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Resumé writing has become a big business. There are many conflicting guidelines about what constitutes a good resumé and what makes a bad one. Opinions vary greatly on what information should be included, how it should be presented, and what purpose it serves.
For PrintLink, a company specializing in printing industry-specific recruitment, resumés function foremost as guidelines for further discussion of a candidate's experience and objectives. Yet all too often resumés emphasize the wrong things. Instead of offering an inviting introduction, the resumé becomes an obstacle that can diminish a candidate's eligibility.
Often it is only through detailed discussion with candidates that such roadblocks are resolved, and eliminating potentially valuable employees is avoided.
The information that follows will give insights into what a staffing firm look for specifically in a resumé, and what it reveals about the candidate who provided it.
Length Tied to Purpose
A good working definition of a resumé is: "A short account of one's career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position."
Succinct presentation is key, since statistics show that the first reading of a resumé typically takes 10 seconds. Because personnel is a staffing firm's core business and candidates are the inventory, they do take longer to evaluate a resumé. Yet the 10-second rule for a first reading still applies: any additional time taken with an individual resumé is generally for re-reading.
It follows that the resumé must be a document that enables anyone to assimilate the information it contains quickly. For this reason it is preferable that resumé length be just long enough to serve its purpose, but not so long that it becomes autobiographical.
Easy-To-Read Text
Some candidates feel it is important to include graphics, especially for a visual-based industry. However, graphics rarely convert or print well, and can get in the way of the real message—the facts on a resumé.
Therefore, for pragmatic reasons, candidates' resumés should consist of text only. Occasionally there are fax submissions, but most resumés now arrive electronically as e-mail attachments. Most job requests specify that the attachments should be supplied in either Word for PC, Rich Text, or PDF formats. PDF documents are also extremely helpful.
The most important thing is that the information provided in candidates' files should be legible both on a monitor and on paper, so use simple, tried-and-true type fonts, such as Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial, in a legible size.
Some candidates still like to deliver hard copies of their documents on good-quality colored or textured stock. However, this embellishment complicates the process of electronic archiving. For resumés submitted on paper, plain white is the new rule.
Cautionary Signals
Typos and misspelling always tell a story. Although their cause may vary from person to person, they never fail to raise a concern.
Additionally, for a big industry, printing is small, and it is relatively easy for candidates to be caught by inaccuracies on their resumé. Be as accurate as possible with the information you relay.
A poll of recruiters and hiring managers by the Resumé Doctor notes the following most common misleading information on resumés:
- Inflated titles
- Inaccuracies or inflated information regarding specific roles and duties
- Inaccurate dates to cover up job hopping or gaps in employment
- Inflated educational background
- Inflated salaries
- Inflated accomplishments
For the most part, candidates give sincere accounts of their career paths and skill sets. Because a staffing firm is an independent third party and not hiring directly, candidates will often confide in and enlist their assistance in handling any tricky issues in their background appropriately with prospective employers.
Often in such cases, employment firms try to cover off any points of concern in the confidential summary provided to employers along with each resumé. Even with all the help, it still happens: A candidate registers with us, submits a resumé, and gets archived into our system. Then, six months to a year later, the same person comes back to register again, this time with a completely different resumé they want to file.
Content is so crucial to a successful resumé that next month's column will be devoted to that subject.
Arnold Kahn is president of PrintLink, North America's leading professional placement firm specializing in the graphic communications industry. Contact him at (800) 867-3463, or printlink@printlink.com.
author: By Arnold Kahn