27 Aug 2006
1. Keep It Factual
Don't stretch the truth. If you can't do the job, or if you haven't done the job, don't paint a picture of yourself that you can't back up. Even if you can make it through the interview and get the job, employers can, and have, terminated employees for falsifying resume information. Consider the consequences of embellishment or misrepresentation carefully.
2. Keep It Brief
The higher up you are in an organization the more you are required to multitask and delegate. The more you are required to delegate, the less time you will have to spend on any one issue personally. Consider this when you write your resume. You will only have a short amount of time to be reviewed by a hiring manager. Try to present your value, the Who, What, Where, Why, How and When of you, within the first 30 seconds of your "meeting".
3. Keep It Simple
Keep the structure simple and avoid run-on sentences. Length loses the reader, but brevity becomes you! Keep to the point and get to the point quickly.
4. Keep it Cold and Objective
Avoid weightless words that fail to enlighten the reader and provide no value. Words like "results-oriented" don't add value and provide the reader with little insight into your unique skill set. Words that are overused, trite and self-congratulatory should not be part of your qualifications. Keep in mind that the person reviewing your resume has read hundreds of resumes and has seen every variation of self-embellishment under the sun.
5. Keep It in Your Language
If you wouldn't say it in a normal conversation or in an interview, you shouldn't use it in a resume. Speak from the heart, not from the dictionary.
6. Keep It Current
Your resume is a reflection of who you are. As you change, so too should your resume. The time to update your resume isn't when your job is in peril, and it isn't when you find out about a salary freeze. A good organization will give you periodic performance reviews. You owe it to yourself to do the same. At the conclusion of a major project or a major change in the organization you should take the time to update your resume.
7. Keep it Focused
Make it your job to know a great deal about the organization you intend to honor with your resume. Know their needs, know their history, know who is hiring, know what their future looks like and most importantly, know how you can help them. Tailor your resume to highlight your skills and experience which address these needs!
8. Keep It Directed
Be certain it is addressed to the correct audience: the individual or business unit that actually has the budget to hire you. It is rarely Human Resources. If the position description does not name a specific person then use "Dear Hiring Manager" in your resume cover letter.
9. Keep It Powerful
Use words that create an image. Understand the power of words. If they don't help you stand out, they are wasted.
10. Keep It Clean
Avoid over-usage of bolding, italicizing, exclamation marks, underlining, etc. When translated to an ASCII file it looks like a broken jig saw puzzle, so keep your formatting clean and simple.
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