Quite a few resumes have landed on my desk throughout my career. “Interesting” is an understatement when describing things I’ve seen, which often makes me ask the dreaded question… “Why is THAT on your resume?” I decided to share with you what “IT” is, along with some alternatives on what you can do instead of “IT”.
The dreaded “IT” includes:
Labels like “Email”, “Address” and “Phone number”
It is not necessary to label these elements in the header of the resume. I’m pretty sure the average person recognizes email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses. If more than one phone number is listed, label them to distinguish the “mobile” (or cell) number from the “home” number. I remember a resume that actually listed 2 cell numbers, just pick one.
Non-professional email addresses
I can’t help but laugh at some of the very creative email addresses that people have as mottos. I remember seeing email addresses that made me think, “What does THAT mean?” For example, “[email protected]”, “[email protected]”, and “[email protected]” to name a few. These highly creative email addresses distracted me, however briefly, from the task at hand: assessing the candidate’s skills, qualifications, contributions, and accomplishments to determine if they can complement the needs of the team and the business. Although creativity is a great qualification for many jobs, save it for the next big project. Stick with the basic [email protected] for your job search and resume.
“And the like” or “Etc.”
What exactly does this mean in terms of your qualifications for the job you are doing? Imagine you are the hiring manager and you are reading the following on a candidate’s resume:
“Execute strategies, etc.”
“Collaborate with team members and the like.”
“Managed Programs, etc.”
“Increased profits and the like.”
Doesn’t there seem to be something missing in these statements? Substance – is what is missing. If your resume is your marketing document, tell recruiters exactly what “etc.” and “and the like” mean. How? First, remove the “filler words” [as we would label these in Toastmasters]. Second, use real facts from your background that clearly illustrate your worth. Leave nothing to the imagination of the human resources manager. Be specific, be detailed, be succinct. Here’s an example: “Devised and executed profitable sales and marketing strategies, exceeding sales goals by 20%.” Now, doesn’t this give a much better picture of its value?
“Great Worker”
If you have “hard worker” on your resume, review it right away. Instead, use your achievements and contributions to show hiring managers how hard you work through the impacts you’ve had and why they should hire you as a member of their team.
“[Credential] Certification Candidate”
If you haven’t taken or scheduled the certification exam yet, why is THAT on your resume? Instead, use your cover letter to indicate your plans to take the exam in the near future. If you are scheduled for an exam date, use your cover letter to mention that you are scheduled to take the exam and specify the date. This demonstrates your commitment to professional growth and a desire to be considered a certified expert who is prepared to make long-term contributions toward business success.
“Computer Literacy”
Where do I start? There is absolutely too much technology to try to figure this out. Due to the wide range of programs, languages, systems, software, and hardware in the world, be specific when listing your technical skills on your resume. For example, “Technical proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint” is a clear indication of your skill set.
College Course Numbers
Course numbers mean nothing to hiring managers and take up valuable space on your resume. For recent graduates with little or no relevant professional experience, it is highly recommended to list the name of completed college courses that are relevant to your target job. Just don’t use course numbers. Also, consider truncating some course titles that may be too long. For example, instead of listing “Introduction to Marketing,” list Marketing or a higher-level marketing course such as “Strategic Marketing,” which is much more impactful.
Active links from copied and pasted text
So you used a template but didn’t customize the content? Did you really copy and paste content from the template into your resume? Copying and pasting content from templates or any other source is never recommended. But if you do, be aware of active links back to the site you copied the content from. A general rule of thumb is not to copy and paste content from templates. Instead, use templates to guide your thought process, but create your own resume content that is relevant and specific to you.
A long paragraph of information.
If your resume contains a paragraph with 15 lines of text below a job, you’re hurting your marketing efforts. Think of a written ad or billboard at the train station or on the side of a bus. Will you be more apt to read the ad with 15 lines of text or the ad with 3 short but very informative lines of text? If your answer is the latter, review your resume immediately. If it’s wordy, have a professional resume writer refresh it for you. Comprehensive yet concise is the key.
His sign
Save your signature for the cover letter.
The resume serves as a promotional tool that you use to promote your qualifications to a potential employer. You can decide to work with a certified professional resume writer to develop this essential promotional tool, or you can decide to develop it on your own. Either way, the ultimate goal is to capture a job interview using a high-quality, concisely written resume (and cover letter), packed with relevant keywords and validating content—the informational material.
Just stick with the most informative stuff and cut THAT other stuff off your resume.
