Out with the old and in with the new. It’s the New Year and you deserve a fresh, new resume. Time to embrace your best skills and start the elimination round. That is, to rid your resume of formatting faux pas, outdated wording and meaningless content that’s just plain old or useless to your readers.
Print out a copy, proudly uncap a red marker and eliminate:
1. “One size fits all” resumes. That’s right! Dump the general purpose one. Use it as a reference document only to create several resumes that target specific professions or job titles. Don’t expect readers to wade through your skills and experiences looking to match their hiring needs.
2. An objective statement. Put this space to better use with a well crafted professional profile of your unique skills and the value you bring to the target company.
3. Personal information: age, hobbies, family and affiliations that are not profession-related.
4. Company logos, product images, or pictures. Logos and products are copyrighted. When you need images to enhance your story, include them in a portfolio for use at an interview, not on your resume. While it has become popular to include a personal photo on resumes, don’t. A photo has more potential to exclude (rather than include) you from the candidate pool.
5. Typos, odd fonts, &’s and #’s. Spell out, “and,” or “number” and keep your font a standard size throughout, with the exception of your name/header.
6. Dated wording like, “Responsible for,” or “Worked on.” Replace them with clear, concise accomplishment statements that describe actions and results. Avoid lengthy statements about how you worked or that look like a recap of your job description.
7. Multiple position titles: too many job titles become distracting and confuse the reader from what you really want. Also eliminate word repetition. Ask yourself, “How many times does this product or company name appear on my resume?
8. Margin crowding and odd spacing: keep adequate white space – at least 1” to 1 ½” border on all sides.
9. Tag lines and catch phrases that sound “slogan-ish” and don’t speak to your specific skills.
10. Dates or experiences that are more than 10 years old. If necessary, create an, “Other Relevant Experience” section without referencing dates.
Scouring your resume for clutter and distractions is only part of the goal. A resume that’s communicates specific highlights, that’s on target with a company’s hiring need and above all, is simply stated, will reward you with ample interview opportunities.
