Resume
Goal
The goal of your resume is to provide enough information to your reader that they decide to schedule an interview without turning them off.
Make your Resume:
- Engaging and friendly
- Easy to read format
(good spacing, font formatting, concise) - Easy to understand
(What you do? What was the goal and the result? What tools or Subject Matter Expertise did you utilize? Who did you work with? What was the reporting structure?) - Concise
- Length can vary
(it’s not necessary to limit to 1 page, but 5+ pages may be excessive. The sweet spot is 1-3 pages, unless you have significant experience that may want and need to be seen.)
You Only Need 1
- Although getting a job is thought to be a numbers game (the more you apply, the greater your chance of consideration), you only need 1 company to say yes, so each resume needs to speak to the Reader.
Resume Errors
There are many reasons why job applicants are rejected for a job on paper:
- Resume Inconsistencies: Spelling errors, Grammatical inconsistencies (verb tenses), Inconsistent spacing and formatting (applicant appears uneducated or not detail-oriented)
- Font is too small to reader (difficult to read)
- Too many font types, styles, colors (difficult to read)
- Not enough space between Experiences (difficult to read)
- Your resume is difficult, your choice of language makes it hard to follow, (i.e. Listing all job description sentences together vs. using bullet points and lists)
- Your resume is too long (not worth the reader’s time & attention)
- Your resume’s vocabulary and verbiage don’t match the Employer’s job descriptions (the reader/recruiter who knows less about the subject can’t determine if your experience is a match)
- Information is omitted, causing suspicion and assumptions about your character
Resume Length
There’s a debate on how long a resume should be. Some say 1 page, others say 2 pages, and there’s the other school of thought that you should include everything and let the reader choose.
At BR, our opinion is that as long as the reader is engaged and can easily find the information they’re looking for, the length is secondary (although less than 3 pages is preferred, unless your listing Recognition, Awards, Publications, Speaking Engagements, etc.).
Ultimately it comes down to the number of jobs you’ve held and how can you concisely articulate your experience, responsibilities, tasks, and accomplishments.
- If you have 1-3 years of experience, you’ll typically have a 1 page resume
- 4-6 years of experience, 1-2 pages, but 3 may be ok
- 7-10 years (1-3)
- 10+ years (up to 3-5 pages)
Resume Content
Your goal is to get the reader to read your resume, so tailor each resume for each type of job you’re interested in, highlight what’s most relevant for the reader, paint a clear picture, and list it in order. (more below)
Formatting
Font Size
- Make your font type readable
- Not too big or small, 10, 10.5, 11
- Font size 9.5 for some larger font types (possibly
- Font size 12 is ok for individuals with less experience
Font Type
- Readable and desirable for your reader
Unify your formatting
- Make your font type the same throughout
- Make your font size the same throughout (Possible exceptions – Your Name, The resume section Summary, Professional Experience, Education, Skills, Recognition, …)
- Make sure vertical spacing the same between jobs
- Make sure you Job Description Heading has the same Vertical Spacing (i.e. Single Spacing OR Multiple 1.1)
- Make the bullet points (lists) spacing the same (i.e. .25″ left, .25″ hanging)
- If you use periods in your bullet points, make sure each job description has a period. If you don’t use periods, make sure there are no periods.
- Make sure your Degree and School of where you got your degree match the formatting for your Job Company and Title
Would you like Professional Clean Word Resume Templates?
Resume Layout
The resume layout depends if you are an:
Experience Hire, Executive Hire, First-Time Hire, Experienced individual looking for a new field or function.
- There’s no right way to format a format, so below is a suggestion of how to order your resume
- If you don’t have a section like portfolio links, publications, achievements, etc. just omit
Make your Job Experience Heading the same for each job (if possible):
- Company
- Job Title
- Dates of Employment
- Location
If a company may not be known to the reader, put a description giving the context of:
- What the company does and who their clients are
- Type of company – Public or Private
- Size of company, # of employees and geographies
- Revenue (if known)
Job Descriptions
Verb Tenses
- Verb Tense (Current role in current verb tense, Previous roles in past verb tense)
- For roles with projects or deliverables that have already been met and isn’t continuously done, past tense is ok.
Verb Choices
- Your choice of language informs the reader specifically if you were hands-on, hands-off, if you took the initiative and created or were passed the baton to lead, etc.
- It is strongly suggested to use Power Verbs or (Powerful) Action verbs, which are verbs that imply positive actions
- Specifically use Power Verbs that are Industry-Appropriate or Appropriate for your function
The best way to find these are to Google “Power Verbs” or “Action Verbs” AND (your_industry or function)
Upon doing a quick search, here’s a list of 185 Power Verbs
Here’s another Power Verbs PDF to download as well to add to your toolbox
Job Description Details
- One popular method for sharing information, which has many applications, is the STAR method. (Situation, Tactics, Actions, Result)
- However, many omit the Tactics to evoke curiosity so the reader will schedule an interview, and then will share the details.
