In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a resume hobbyist.  I am not an HR professional and I am most definitely not a professional resume writer.  I also consciously leave the accent mark off of the word Resume, so get over it.

After reviewing untold number of these fascinating documents over two decades as a hiring manager, as well as working with many former colleagues to help put their best foot forward, I’ve developed a few opinions about what works what doesn’t when it comes to crafting your personal marketing materials.  I’ve also discovered that there are a lot of so-called experts out there with conflicting opinions of their own.  And of course…we all know that is advice is worth what you pay for it, so remember that this is free.

I should highlight that I share my “hobby” with a good friend.  Over the years, we’ve both made it a habit to study the current-state of resume writing while sharing samples of what we found to be effective and ineffective.  I suspect that many of the opinions that follow have their genesis in those discussions with my colleague.

Resume Approaches that Don’t Work (in my book) and What to Do About Them:

  • Accomplishment oriented resumes with no chronological order.  Give me the accomplishments but don’t make me solve your own personal chronology puzzle.  I don’t have time and your resume goes into the discard pile with a satisfying thud.
  • Resumes that read like job descriptions.  This is the single most common gaffe that I see in these documents.  It’s good to communicate the scope and accountability of your positions, but please focus on how you created value (accomplishments), not on just listing your duties.
  • Accomplishment listings that make you out to be (insert your favorite superhero character here).  You must be able to substantiate your accomplishments, and I know that you didn’t do it all yourself. I once had a recruiter criticize my resume for reflecting the role that others (team members, direct reports) had in my successes.  He felt that it showed weakness to distribute attribution.  My response…a not so polite, “go jump.”  It’s a team-oriented, project focused world and while there are real opportunities for individual heroics, I would much rather understand how someone worked with others (led, motivated, learned from) to create success.
  • Lack of a personal value proposition.  I have to grasp in a hurry what makes you unique.  Many resumes are dry two-dimensional statements of career progression with no clear thesis about the individual as valuable professional that I would want on my team.  Crafting your personal value proposition is hard work, but absolutely essential for success.  The bulk of your resume creation time should focus on this component.  Remember to test your value proposition by seeking feedback from people who are not your wife/mother/husband.
  • Length. Size counts, but of course, it is truly a matter of personal perspective.  I will read a good resume regardless of length.  Recruiters have their own opinions, and few of them are consistent.  I’ve had recruiters absolutely love my 3-page format (the long form), and others question my reason for existence after sharing this “onerous” document.  Cover your bases…create a short-form that indicates the availability of a long-form.
  • Narrative versus bullet format.  One expert suggests a long-form narrative for executives, with total disregard for length.  Another emphasizes using short bullets that are generally incomplete sentences.  Frankly, I like to see a narrative intro for each major position or company change and supporting bullets, but that’s just me.  I’ll read either one if they effectively communicate who you are and what value you’ve brought to your positions.
  • Tense. I cannot intuit from your total past-tense focus how you will help me going forward.  It’s your job to make certain that the personal value proposition is clearly stated as what you can do for me now and in the future.  This is a subtle but important issue.
  • Format.  Keep it clean and simple with ample white-space, even if you are using the narrative format.  You don’t want to fail the first-glance test.
  • Video resumes. Still not interested.  I may have to get over this one sometime soon.  If you are an executive or someone that is engaged in public speaking, I will look at your YouTube link if your resume passes through my filters.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Marketing yourself is a tough job and one of the most important jobs that you will ever undertake.  And then undertake again.  And again.  I have no claims on “expert” status when it comes to personal marketing materials, but I do have claims on hiring expert talent to grow businesses.  Somewhere out there is a hiring executive hoping that the next superstar is in that pile of paper or e-mail messages.  A little common-sense advice might just help you stand out and show this executive why you are the answer.