There is no right or wrong way to write a resume. Instead, there are best practices that have evolved over time. Resume writing organizations have promulgated standards and guidelines, but they do not have the force of, say, generally accepted accounting practices.
Nonetheless, jobseekers follow countless “rules” that a majority of resume writers and career management coaches do not agree with. A few of these questionable ideas include:
- Applicant tracking systems (ATS) automatically reject most resumes,
- Resumes must be one page long,
- You need graphics to grab attention,
- A specific portion of your work history must be included or excluded, and
- Your complete address must be included.
From time-to-time we have broken resume “rule” for specific clients. While resume writing organizations in the United States set standards, they ask members to follow, the standards allow latitude for professional judgement.
Will automated systems reject your resume?
Perhaps one of the most frequent comments we hear from jobseekers is that “the ATS is rejecting my resumes.” According to a recruiter, ATS systems rank resumes based on criteria set by hiring teams, so no resume is automatically rejected. Instead, resumes that meet their criteria rise to the top of their search. This is like most searches we do online—the best results are on the first page. The remainder of the search results are on subsequent pages. Your resume or LinkedIn profile is still there. It’s just not on the first page of search results.
Arguably, this is a distinction without a difference because you won’t be called if your resume is not near the top of the virtual stack. But we suggest that you keep two points in mind.
First, in some respects, the system has worked this way for years. Prior to automation, staff members spent less than six seconds deciding which resumes to review further. According to studies employment ads attracted less than 50 applications each. Now, posted jobs attract hundreds of online applications so, even at six seconds per resume, it would take a long time for a recruiter or assistant to review so many resumes. Automation, then, may benefit those on both sides of the desk.
Whether a staff member skims your resume first, a keyword-driven ATS ranks your resume, or a new AI-driven system gives your resume and profile a relevance score, results will be similar. Your resume content will have to grab attention for you to land an interview.
Should resumes be one page long?
The one-page resume is “old school.” Do not arbitrarily limit your resumes to one page. Instead, resume length should be dictated by the amount of relevant content you have. A one-page resume can work, we have found, for recent graduates that have little work experience. Also, we have generated one-page resumes for clients that have had one job for the last 10 to 20 years, and one college degree in a few cases.
On the other hand, we prepared a 3-page resume for a C-level executive with about five years of work experience. We settled on a lengthy resume because the client rose through a half-dozen jobs in a short time with specific and quantified accomplishments in each role. The details justified the client’s rapid rise from new grad to chief operating officer at a publicly held healthcare company. Each accomplishment demonstrated the benefits of hiring a young person for a company’s C-suite.
Employer representatives review resumes on their screens, so they may not notice the number of pages in the document. The majority of resumes we prepare for professionals and executives fill the better part of two printed pages.
Do you need images to grab attention?
Most of us are visual people, so we like to place graphics on our resumes. Recruiters and HR staff are visual people, too, so there is nothing inherently wrong with using images and graphics to attract attention.
But there are pitfalls to be aware of when using graphics and images on a resume. Placing graphics—photos and images—on resumes is so popular MS-Word includes templates to make it easy.
Images and graphics will not increase the likelihood automated systems will put your resume on the first page of ATS search results. ATS systems won’t score your resume higher for fancy graphics, so the design will not help your resume reach the top of hiring teams’ search pages.
Even worse, certain kinds of graphics can hide your text from automated searches. For example, keywords or relevant text in an MS-Word text box may not be scanned, especially in older systems. Also, recruiters have told me that they do not want to see anything, such as a candidate’s photo, which could create unconscious bias.
Exception to the Rule: Visual arts professionals, such as photographers and
graphic designers may consider building two versions of their resumes—one ATS-friendly text resume, and a graphic version that matches their artistic style. For example, a fashion designer we worked with reformatted the ATS-friendly resume we created together using her specialized InDesign software. It’s more important for most of us to use all available space for relevant text, though.
How much work history should be on the resume?
There are lots of “rules” about the amount of work experience that should be included on a job candidate’s resume. Organizations we wrote resumes for set arbitrary rules to make the decision easier for clients and staff. Individual clients have specific jobs they are especially proud of the fact that they want included although they were in these positions many years ago, so arbitrary rules don’t always work.
Include experience that demonstrates the benefits of hiring you. This could mean that experience you gained 20 or 30 years ago is no longer relevant. For example, the skills needed for the job have changed, or the accomplishments can no longer be verified.
There are exceptions. For example, as cited in previous posts, an aerospace electronics engineer we worked with developed equipment for the Space Shuttle more than 30 years ago. We did not want to show 30 years of experience on the resume or LinkedIn profile to avoid potential ageism. Nonetheless, we found a way to “sneak in” this unique experience.
Another client, a fashion designer, started her career helping out in her parents’ boutique at age 12. She would seem older than she is if we displayed all this experience with years of employment, so we found another way to do it.
Resumes and LinkedIn profiles for mid-career professionals rarely include all work experience since graduating from high school or college. They are not bios and certainly are not obituaries.
How much contact information do you need?
Technology has changed the way prospective employers contact jobseekers. Employers and industry contacts reach out via cellphone, email, or LinkedIn now. They do not send information via the slow and expensive postal service.
Place only your cellphone number on the resume. There is no need for you to list an office or home number. Prospective employers will not track you down with calls to multiple phone numbers.
Final thoughts
Our philosophy is that content is king. Hiring teams are busy. They will not call multiple numbers to find you. Managers may want to reach candidates via email or LinkedIn, though, so include this information on your resume. Your resume should be a brief document designed to be scanned electronically for content before a hiring team member reads it. So don’t get caught up in misconceptions about document length, elegant design, the need for a complete work history, or the need to show exactly where you live.
Guide to the Post-pandemic Job Market
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.