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acronyms

Words That Cause Resume Problems

The English language is filled with words that sound and look almost the same but have quite different meanings. Here are a few you want to watch out for.

  • Prospective means “happening in the future.” Perspective means “a point of view.” So you are most likely to have a new perspective on a company’s problems—not a prospective.
  • Compliment means “a polite expression of admiration or praise.” Complement means “something that completes or brings to perfection.” So you are most likely to add skills that complement ones you already have—not compliment.
  • Insure, assure, and ensure overlap in certain meanings. But most people use insure in the sense of “providing compensation after damage”; assure in the sense of “telling someone something positive to dispel their doubts”; and ensure in the sense of “making certain something will happen.” So you are most likely to ensure that the right people are chosen for a team—not insure or assure.
  • Forward means “toward the front.” Foreword means “a short introduction to a book.” So you are most likely to move a company’s goals forward—not foreword (“foreward” is simply wrong).
  • SaaS, IoT, iOS, IaaS—be very careful when using technical abbreviations like these. saas, iOT, IoS, and IAS are wrong or mean something else entirely. Define each abbreviation or acronym first – using both the acronym and spelled out version helps with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and being found in searches.
  • Principle means “a rule of action or conduct.” Principal means “most important or influential.” So if you are talking about the leader of a firm or school, you want principal. Principal is also the right word for discussing the principal of a loan. If you are talking about the way you approach a job or situation, then you act in accordance with your principles.
  • APAC, APJ, APSG, CALA, CEMA, EMEA, IMEA, SEMEA, and similar abbreviations for worldwide regions have very distinct meanings. Make sure you are using the right acronym and always define it first.
  • Corps means “a subdivision in the army.” Corpse means “a dead body.” Corp. is the abbreviation for “corporation.” So you are most likely to talk about Samsung C&T Corp. or the US Marine Corps—not Samsung C&T Corpse or US Marine Corp.

Many people find themselves mixing up similar sounding words and acronyms in English. Part of my job as a professional resume writer is to make sure the right word or acronym is in the right place. Contact me today for help with your resume.

Is it Okay to Use Acronyms in a Resume?

Acronyms serve many good purposes in a resume. The best way to use acronyms is to spell them out the first time you use them:  “Led the Global Commodities Group (GCG).”  However, some acronyms are so well know (such as CEO for Chief Executive Officer) that you can skip the spelled-out version: “Worked directly with CEO on mergers and acquisitions (M&A).”

Here are the best reasons for using acronyms in your resume:

  • Use an acronym to prepare for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that may be set up to look for either acronyms or the spelled out version. For example, an ATS may search for IoT and/or Internet of Things. By defining the acronym, you are ready for both cases.
  • Use an acronym in case a recruiter searches on the acronym only, not the spelled out version. This is most likely for acronyms like P&L (for profit and loss).
  • Use an acronym when it saves space in a resume. For example, if you already have mentioned in the resume that you work in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), you may use the acronym EMEA in future references to that area.
  • Use an acronym that appears in a job announcement—such as SaaS or MBA.
  • Use an acronym if it is very well-known in your field or more commonly used than the actual words –for example, IT for information technology.

Whenever you use an acronym, make sure that you:

  • Are consistent: if the acronym for the Strategic Investment Team is SIT, do not switch to SI team.
  • Are clear about what the acronym stands for: FDA is most likely the Food and Drug Administration but it also has a lot of other definitions, including the Florida Dental Association.
  • Control the number of acronyms: the more acronyms, the harder your resume will be to read.
  • Are using the correct acronym: especially with associations and companies, make doubly sure you have abbreviated the name correctly.

Whenever you are in doubt about an acronym, spell it out. For guidance in creating a readable resume, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Catch These Resume Mistakes before They Happen

Today I’m focusing on three resume mistakes that are easily avoided—and all too common.

Resume Mistake 1: Too much capitalization

I often see this problem on technical resumes, where every noun from Customer to Technology is capitalized. Save capitals for proper names—official names and titles, like ABC Company versus “the company” or Southwest Regional Manager versus “the manager.”

Professional resume writers know that, if you capitalize every noun, pretty soon capitalization loses its power and also becomes very difficult to read. For example, consider how capitalizing every noun detracts from this sentence: “Directed Finance Functions for several Companies, including Cash Flow Management, by working closely with each Company’s CFO or SVP of Finance.” Moreover, you quickly lose track of which words you have capitalized, leading to inconsistency from one job description to the next.

