Companies are quite willing to look at a 2 or 3 page resume—the 1 page resume is no longer standard—but they want a resume that is clear and concise. So how do you make sure your resume is concise?
- Know the job you want. This is most important because it focuses your resume. Once you know the job you want and what most employers are looking for, you can ensure that your resume concisely highlights the skills, education, past experience, and accomplishments that fit right into employer expectations. Otherwise, you are floundering and your resume will show it.
- Be precise; get rid of vague adjectives and adverbs. A concise resume should highlight facts. Saying that you are a “seasoned negotiator” means nothing unless you can point to several successful negotiations over the years. Define successful: did your negotiations bring in money or clients; open up new geographies or channels; rescue a troubled product or business unit?
- Skip “responsible for” and get to the heart of what you did. If you were “responsible for managing a team,” then you “managed a team.” Hunt for “…ing” constructions. Change “was in charge of measuring key performance indicators” to “measured key performance indicators.” Change “known for consulting with” to “consults with.”
- Stress your accomplishments, not your tasks. Every shoe salesperson sells shoes to customers. Did you sell 100 athletic shoes weekly? Did you specialize in a certain brand? Did you also train or mentor new salespeople?
- Avoid redundancy. Every position you held is a little different. Maybe the companies or teams you worked with were a difference size, or you used different techniques or equipment, or you worked with a new product, project, or external or internal client. Avoid repeating the same verb over and over—look for synonyms (“recruited,” “hired,” “brought on board,” “added to”). A concise resume should still be interesting.
At Robin’s Resumes®, we make sure your resume is focused, precise, and concise. Contact us today.