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5 Signs Your Résumé is Passé
Tania Khadder | HRGuru
September 02, 2009
#1: You’ve forced it to fit onto one page.
You’ve reduced your font size to eight, eliminated margins altogether and left out key information about yourself, all to conform to that age-old “one page résumé” rule. Big mistake. After all, would a recent college grad really need the same amount of résumé real estate as someone who’s been in the workforce for 20 years? Of course not.
Don’t get me wrong: Your résumé should be concise. Recruiters are busy people – they don’t have time or the patience for long-winded career chronologies. But if your experience warrants two pages, by all means, don’t limit yourself to one.
It also is obvious if you have tried to cram everything into one page for the sake of it being one page.
But don’t take this tip lightly. Most people think they need to list every minute detail of their professional history. Do some heavy editing and if, at the end, you’re still over, stop worrying.
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metot
about 1 month ago
206 comments
Great article:)
Account Removed
2 months ago
I'm not certain about the conventional wisdom of #5. How widespread is the knowledge that hiring managers don't want a chronological order? I think a chron order works better if you are newer to the workforce or if you kept moving up the ladder with each new position. I think #5 works very well for a sales person who has only sales experience or a professional executive assistant.
jjslevin
2 months ago
8 comments
I think a sixth one should be added, how you have named your resume. It should not be resume. It should be your name and the job you are applying for or at minimum your name and your expertise as a title.
Edward
2 months ago
440 comments
I conduct resume/cover letter writing for the Dept. Of Labor every Thursday morning. I stress that the 'Objective' NOT be a generic statement. Rather, use the actual title of the position you are applying for. If HR is sorting through a dozen or a few hundred resumes, you want them to know exactly what position you are looking to fill.
amera1
2 months ago
10 comments
I would have to disagree about the .PDF format, it does not upload well in Applicant Tracking Systems, however the artical was insightful.
cyanhead12
2 months ago
12 comments
The article should also point out using key words for searching. I made the mistake of not using them and my resume wasn't found when recruiters were looking in Monster and Career Builder. It's much more visible now.
emmalee
2 months ago
6 comments
Great article!! This information is valuable to me especially since I am working on bring my resume up-to-date. Being in the workforce for well over 20 years it was refreshing to know that the one page requirement is out the door.