by Marshall Brown and Annabelle Reitman
A reviewer not only looks for reasons to select a résumé for the short initial interview pile, but also looks for reasons to reject a résumé. When a document has a "high polish," clarity, balance, and "together" look to it, the hiring agent receives the message that you are a consummate professional. This is particularly true when a person who has never met you uses the résumé as their main tool for selecting candidates for the initial interview invite.
Frequently, a résumé is rejected simply because of typos, grammar errors, or because it is just not easy to read. Therefore, it is essential to pay close attention to the required or preferred résumé technical points. Some of the rules are just standard English and writing usage, and others are good résumé development procedures. Fifteen accepted guidelines to follow as you develop your résumé are:
- Be accurate and check and, if necessary, double check, all dates and figures
- Omit jargon and other language that is organization or industry specific, particularly when making a career change or professional shift to another field and/or industry (e.g., acronyms, titles, phrases)
- Try and not to repeat or overuse the same professional skill word, action verb, or other characterizing words in describing your background and experiences
- Do not abbreviate to save space other than the usual accepted ones (e.g., state names, academic degrees, part of an organization's name, words commonly used in a specific field or industry)
- Use wide space and wide margins to make the résumé visually appealing
- Keep language simple, easy-to-read, clear, concise, brief, and statements brief, crisp, and succinct
- Review grammar, spelling of formal names/titles, and English correct usage
- Avoid gender specific words (e.g., manpower, salesmen)
- Be consistent in verb tenses, abbreviations, formatting, headings, design, style, fonts, spacing
- Omit the use of "I" (first person) and "he" or "she" (third person) and "a" or "an" or "the" (unnecessary articles)
- Use short sentences, paragraphs, or bullets, and start each opening sentence with an action verb or professional skill word
- For a résumé that is more than one page, put your name at the top of any following page in case they become separated from each other and clipped together not stapled
- Keep résumé to two pages in length, unless you have an unusual background or extensive experiences that need to be included and/or for meeting job qualifications
- Choose high quality paper stock that says this is a successful senior level professional
- Proofread word by word at least twice; then have a couple of colleagues (your fresh eyes) do the final critique and proof with complete objectivity and neutrality, providing you with their impressions and recommendations.
