The Resume Checklist
What do a job search, a career change and a MBA application have in common? A resume! Ok, bad joke! But here’s the deal, it really all seems to start and end with a resume, doesn’t it? Not really. A resume is only a means to an end, not the end in itself. And only ONE of the many means actually.
There is always more to do with a resume, be it verbiage, content or presentation. The problem, at times, is simply to get started with one. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are a few things for each of us to remember when getting a decent draft in shape.
Taking a cue from Atul Gawande’s book ‘The Checklist Manifesto’, I am putting down a 10-point checklist for anyone who is looking to build, redesign or revise their resume.
1. Your resume is your Marketing and Branding instrument; not a legal document or a ‘list’ of your degrees and work experiences. So approach it as a strategic future oriented document and not a historical one.
2. Heard about the 10-second rule? It’s the Summary section. Have a 3-4 bullet Summary section at the very beginning before diving straight into your education and employment history. A good summary should give a 10-second overview of your profile and should sell you ability, experience and personality.
3. Who are you? A Banker, Dancer, Medical Professional, Credit Analyst, Web Designer? That has to be the first word of the first bullet in the Summary section of your resume. And use a word that positions you correctly for the job that you seek.
4. Needless to say (but) list your work experience starting with the most recent first. Same for the education section.
5. How long should my resume be? Classic question. Each industry speaks their own language; for example, Wall Street strictly prefers one-page resumes. But to make this really simple – if you have work experience of less than 5 years, keep it to one page and for those with more than 5 years of work experience keep it to 2 pages. That’s it.
6. Speak to your accomplishments. The number (and there are lot out there) of resumes with a string of bullets that start with the words ‘Responsible for…’ just make it that much harder for the hiring manager to pick you from the lot that’s sitting on her table. You have to make her job easy. So write about your results (think action words!) and not your current job description.
7. The fine print matters – the spacing, font size, indents and aesthetics. In as trivial as it sounds, if you don’t care as much about your resume, there is a good chance no one else will either.
8. Be Social Media savvy! Provide a link to your LinkedIn account; it’s a great (and cheap!) marketing tool. And keep your LinkedIn profile professional (there is a separate LinkedIn Do’s and Don’t’s list, but I will save that for another post!)
9. Stay current. Provide ‘Additional Information/ Interests/ Achievements outside of work’ only if its current (last 5 years) and professionally relevant. The hiring manager doesn’t care that you were the captain of your high school volleyball team 15 years back! Do list professional associations and memberships, publications and volunteering efforts.
10. And finally, feedback is everything! Get 3 pairs of eyes to look at your draft. If none of them ‘hear’ what you want to say, chances are, they are probably right!
A simple rule to remember is that a resume is good ONLY if it positions you correctly for your target market; else it’s no good.
