How to Write a Resume Like a Pro
We receive up to 100 resumes each day! You likely have only one chance to stand out. Having reviewed thousands of them as a headhunter - granted, some viewed in under a few seconds - I have made some suggestions of what we look for and some tips on what to avoid. I hope you will find this helpful.
1. Typos and grammatical errors:
Your resume needs to be grammatically perfect. If it isn't, recruiters and employers will draw some negative conclusions about you - about your inability to communicate well in writing, or your lack of care to proofread. We are all busy, but being viewed as careless will likely have been a complete waste of your time. If you don't know the difference between your and you're, it's an immediate delete.
2. Apply for positions for which you are qualified:
I understand aiming high and reaching for the stars, but I find it pointless when someone applies for a position for which they are clearly not qualified.
3. Be thorough from the beginning:
If you are responding to a job posting, please review it carefully and submit everything that is asked. For design related positions, we always ask for a resume and portfolio. If you didn’t take the time to respond the ad’s requests, I won't likely take the time to ask you to send more information that I had asked for up front.
4. Be concise:
The general rule of thumb for the length of your resume is to keep it to one page long for every ten years of relevant work. You should have an objective summarizing what your experience has been and also what you are seeking; make it clear to the recipient what your goals are – both your immediate and long-term goals. Go ahead and state your realistic salary requirements as well. Employers need to easily understand what you have done, what you are seeking and what you can offer them.
Examples:
Led team of 10 designers in residential and retail projects
Spearheaded designer and client communication to obtain a project overview and to maintain a design direction for the duration of a project
Developed design concepts and schemes, which include floor plans and the selection of furniture, lighting, window treatments, and accessories
5. Attempting the "one–size–fits–all" approach:
Whenever you try to develop a generic resume, you run the risk of sending something that may appear not to be relevant to the position at hand. Take the time to make your resume as focused on your experience ands qualifications relative to the open position. You want to clearly show how and why you fit the position.
6. Visual noise:
If your resume is wall-to-wall text featuring many different fonts, it will be distracting and more challenging to read than something to the point. Keep it devoid of unnecessary ornamentation. Make it readable in less than 30 seconds. It is tempting to add your personal touch, but the objective should be clarity of information – a portfolio should be your visual platform.
Use white space liberally. Create at least one-inch margins on your resume. Also, leave some blank space between various sections of the resume's text, so several distinct chunks of information can be seen.
Stick with two fonts at most. It's tempting to use the many typefaces at you have at your disposal, but having more than two fonts in any document only lessens its readability. One font is all you really need. If you use two, make sure they complement each other. For example, use one font for the headings and the second font for the body text.
7. Home address:
Including your home address is something from the past, when employers corresponded by US Mail. We don’t think it’s important. Do include your city and state, so they know your general location and proximity to the job.
8. Hyperlinks:
Include hyperlinks of companies on your resume, even if you think it's a well known name. You want to make it as easy as possible for the people reading it to understand everything about you and your experience. Also consider including links to special projects, programs and other linkable information you want the reader to see.
9. PDF format:
Send your resume in PDF format only! I can't stress this enough and surprised how many resumes we receive sent as a Word Document. When you send it as a Doc., the recipient receives it with all of Word's errors and grammatical suggestions, all highlighted and in red and green. Ouch! Proof your document and convert to a PDF, then send. Here's how: http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-a-Microsoft-Word-Document-to-PDF-Format
10. Personal photo:
Though standard on foreign CV's, and not so much in the U.S., we are seeing personal photos more and more and I don’t think it’s at all bad, though clearly optional. It puts a human touch to your resume.
We are here to help. If you follow these suggestions, we are here to help further shape your resumes, putting your best foot forward and landing that next job in this competitive industry.
Good luck!
Coming soon: How to Create a Digital Portfolio
