1. NAILINGTHE
RESUME
TheConnorsGroup|YourSuccessIsWhoWeKnow
Resum e
pagesshould
alwaysbe.5
inchorlarger.
1.Insertdates.Fillineverythingandexplaingaps.
2.Focusonyourskills.UseActionsverbssuchas“programmed”or“man-
aged”insteadof“assistedon”or“workedon.”
3.Skippictures.Theydon’tshowcaseyourskills,sotheyaren’tneeded.
4.Staycurrent.Theolderthejob,thefewerthebulletsitneeds.Interviewers
wanttoknowaboutyourcurrentskillsandcertifications,particularlyintheIT
industry.
5.5.Askwhetherit’srelevant.Rewritingaresumeforeachjobapplicationisnot
onlyperfectlynormalthesedays,butalmostarequirementinsomejobmar-
kets.Manycandidateshavemultipleskillsthatcanbeappliedindifferent
ways;usetheresumetoshowcasethemostimportantskillsforthejobat
hand.
Résumésgetinterviews;interviewsgetthejob.Thesearetwosimplefactsthat
candidatesseemtooverlookwhenre-enteringthejobmarketorevenjust
sprucingupanexisngrésumé.Intheefforttosecurethejob,toomanycandi-
datescluerrésuméswithirrelevantdetailsthatwindupbafflingHRreps.
Focusonge ngtheinterview—whereyoucansharemoredetailsaboutyour
experience—bycreangarésuméthat'spowerfulandsuccinct.
UseaClear,OrderlyFormat.
RRésumésarenottheplacetogetcuteortoshowyouruniquegraphicdesign
capabilies(unlessyouareagraphicdesigner).Instead,formattherésumé
withcleanlinesandsavvyuseofbulletstopointoutthemostimportantfacts
first.
IfIfyouhaveatough medecidinghowtoformatyourrésumé,useabasictem-
platefromMicroso OfficeWord,whichservesasthefoundaonformostap-
plicanttrackingsystems.Also,keepyourreadersinmindandgivethemabreak
whenitcomestofontsandfontsizes:Neveruseafontsmallerthan10point,
andscktobasicfontssuchasTimesNewRomanorArial.
CreateSimple,UnderstandableContent
Resisttheurgetoshareeverythingaboutyourlifeandpersonalgoals.Youcan
alwaystalkaboutthoseduringtheinterview.Instead,followthese pswhen
determiningwhichcontentismostimportant.