Resumes: More Tips

• Tailor it to the need. When responding to an ad, make a "custom" version of your resume, that especially emphasizes the particular skills and experience they mentioned. When writing "cold" to a company, research them first, find out what they are most likely to need, and again, make a "custom" version. In both cases, hang onto a copy, so you can refer back to it if they have any questions.

• A resume is primarily a tool to eliminate candidates. Screw up and you're out. Therefore, an objective above and beyond putting in things to impress, is leaving out anything that can weed you out. This can be something you wrote, the words you used to write it, the font of the characters, the color or size of the paper or envelope, anything. Therefore, you must check it all over very carefully.

• There are several different reader mindsets. What often happens to a resume is that it is first screened by a hurried hassled HR drone, looking for mentions of buzzwords without really understanding them. The few that get past the HR drone are then filtered by the would-be colleagues. The few that make it past them are then filtered by the would-be boss. Your resume must satisfy all of the above for you to even get an interview, never mind the actual job. Therefore, a good exercise is to pretend to be each of these, in turn.

  1. Pretend you're a hurried, hassled HR drone, screening applicants for the job the real you wants. You have about a hundred resumes to filter in the next half hour, having filtered about a hundred in the past hour. You pick up "yours". Is it neatly and logically laid out, so that you can quickly find what you need? Does it mention all the right stuff? Is it pleasing to the eye? Is there no reason to reject it out of hand? If the HR drone doesn't love you, FIX IT!

  2. When the HR drone is finished, pretend to be a would-be colleague. Agains, you've got Real Work to do, but your PHB has dropped this load of about a hundred resumes on you to filter. He wants the results before you go to lunch at noon, he gave you the stack at 11:30, you started it at 11:40, it's now 11:45, and you pick up "yours". Is this guy going to be easy to work with, or a jerk, or a pushover for the PHB, or what? Does he know his stuff, or is he blowing smoke? Did he go to a decent school, work at a decent place, get a relevant degree? Is he going to bring in valuable experience and knowledge, or are we going to have to hold his hand and spoonfeed him? If the would-be colleague isn't happy, fix the resume and start over -- from Square One.

  3. When the HR drone AND the would-be colleague are happy, pretend to be the boss. You've got a hundred resumes your underlings have allowed through, and it's half an hour until your golf game with the VP. In the middle of the stack, you pick up "yours". Now comes a dichotomy: approach all questions from the POV of both a PHB and a clueful boss. Is this guy going to be a smartassed rebel, a yes-man, fair, or what? Ask all the other questions the colleague asked. Again, if not happy, fix it and start over.

• Get at least four people to read it: someone who knows you but not your industry, vice-versa, both, and neither. Have them check the spelling, grammar, style, layout (accessibility and aesthetics), facts, everything. If they're confused about anything, you've got some explaining (or removing) to do.

• Never lie. Your major details will be checked. Your job description might be verified for accuracy. If you lied, but got the job anyway, you can be fired for it later, even if you've otherwise been an exemplary employee. It's going to be mighty embarassing to explain why you were fired, on your upcoming round of interviews. Of course, you could just lie then too, but again, you're likely to get caught, starting the whole cycle over again. Honesty is the best policy.