This results in the acronym:
SAR – Situation, Action, Result or the variation PAR – Problem, Action, Result
- This was the Situation / Problem
- Here’s the Action I took
- This was the Result
Whether you share Tactics or not, the key is to pique the readers’ interest while showing you’re knowledgeable.
Topics to share:
- Situation/Problem/Challenge, Action, Results
- Goals
- Milestones
- Responsibilities
- Tasks
- Duties (day-to-day, weekly, monthly, annually)
- Objectives
- Initiatives
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Skills & New Skills Acquired
- Accomplishments
- Positive Results (Quantify with Numbers & Job / Industry-Specific Metrics)
- Metrics – Time, Volume, Money
- Recognition
✔ Show that you have Subject Matter Expertise (if not, show a comparable situation or skill that is transferable)
✔ Share Results that are quantifiable and understandable
✔ Convey that you have a positive attitude and awareness to do what’s needed by taking the initiative
✔ If you received recognition, share the social proof (not only are you saying it, but it must be true if you were recognized for your efforts)
Questions (in no particular order)
Why?
Why do you do what you do? What’s your function, goal, and role as to your why?
What?
What do you do? What’s your subject matter expertise? What are your goals and results? What you are responsible for? What tools do you use?
How?
How do you do it?
Who?
Who do you do it with? What’s the size of the team? What’s the reporting structure? Do you have direct reports? Indirect Reports? Do you mentor or train? Are you cross-functional?
When?
When do you it? How often – Daily, Weekly, Bi-monthly, Monthly, Annually?
Where?
Where you do – In-person, phone, email, remote, client-facing?
Resume Order of Information
Inexperienced Hires (1st or 2nd professional job)
- Summary Overview – Summary of education, internship/experience, industry/functional passion/interest, type of company/position/opportunity you are interested in
- Education – Degree, GPA if the reader will think it’s good, scholarships, activities/contributions, coursework as it relates to the job)
- Professional Experience or internships
- Certifications
- Portfolio Links
- Publications/Speaking Engagements
- Volunteering
- Achievements/Recognition
Experienced Hire
- Summary Overview – Overview, SME, type of company/position you want to apply your SME
- Professional Experience
- Education
- Certifications
- Skills/Core Skills/Areas of Knowledge
- Portfolio Links
- Publications/Speaking Engagements
- Volunteering
- Achievements/Recognition
Experienced Hire – New Function or Subject Matter
- Summary Overview – Overview, SME, type of company/position you want to apply your SME
- Professional Experience
- Education
- Certifications
- Skills/Core Skills/Areas of Knowledge
- Portfolio Links
- Publications/Speaking Engagements
- Volunteering
- Achievements/Recognition
Executive Hire
- ummary Overview S– Overview, SME, type of company/position you want to apply your SME
- Professional Experience
- Education
- Certifications
- Skills/Core Skills/Areas of Knowledge
- Portfolio Links
- Publications/Speaking Engagements
- Committees/Board of Directors
- Volunteering
- Achievements/Recognition
Resume Formatting?
Would you like professional help
Formatting or Writing your resume?
Option #1
- We’ll use your resume’s information & Apply a clean resume format (+ 2 revisions)
- We’ll unify the spacing, formatting & end-of-sentence periods (or removal)
- Objectives
- Job Description
- Education
- Skills
- Other if applicable (Summary, Certifications, Publications, etc.)
- Send your resume in Word & PDF formats
Option #2
- We’ll Reformat/Recreate your resume or Apply a clean resume format (your choice)
- Review/Unify verb tenses (+ 3 revisions)
- We’ll unify the spacing, formatting & end-of-sentence periods (or removal)
- Contact Information
- Job Headers (Company, Title, Employment Dates, Location)
- Job Description
- Education
- Skills
- end your resume in Word & PDF formats
Option #3
- We’ll review your resume
- Schedule a call to better understand and articulate your professional experience & goals
- Reformat/Recreate your Resume OR Apply a clean resume format (your choice)
- Review/Unify verb tenses
- Make Modifications as Needed
- Unify the spacing, formatting & end-of-sentence periods (or removal)
- Contact Information
- Job Headers (Company, Title, Employment Dates, Location)
- Job Description
- Education
- Skills
- Other if applicable (Summary, Certifications, Publications, etc.)
- Send your resume in Word & PDF formats
