January 08th, 2018

Resumes. Some Things Seldom Change.

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As a former VP/GM and hiring authority, I’ve been looking at resumes since 1970. 1970! There were no PCs, laptops, iPads, cellular phones, handheld calculators, Internet, flat screen TVs, cable TV, less than a dozen U.S. car manufacturers with, perhaps, only about five different models, FM radio was just broadcasting in a few cities, no CDs, no websites, no computer software, no apps, no Google, no InstaGram, no Facebook, and on and on. Yet the resumes sent to me today look and read, for the most part, just like those in 1970! …and people wonder why they are not getting any responses, or interviews? “The Times They Are A-Changin' ” – Bob Dylan (1963). Not quickly enough for resumes  apparently! (Résumé, by the way, is French for ‘summary’)

​This may be the major reason your future boss hates opening and skimming a resume. They, basically, all look alike and no differently than those viewed long ago. A resume should not be a ‘chronological obituary,’ but a vibrant, hiring proposal…a ‘marketing masterpiece!’
 
In my website ( www.AdvancedCareerSolutions.com ) beneath the “Advice” tab, I wrote an article on March 1, 2017 entitled “Résumé Writing 101” in which I went into some detail as to how a resume should be structured and written to survive a company’s ATS software screen, actually be skimmed, then read, and generate interviews. The SOLE purpose of a great resume.
 
Beware of using page frames, text boxes, text columns, .pdf and formats (other than Word ’97-2003 .doc), acronyms behind your name, tiny fonts and margins, graphics, photos, and the list goes on. Whenever you submit your resume online, there is a very strong chance that it will first meet the company’s ATS software. If a single one of the items above are encountered, your resume is expelled and will never reach human eyes, nor will you receive any reply! If you have been struggling to gain interviews, I’ll bet that it has nothing to do with you…IT’S YOUR RESUME! It’s a whole new world out there! Happy 2018!!