for a resume. There may have been time limits on the length of the resume. This was because the resume was on paper and the hiring manager had to read it. If the resume is in a flexible document, such as a word processing document, the hiring manager is more likely to use the word processor’s features to scan the document and make a decision. That decision will be based on the keywords and the descriptions surrounding the keywords in the resumes. Keywords are the key!

don’t be brief

If you imagine the hiring manager at a desk with a stack of resumes on the corner of the desk and the hiring manager has to read them all, you would conclude that cutting pain would work in your favor for the hiring manager. But remember there isn’t a stack of résumés on his desk. There is a list of documents in a directory on your hard drive.

If you want your resume to be compatible with most word processors, use a simple format like Text (TXT, not pretty) or Rich Text (RTF, very pretty). These should be available on all systems, both Windows and UNIX.

Don’t print them at the printer

In a paper-based world, in the past, this may have been appropriate, but in a computer-based world, paper is redundant. It’s not even a good transmission medium. It has inherent weaknesses in the physical world. It can only be in one place at a time, it takes up space, you have to read it word for word, etc.

A word processing document can look just as attractive, can be shared by many, and can be transmitted instantly, much faster than mail or even a fax. It takes up much less physical space. It can be scanned for keywords and evaluated based on keyword frequency and/or density. And besides, it can also be read if you want.

Don’t use a resume, lots of cover letters

In the recruiting business, the only means by which a recruiter can communicate with the hiring authority is through the resume. As a rule, there are no cover letters involved with recruiters. Cover letters may have been appropriate if you went to a printer with your resume along with several reams of fancy paper and offset printed it at great expense. So a cover letter would have been appropriate. It would have enhanced or given “corroborative details, intended to lend artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise simple and unconvincing narrative.” (My apologies to William S. Gilbert.)

A word processor resume is flexible, can be easily changed and tailored to the requirements of the position applied for. You don’t need to incur the expense of fancy paper, printing, or postage. And because it’s flexible, important details can be changed for each and every job. The cover letter becomes redundant.

As a recruiter, I can say, “None of the hiring managers we deal with will read or accept a cover letter.”

Do not fax resumes to employers and recruiters

Faxed resumes have all the disadvantages of paper resumes and the added disadvantage that they often fade. Faxes are laborious. To place them in a modern office environment, they need to be retyped or OCRed and inspected and changed word for word.

You see, a soft document, which is not a fax, can be scanned by search engines and can be found later in an instant based on the frequency of certain search words contained in it. A fax will have to adapt to this search engine through a rather laborious process. It doesn’t make a good impression.

Understand that you (1) prepared the resume with a word processor and then (2) printed it out. Then (3) you faxed it, and then (4) it needs to be OCRed and (5) inspected and corrected before it can enter the search engine. If you just submitted the word processing file, it could go directly to the document search engine. That would be a two step process and the second step is quick. Which would make the best impression on a potential employer?

Don’t use faxes if you can get away with it. But keep in mind that companies still using faxes are unlikely to be competitive for years to come.

Proactive approach: the resume is a sales tool

What you are doing with a resume is trying to convince someone to act on your behalf. It doesn’t help you one bit if you put unsexy statements on your resume. That should be obvious. The hiring authority reading your resume is looking for very predictable things. Those things are in the job offer. For the resume to be effective it must have complete contact information. Leaving contact information off the resume gives the impression that the applicant is hiding.

If you have any experience abroad, you should put your current visa status prominently. If it’s not in a prominent place, the worst is likely to be assumed. Even if you are a citizen, make it clear to the reader/decision maker.

keywords are important

Like a college professor, a hiring authority likes to see their own words, so they place the same keywords (buzzwords) from the job posting in the Experience section of the resume.

As said before, the resume is not read. Often a search engine scans it and selects it based on the number and selection of keywords. Once a search engine retrieves a resume, the hiring manager will see it.

You will open each one with your word processor. At this point, you may read the document, but most hiring managers are busy, so the document will be searched for keywords using the “Search” function. When the keyword is found, the surrounding text will be read.

If you don’t see all of the keywords you’re looking for, that resume will either take a backseat, so to speak, or be rejected altogether. We do have some recruitment agencies that have administrative staff who screen resumes for key skills and experience, and if they don’t see everything on the job application, the entire resume is rejected.

Skill summaries are not important

A word of advice: the summary of skills is ignored. Skills listed in a summary do not indicate the level of expertise or understanding of those skills. Every hiring manager I’ve talked to passes off the skills summary as hype. They don’t consider it.

We stress this over and over again. You can put anything in a skill summary, but it doesn’t indicate the quality of the skill and that’s important. The hiring manager is aware of that and has often told us that they consider it overkill. Yes, you can have a skill summary, but don’t rely on it. Every hiring manager we talk to ignores them.

Write the resume to get the job done.

You know from the work order what the hiring manager is looking for. You know that the current market is very bad with many people applying for some jobs. Hiring managers write the work order in such a way that they get the most out of it, loading the request with as many skills and tools as they can.

However, this is good because it gives you, the applicant, the means to write your resume to suit the hiring manager’s needs. All you have to do is make sure the necessary skills and tools are in the Experience section of the resume.

The Work Experience Section is Very Important

Where the hiring manager will look is the Experience section of the resume. Most of his time must be spent there. This is where the hiring manager will be able to associate skills, tools, and activities with the company, location, start date, and end date. This gives the hiring manager the best view to assess the candidate’s skills, tools, and activities.

That is where you concentrate those very important keywords. Be sure to portray yourself as strongly as possible. All of your qualifying skills, tools, and activities should be explained in detail. Remember that there is no page limit. It is the details that are important.

Be positive

Remember that you are selling yourself. This resume is the tool you use. You should never put anything negative on your resume. You should never explain why you didn’t get along with your former employer or coworkers. You should never complain about the conditions in which you worked. A mention of a negative nature will have your resume trashed before it’s read further.

conclusion

No page limits, no paper, no faxing, no cover letter, no reliance on the skills summary, and put the keywords (skills, tools, and activities) requested in the job requirements in the Experience section of the resume. These are the things we’ve seen successful job seekers do.