Part III of Part III Series – Résumé Visual Errors, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Visual Errors to Avoid:

In this pre-final section, we will focus on visual and conspicuous features of your résumé. Several such aspects in the entire body of your résumé are shown in death defying bullets below:

Spelling errors (8), at all costs, avoid it!

• Do not ignore spell warnings (red) on “Word” revealing your rebellious nature
• These usually show up as red squiggly underlined formats – wake up!

Grammatical errors can be equally damaging or worse reflect a “I don’t care” attitude!

• Do not ignore grammar warnings (green) as it may irk some hiring managers.
• Verify potential differences between American and British versions of English grammar.
• Avoid phrases susceptible to such differences between these schools of practice.
• Keep the language global, simple, and importantly, independent of reader’s background.

Font usage in your body text – it is not a game, get real!

• Use generally acceptable font type and size – refer to articles on the internet.
• Create as much white empty space between the lines – pleasant for the reader’s eyes.
• Avoid boldfacing, uppercase usage, underlining, and varying font size within a bullet.
• Stay consistent between bullets, within and between functions.
• Stick with the generally acceptable black color of fonts on your résumé.
• Capitalize (upper case) the first letter of each bulleted sentence
• Use the generally acceptable white background on your soft and hard copies.
• Print hard copies on a nice strong white background paper.
• Do not print your résumé back-to-back to save paper or “be green”
  • You will get several opportunities to go green after being hired.
• Have someone read your résumé before you finalize it for shipment.
  • This helps a lot, especially when you are against a deadline.

With the advent of internet tools, most organizations use efficient web-based filtering tools to screen résumés in lieu of manual pre-assessments at least in the western world to begin with. So the right key words in your résumé work in your favor, whereas inappropriate wording and font/font size may yield a poor rating.

By now you have already realized that any web-based rating doesn’t correlate well with your ability to perform on the job. In an extreme situation, ignoring these tips may also reveal your lack of information on the criteria of résumé screening, thus disqualifying you without even getting started. Don’t be a victim, comply with format, understand how the system works and work it!

Conclusions and Recommendations:

Based on such trends in the world of résumé evaluation in this new decade, it is critical for you to be cognizant of what is happening at a global leveling field, when it comes to scripting this critical document.

The success criteria for your résumé design is not on how good your résumé looks or feels, rather more toward how a hiring manager can benefit toward his deliverables from your skills and would be thus interested in the next favorable steps – i.e., a phone call. So while you script your résumé or redesign it, here are some points of interest you might keep in mind:

• Script skills to reveal value, without a need for being a subject matter expert to comprehend it.
• Comply with general format and guidelines such as font, page length, empty space, and other.
• Treat it like your personal document, and do not indiscriminately share or send it to anyone.
  • Indiscriminate sharing indirectly says you are desperate, ready to fall for anything.
• Network to find what stays and gets off the résumé, as changing times changes attention.
• Engage with references on your claims and war stories as your credibility is on the line.
• Thank references consistently who get excited with your success – Do not be opportunistic.
• Avoid errors 100 % (discussed above) lest embarrassing and reflecting an adamant attitude.

The world of résumé counseling is filled with experts offering bags of tricks and treats. Screening the right counselor can be daunting, and so pick your resource based on their track record, referrals, more than mere talk and tall claims. It is worth this cautious investment in time and on some cases money, when the counselor’s walk and talk need to go hand-in-hand.

Our forthcoming articles on CSP topics will include telephone pre-interviewing, face-to-face interviewing, follow through process, and salary negotiation all relating to successful closures for the CSP.

Cited References:

(8) “Top 20 of the Most Hilarious Spelling Mistakes on Resumes…” by A. Kucheriavy March, 2010 http://www.resumark.com/blog/andrew/top-15-of-the-most-hilarious-spelling-mistakes-on-resumes-and-cover-letters/#ixzz19owzRGKGhttp://www.resumark.com/blog/andrew/top-15-of-the-most-hilarious