By Marcia Powers
Contributor, Career Services
Holiday baking is a big business in our household. In order to keep up with the seasonal demand for sweets, I tend to spend many hours in the kitchen, pressing cookie cutters into dough, and baking little masterpieces that will be distributed, examined, and (hopefully) enjoyed by many.
While obviously different, writing a resume is much like baking a cookie, both needing to win the approval of those who sample it. If you don’t want your resume to leave a bad taste in the mouths of prospective employers, consider following a little resume recipe for success.
Choose Quality Ingredients
There are many ingredients that go into a resume, and you should choose these ingredients with care. Determine what experience you list based on its quality, relevancy and meaning. In most cases, it is unwise to dump everything you have done into your document. Instead, choose experience that helped shape you as a professional and upon which you can expand.
Let the Recipe be your Guide
Look at the vacancy posting as if it were your recipe. What does the job description call for? What key words routinely pop up? If the position demands management skills, make sure you address your management experience within your resume. Tailor your resume to every job position you apply for.
Set the Timer
Your resume could go on, and on, and on, so be sure to set a timer for yourself! Baking a cookie too long will only result in a burnt, undesirable disaster, and a resume without a timer could result in a similar outcome. When composing your resume, think about the best interest of the employer, not yourself. If you are not interested in reading a 10 page resume, it’s safe to say the employer isn’t either. A standard resume for the private sector should not exceed 1-2 pages.
Leave the fluff. Focus on the Substance
If someone picks up a cookie, they expect to eat a cookie, not a container of marshmallow frosting. If your content isn’t solid, no amount of fluff can redeem it. Every statement on your resume should say something about your abilities and potential. Can you back up your experience with evidence? Are you able to provide examples? It is better to have a small but solid foundation than a mountain of fluff.
Decorate Tastefully
You can tastefully assemble your resume to be aesthetically pleasing. Make sure the document is well-balanced and consistent. Check for spelling errors or formatting inconsistencies. When the employer picks up your document, it should be pleasant to look at. You don’t want their first impression to be a judgment on your inability to create a polished document. Your resume is essentially a reflection of yourself on paper.
Now that you have a recipe on hand, approach your resume writing with confidence!
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