Welcome to the first installment of the Resume to Interviews blog. Since writing this you can read other articles about Resume to Interviews and also the belief that finding a job is a numbers game. This was a banner year for us at Resume to Interviews, and we wanted to thank our customers for helping us grow our business and provide more quality Resumes and CV’s in 2011 than ever before. Due to Resume to Interviews growth, we will have the opportunity to continually add and update products and services in the coming year, and we wanted to make sure our clients, and potential clients, are kept up to date on everything new happening at Resume to Interviews. Hence, this newsletter, which will be coming in regular installments to an inbox near you.

For those of you who have used Resume to Interviews in the past, we’d like to take the time to remind you that all Resume to Interviews clients can buy a resume update for only $15. Or you can buy two resume updates, targeted to two different positions, for only $20. And don’t forget about our cover letter package, which is only $20, and comes with a cover letter template that you can use to create an infinite amount of cover letters in the future. (Of course, hopefully you won’t need that many.)

The “Resume Creation Philosophy” by Resume To Interviews

Here at Resume to Interviews, we get a lot of emails wondering if we have ever done resumes for the (blank) industry. While we certainly understand that many customers want to make sure the person writing their resume knows what the industry the resume is being written for requires, we also want to make it clear that our philosophy and process is designed to be universal. (And also that we have done Resumes and CV’s for countless industries and countries all over the globe.)
There are differences in resume and CV requirements across industries, and we know what they are. But they are mostly cosmetic in nature. What makes a great engineering resume also makes a great legal, programming, graphic design, and academic resume.
Here are things you have to do to create a great, eye-catching resume that employers are looking for:

Avoid all the things that people who read resumes HATE.

We hate to start out all negative, but this is actually really important. You’d be amazed how often Resumes are tossed in the trash not because they are badly constructed, or have bad information, but because they push the buttons of a HR person who reads hundreds of resumes a day and develops an irrationally strong hatred of the following things:
– Seeing an applicant claim to pay attention to detail on a resume with grammatical errors.
– Reading anything about energy levels on a resume. Unless you are applying to be a cheerleader, you should never call yourself “energetic.”

– Self-described “go-getters.” What does that even mean?
– Reading words that don’t mean anything. “Helped” is one of those. When you say you “helped” the team accomplish a goal, it’s not clear at all what YOU did. The hot dog guy at Busch Stadium could say he “helped” the Cardinals win the World Series. And he wouldn’t be lying.
– Seeing someone claim to “communicate” with someone, but not identifying what it is that is being communicated. You could be “communicating” gossip. Also, never use “interfaced.” You sound like Spock.

Clearly and accurately Say EXACTLY what you did at a job.

Many people think being somewhat ambiguous on a resume makes a task done once or twice look like something that was done regularly. It doesn’t. When hiring people are reading resumes and they come across something ambiguous or unclear, they assume the applicant is being sneaky on purpose to cover something. Hiring people are cynical about resumes, they have to be. They assume ambiguity is exaggeration or a sign of dishonesty. The only way to make sure you aren’t trying to misrepresent your experience is to say exactly what you did, and how many times you did it.

Image Source: Unknown and not owner by Resume to Interviews.

Be economical with words.

While it’s very important to say exactly what you did at a position, it’s also very important to say it in the fewest possible words. The more words you have, the more likely you are to confuse meaning. Also, the more work it is for the person reading. The more you cut down each individual bullet point, the more bullet points you can have (provided they are all relevant to the position you are applying to.) You’d be amazed how many words are needless, and contribute nothing to a sentence’s meaning. For example, there is no reason to ever use the world “proactively” in a resume.

Use active sentences with strong verbs.

This is a rule for all types of writing. Say what you DID in a resume. Not what you were, or who you helped, or who you worked with. Say what you DID and what it accomplished.
Those are just some general ideas and principles that we stick too here. We hope that gives an idea of how we work. There are others of course, like never use colors or stickers, and don’t use your mom as a reference. (Unless your mom is the CEO.) But those are pretty obvious.
Until next time, good luck with the job hunt! And remember, no matter how charming, confident, and professional you are in person, you can’t get interviews without a good resume.