Resume Critique

The next time you are tempted to ask someone to evaluate your resume, reconsider.  What kind of feedback are you hoping for?  You know if your resume is working or not-  if your phone isn't ringing, your resume isn't working. 

Learning how to evaluate our own work is truly difficult.  However, it is a really important skill to develop.  Try using this checklist to evaluate your own work objectively.  Download Resume checklist2

If you ask for feedback, be prepared to ask good follow-up questions, especially "What is your logic for making that recommendation"? 

When a recruiter from an agency or firm is evaluating your resume, their needs are different from the actual company they will be recruiting for.  The recruiter wants to know everything about you to feel safe in their decision to refer you on (after their conversation with you, of course).  In many cases, recruiters will want to see all jobs and detailed start and end dates.  If you do provide that information on your resume (which I don't recommend) what questions might this raise in their minds? Are you OK with answering those questions, if, given the chance?  Sometimes, you won't be given the chance however, you will end up on the "cutting room floor".

Everyone has personal biases. It is difficult to please everyone, perhaps impossible.  You only have to please a couple of people to get an interview-  the screener and the hiring manager.  (Sometimes they are one in the same).

Here are some basic rules of thumb:

• Don't use trite language (work well independently or as a team player)
• Have plenty of white space (at least .5 inch margins and avoid big paragraphs)
• Avoid underlining, italics and fancy bullets
• Font size no smaller than 11 and no larger than 12
• Use accomplishments!
• List only relevant information (relevant to the specific job for which you are applying)
• Customize your resume for the job
• Limit how far back you show your work experience (10-15 yrs max)
• Focus on quality of the words you use

Try not to obsess over the resume.  Work on it and move on.  Evaluate it by the number of phone calls you are getting.