What are HR professionals really looking for in resumes?

Top 5 Dos & Don’ts

Having screened hundreds of resumes, let me start by telling you that an amazing resume literally leaps off the page. Just like when you meet someone for the first time, and you get that spark, that connection, which tells you that this person is someone you want to keep in touch with, as a resume reviewer, when you see a great one, you just know. The good news, not too many resumes really meet this bar, so the opportunity to improve is there.

Secondly, a resume is not a listing of everything you’ve done in your life. Nor is it a listing of all the awards and accomplishments you’ve earned. Your resume is a selling tool, pure and simple. It tells me what you’ve done in your past that will make you successful in the future in this position you’ve applied to. Don’t make me guess why you might be good, tell me directly, make it obvious.

Writing a great resume is definitely more of an art than a science. It is also an iterative process. Don’t try to write the perfect one in just one sitting. With that in mind, I want to share some dos and don’ts to help you in your journey. Let’s start with the good stuff first.

1. Lead with your strengths

Although many books may prescribe a specific formula or order for you to layout your resume, the truth is that there is no such thing. If there’s any one golden rule, it’s that you should lead with your strengths. Your most important information should be as high up on the page and as far left as possible (since people read top to bottom, left to right).

If education is your best strength, have that as your first section. If it’s your previous work experience, then put that section first. Know your audience, know what the job requires, and also know your competition. If this job is one that’s posted just at your school, chances are that many people from your program will also be applying making your education not much of a differentiator. However, if this is a job posted openly on a company’s website, perhaps the strength of your school and program may make you standout.

2. Focus on achievements and accomplishments, not responsibilities and tasks

Too many people still simply list the basic responsibilities and tasks in their bullet points. Unless what you did in your previous jobs was exactly what you’ll be doing in your target company, the recruiter does not care about the specific day-to-day activities you performed previously.

What we’re looking for are transferable skills, but more importantly, we’re looking for your accomplishments and achievements. What was the impact you made in your previous roles? How did you contribute to the organization? If you can quantify the value you were able to add, even better! Start by thinking about your proudest moment, and go from there.

3. Read the job description, re-read the job description, then read it one more time

Today, technology is playing a bigger role in the recruiting process, especially for large multi-national companies (MNCs). Online recruiting systems are replacing the old fax and mail-in resumes. These systems also enable recruiters to quickly search their databases using keywords.

With that in mind, how do you make sure your resume gets picked-up during the search? By carefully reading the job description, you can come close to predicting the phrases and words a recruiter will use in the search. Have the job description next to you as you’re building your resume and try to incorporate these key words into your bullets. The more you can use the exact phrases that are used in the job description, the better your chances will be.

4. Pimp up your resume

Ideally, you want to customize your resume for every single job you apply for. This is obviously easier said than done. Practically, you should try to at least have a few different versions ready to go to use as a base, perhaps a technical one, an industry-specific version, and one focused on your soft skills (e.g. communication, leadership, teamwork).

If you’re applying to a software company, make sure you remove all irrelevant references to your hardware skills. If it’s a marketing role you’re going after, get rid of all your technical finance-related jargon. When your previous experiences don’t match, think about what’s transferable. Turn your unrelated specifics into short generic phrases.

Don’t explicitly remind the recruiter of the fact that you’re not a perfect fit by giving them information that isn’t relevant.

5. Use the whole page

Many people ask whether they should have a 1-page or 2-page resume. The simple answer is that you should present as much relevant information about you that you can. Don’t include information just to pad and fill-out the resume, but don’t short-change yourself either. If it’s been a few years since you’ve finished your undergraduate degree, stop including your high school achievements. For every single phrase you write, ask yourself what the message is you’re trying to convey, what’s the point. If it’s not relevant, get rid of it.

Try to use as much of the page as possible. Expand your margins out, all the way around the page, reduce them to ½ inch. Move your dates to the right-hand side, and try not to use excessive indentation. Why waste a whole column of white space by indenting your bullets? If you line them up neatly all to the left, the bullets look just as good.

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Now, let’s quickly turn to some faux-pas.

1. Don’t bold keywords

Recruiters spend roughly 15 seconds scanning your resume. We have our own system on how we spend those 15 seconds and what we look for. The last thing you want to do is throw us off our game by distracting us with bold keywords, words that may not even be ones that are important or what we’re looking for. Don’t give us an excuse to spend less than the 15 seconds and throw your resume quickly into the no pile.

2. Write in bullet-point format, not in full sentences

Bullet points are not real sentences, so save yourself some words and space by cutting out your articles (e.g. a, an, the) and pronouns. Keep the sentences concise and compact. Bullets are meant to be crisp and to the point. If anything, focus more on describing your achievements and the impact you made in your previous roles. Since bullet points aren’t proper sentences, don’t end them with periods.

3. Save your money, don’t use fancy paper

Today, many companies simply ask you to upload your resume to their online system, or to cut & paste your information into their web forms. However, there are still some places, especially on-campus career centres, which accept hardcopy paper resumes. For these situations, stick to plain white paper and something in the 10 lb weight range (a measure of paper thickness). Don’t cheap out on the paper quality, but don’t go overboard and get something too thick. Most paper resume submissions will get photocopied numerous times as the resume gets passed up to the hiring managers and through the ranks. If you use fancy off-white or coloured paper, photocopies will turn out potentially dark and messy.

When it comes to electronic submissions, if the system allows it, think about uploading a PDF of your resume. PDF files allow you to preserve your formatting, and at the same time ensure that nothing gets modified or deleted from your original file. For those of you who don’t have a PDF writer installed, there are many good free ones available for download. I recommend CutePDF Writer which you can find here - www.cutepdf.com.

4. References? We don’t need no stinkin’ references!

Including a line at the bottom of your resume stating that “references are available upon request” is old school, and no longer needed today. Companies generally do not ask for references until you get further along in the interview process and things start to get serious. It’s also assumed that if the company wants references you will provide them. What you can do is to prepare a separate sheet with the names, titles and contact information, 2 to 3 different ones, just in case. Of course, make sure you get permission from your references and give them the heads up that someone may be calling them soon.

5. Don’t forget to add some glee

Finally, don’t forget to add a line or two around your hobbies and interests. List a few that you are most passionate about. You would be surprised the number of times people can get interviews simply because of something interesting they do outside of work. Avoid listing trendy hobbies in which you’re just trying to jump on the bandwagon (e.g. marathon runner, golf, etc.). If I ask you a question about this hobby and I bust you, it will be an instant credibility killer. Also, try to stay away from listing too many solitary activities, such as jogging, reading, and writing. We’re looking for team players these days, not those that like to sit in the backrooms working on their own.

Even if you might have a potential connection that will help fast-track your application, your resume is your calling card. Don’t make the decision any tougher to hire you over the hundreds of other people that are just as eager and have been honing their resumes for years. Start now!

Jonathan Kwan is a Principal at Kwantum Leap, and a career coach focused specifically on helping youth. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Singapore Management University. Previously, he spent 8 years travelling the globe as a management consultant, and also ran the campus recruiting program for his company. He holds a MBA (INSEAD) and a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. You can find more information and tips at www.kwantumleap.sg and on Facebook - www.facebook.com/kwantumleap