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Crafting a resume requires knowledge of changing rules

Remember the rule about getting your resume on a single page? Well that one has been thrown out. Here are some more.

Have you ever noticed that just when you figure out all the rules, the rules change?

For years now, recruiters have been preaching to job seekers that they should keep their resumes to one page. But a new survey conducted for Accountemps has discovered that just more than half of executives still believe this practice is necessary.
Sword Medical

The national poll found that a full 44 percent of recruiters actually prefer two pages. This is significantly more than the 25 percent who said they preferred two pages a decade earlier.

And when it comes to resumes for executive roles, 31 percent cite three pages as ideal.

“Many employers are willing to spend a little more time reviewing application materials so they can more easily determine who is most qualified and act quickly to secure interviews with these candidates,” says Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies.

That doesn’t mean that job seekers should go overboard, however.

“Employers want to see that applicants can prioritize information and concisely convey the depth of their experience,” Messmer says.

Accountemps offers the following rules for determining what information to include in a resume.

Do:

• Describe key contributions you made at prior roles and how they impacted the bottom line.

• Summarize software expertise and other specialized skills.

• Devote extra space to describing work experience that is most relevant to the job description.

• Use terms referenced in the job description if they apply. Firms often scan resumes for key words included in the job description.

• Reference your activities with professional civic associations, community involvement and knowledge of a second language — if they relate to the job opportunity.

Don’t:

• Use exact dates of employment. Months and years are sufficient.

• Include irrelevant details about your personal life or list your hobbies.

• Misrepresent your education or career experience.

• Use professional jargon and abbreviations.

• List references or include a lengthy objective.

• Use complete sentences; short, bulleted statements are better.