Many people currently believe that the more information they provide, the better. In fact, this is not the case at all. Jobs & Hire suggests that we keep it simple and leave out the information that tends to "bloat" a resume. It is important that recruiters and potential employers are able to pick out the key facts and are not overwhelmed with all of the filler information.
Recently, PR Daily wrote an article discussing the 10 words and phrases that should be left off a resume to avoid this issue. Here are just a few examples:
- "References available upon request."
- Experience with Microsoft Office (that is expected nearly everywhere)
- Anything "high school"
Your resume serves as the appetizer of the meal- you don't want to leave the reader so overwhelmingly full that they don't want the actual meal (the interview). Include the most important and relevant parts, and leave the details for explanation later on during the interview.
Contact: pealeml@dukes.jmu.edu
Keywords is an essential component of writing a successful resume, because many recruiters are screening the resumes based on keywords.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sampleresumeobjectives.org/quality-control-inspector.html
What a great point! It's also a good idea to look at the job description for the position you're interested in, and work keywords from that into your resume. Thanks for the excellent tip, Gene!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the items you suggest for students to omit from their resume. Having screened resumes for many years, a good number of student resumes tend to look a lot alike. I will emphasize for students to carefully examine the work and outside activities that are listed on their resume. Focus on your accomplishemnts and what you achieved, quantify whenever possible. Don't let those expereinces read like a job description or a generic list of tasks.
ReplyDeleteTo address Gene's point, keywords can be important if and when employers search on them, but you might frustrate yourself trying to second guess many of the applicant tracking systems. Most initial decisions are made by recruiters that are screening candidates that submit against a job. Make sure you are qualified for the jobs against which you submit and ensure everything on your resume is accurate.
Do these things and you you'll be ahead of the pack.