Resume Mistake 2: Too many acronyms

You may have used an acronym for years (for example, HIPAA or APICS or VMS); but never known or forgotten what the initials stand for. You may have exchanged them inside your company for years, but never wondered if anyone outside your company uses the same acronyms in the same way. You may think that the National Organization of Antelope Habitats is abbreviated NOAH, but it is actually NOOAH.

When it comes to acronyms—in fact, when it comes to the entire resume—professional resume writers question everything and ask you to question everything. We always research and we never assume.

Resume Mistake 3. Depending too much on the computer

Whether you are depending on the computer for formatting, spell-checking or grammar-checking—take charge.

Professional resume writers know that computers get confused. You may have told the computer that every main heading should be bold, centered, in 10 point Ariel font; but then you will find one heading in 10.5 font or without bolding or with no centering. You may have run the spell-checker a dozen times, but the computer will still okay “revue” when you meant “revenue.” As for online grammar-checkers, any professional resume writer will tell you that they are worthless. Proof, re-proof and proof again manually and ask at least one other person to proof your resume for you.

One advantage of hiring a professional resume writer is that you are hiring someone who anticipates resume mistakes and knows how to correct them. I will work side-by-side with you, on the way to an error-free resume. Call me today.

Six Rules for Using Acronyms in Resumes

In these blog posts, you will find many occasions when I have mentioned the danger of including too many acronyms in your resume without defining them. It is easy to assume that “everyone” knows what an acronym means, only to discover that the acronym has an entirely different meaning in another company—or even in another division. A resume loaded with acronyms is difficult to read even by someone who knows exactly what you mean by each acronym.

But acronyms do have a place in resumes, if only because they save valuable space that is better used to describe your value to a company. Here are six rules to make sure you are using acronyms in the best possible way:

  1. Generally, it is best to spell out an acronym somewhere in the resume. For example, a company looking for an expert in condition-based maintenance may set their applicant tracking system to look only for the full words, not for the acronym CBM.
  2. Some acronyms, such as TV, are almost never spelled out. Others, like R&D, truly are universally known. But in a case like R&D, you might want to use the keywords “research” or “researcher” or “developer” or “develop” elsewhere in the resume.
  3. Go easy on capitalization. For example, there is no reason to capitalize research and development even though the acronym (R&D) is capitalized. Keep capitalization for proper names.
  4. Be careful about repetition. For example, say you worked on your company’s telecommunications service (TCS). It would be redundant for you to refer to your company’s “TCS service.”
  5. The plural of an acronym does not normally require an apostrophe; for example, several technical analysts are TAs (“reviewed reports submitted by TAs”). Possessives do need a plural, as in “modified a newly hired TA’s reports to correct errors.”
  6. Above all, make sure every acronym you use in your resume is correct. In the healthcare industry, the correct acronym is HIPAA, not HIPPA. The abbreviation for Alaska is AK, not AL (which stands for Alabama). The Association of Retired Flight Attendants might be ARFA or AORFA or even TARFA—make sure you get it right.

If you follow those six rules, you should feel confident about using acronyms in your resume when using acronyms make sense.

Using Keywords in Your Resume

Many companies run resumes through programs that are able to check for specific keywords. These programs loosely gauge how fit a possible employee is for a job by ranking resumes by the number and type of keywords that they contain.

Although the keywords that programs search for in resumes often vary by job, they frequently deal with the personal characteristics, college degree, training, and technological skills that relate to certain professions.  The way in which companies use their search for keywords varies; some companies may weight keywords based on importance where other companies consider all keywords equal; some companies may strongly take into account how many of the keywords match the skills, education, and other words they are looking for while others may be more lenient.

You can take several steps to optimize the quality of keywords in your resume.

First, include both acronyms and their spelled-out forms. Although some companies have more refined programs that search for the synonyms of keywords in addition to a keyword itself, some programs only search for either an acronym or its spelled-out version as a keyword.

Second, use as many forms (noun, verb, adjective) of a word as possible. For example, for the noun “leader,” see if you can logically work in words such as lead, leadership and leading.

Finally, search job posts, job descriptions and company websites and brochures for recurring words and phrases before creating a resume. These recurring words and phrases are likely keywords that the company will look for in resumes. Some potential keywords can be found in job descriptions that list the qualifications for a specific job; for example, if a job description says “bachelor of science degree required,” “bachelor of science” will likely be a keyword.

Working keywords into a resume in a natural, truthful and logical way is a skill. If you are having problems, contact Robin’s Resumes®.

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