Resume Fact and Fiction
There are thousands of resume writers across the country and around
the world; no two of them write in exactly the same manner. In this
article, we'd like to debunk some of the
resume myths that are floating around, and put to rest some of the
misconceptions about resumes. For the prospective resume client,
please read this, as not everything you hear
on the street or from headhunters is necessarily correct.
1. Hiring Managers and prospective employers don't read cover letters.
False. Studies have shown that more than 50% of hiring managers and
department managers read the cover letter, and place almost as much
emphasis on it as on the resume when deciding what applicants to
interview. The cover letter is your introduction to the employer; it
indicates the position you are interested in, displays your writing
skills, and shows that you are familiar with proper business
etiquette. That means that a good cover letter could help you land
twice as many interviews.
2. The resume should detail your entire work history.
False. The resume is an outline of your work history, not a
comprehensive story. Most experts agree that the resume should never
go back further than 20 years; many feel that
10 or 15 years should be the cut-off. In our own work, we usually go
with 15, but we will go back 20, or even 25 years, if the information
is vital. This usually only happens with executives such as CEO's or
Corporate Officers. Temporary jobs and part-time work, again unless
displaying vital skills, can usually be eliminated. It never looks
good
on a resume to show three jobs during a one-year time frame, unless
the client is a contract employee.
3. It doesn't matter what your resume says or how it looks, if you
have great work experience.
False. The resume is a marketing tool, designed to draw the reader's
attention to it, and to you. With a poorly prepared resume, no matter
how great your accomplishments have been you won't get many
interviews, because no one will ever see those accomplishments. Hiring
managers and recruiters won't even read resumes that don't look
professional.
4. The purpose of the resume is to produce job offers.
False. In a perfect world, this would be true. We all hope that our
resumes will produce job offers for the clients, but the truth is they
don't, and can't. The purpose of the
resume is to produce interviews. After that, it is up to the applicant
to impress the hiring manager enough to get the job offer. All the
resume can do is increase the number of
interviews received, thereby increasing the odds of getting a job
offer. However, if an applicant interviews poorly, or applies to
positions they are not qualified for, the best
resume in the world won't make a difference.
5. The resume should always be one page in length.
False. Years ago this was true, back when only a few people applied
for each open job, and employers only wanted to see a basic
description of your previous job functions. However,in today's
employment environment, applicants are competing against dozens, often
hundreds, of other prospective employees, and it is necessary to
provide a strong list of accomplishments and job functions. Add to
that the fact that today most people change jobs much more frequently
than in the past, and it often becomes almost impossible to fit all
the necessary information onto one page. We've found that
about 70% of the resumes we produce are in the one and a half to
two-page range. We try to keep to two pages as a maximum number but on
rare occasions such as for corporate
officers or technical specialists, three pages are acceptable.
6. Personal information and volunteer activities are important to
show, because they indicate a well-rounded applicant.
False. If they had their way, employers today would prefer that the
employee have no hobbies or responsibilities outside of work; that
way, they'd be available to work as
often as the employer needed them. We never put personal information
on a resume; volunteer work or hobbies are only included when they
apply directly to the work that the
client does or is interested in doing. Even then, we only include it
when there's available space on the resume.
7. You should always add 'References Available' at the end of the
resume.
False. Years ago, this was standard practice, but today it is no
longer necessary. Employers automatically assume that applicants have
professional references. By omitting that section from the resume, you
open up more space for
important information.
8. It's OK to lie or exaggerate on the resume everyone does it.
False. A person should never, ever lie on the resume, or
over-exaggerate their skills and qualifications. The same
goes for academic background. Employers today are performing
detailed background checks and usually ask applicants to
bring in contact information from previous jobs along with
copies of diplomas and/or transcripts, and even then may
perform a more detailed search. An applicant who has been
found to lie or greatly exaggerate on their resume or during
an interview would be eligible for automatic dismissal. We
have seen it happen on more than one occasion. Once, we saw
an offer of employment withdrawn after it was discovered
that the applicant was actually one credit shy of the
graduate degree listed on the resume. It's a tough world out
there, and employers want an honest employee just as much as
they want a qualified one.
9. A professional resume will get better results.
True! For us, this is always one of the major selling points
for our services. Professional resumes perform an average of
three to five times better than a well-written amateur
resume. When you consider that the majority of positions
clients apply for are already filled, or are not the right
fit for the client, then this higher percentage of
interviews is even more important. Like we tell our clients,
the more interviews you can get, the better the odds of
getting the job you want.
C2005 Ronan Kennedy, President of Professional-Resumes.com
Our resumes and cover letters are guaranteed to win
interviews. Learn more and read our salary articles, career
tips and career resources at www.Professional-Resumes.com
Written
By
Ronan Kennedy
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