Gauri Chhabra
September means more than a prelude to an array of festivals. Then what else? It is also the time to network. Well you did it last time too. You spent a chunk of time and money on the job hunting trail last year, you probably have a tidy pile of receipts stashed in an envelope or file to show for it.
Anyone who has put together a natty new resume on high-quality paper, mailed it out the old-fashioned way, bought new business cards, traveled back and forth to job interviews, or attended a networking event is painfully aware of the price tag. The simple nuts and bolts of marketing yourself can be pricey. Believe me, those Rs 10 parking garage tickets do add up to a sizeable sum.
People make snap judgments about who you are within the first few seconds of meeting you. They do the same thing with your resume. So it’s important to think about whether this potential door opener is making the best possible first impression. Apart from the obvious things that could get it tossed aside – like spelling or grammatical errors – you need to be aware of more subtle resume turnoffs.
Words in your resume are like snakes and ladders. While some of them have the power to escalate your position, others are like snakes, they deescalate you in the eyes of your prospective employer. Here are some common mistakes that metaphorically are like snakes in a game of snakes and ladders:
Your resume looks too busy
In other words there is not enough white space. Just as you would never show up to work in sweatpants and a t-shirt, you want your resume to look clean-cut, professional and artistic. A resume that’s crowded with text doesn’t look attractive. If you’re not adept at graphic design, ask a creative friend for help with format, style, and layout.
Long is boring
In this fast track world, if your resume is too long employer will lose interest in you. You have to sell your experience quickly. The standard resume format is one to two pages. Confidently articulating your latest job experience means not detailing the minutiae of past jobs that do not further your career aspirations. Particularly for those who have spent years in the work force, it’s important not to be hung up on what you did as Vice President of X Company in 1991.Frankly, no one cares. In a few sentences, they want to know what you are doing now.
Another example of a long resume is including a career objective that is so ubiquitous that it may mean anything to anyone. My first few resumes had a statement like this emblazoned top and center: “Career objective: To obtain a position that leverages my skills and experience as well as provides a challenging environment that promotes growth.”
Yawn. This is not only boring, it’s ineffective. The top of your resume is prime real estate, and it needs to grab attention with a list of your top accomplishments, not a summary of what you hope to get out of your next position.
If you’re in your 20s, your resume should only be one page; there’s not enough experience to justify a second one. If you’re older, two pages are fine, but you go over that limit at your own peril. Hiring managers may spend only 20 or 30 seconds on your application initially, so extra pages are either ignored or they dilute the impact of the others. Your resume should be for highlights, not extensive detail.
Short term jobs decimate and dilute you
Short-term jobs raise red flags for hiring managers, who will wonder if you were fired, couldn’t do the work, or had trouble getting along with co-workers. Plus, a few months on a job won’t typically be useful in showing any real accomplishments or advancement anyway. One exception to this rule is if the job was short-term because it was designed that way, like contract work or, say, working on a political campaign. Those won’t raise the sorts of questions above, because you’ll have an explanation that doesn’t reflect on you poorly.
Your resume crumbles if there are no numbers
Adjectives fail to quantify specifically and do not convey results-oriented language. Hiring managers want to know what you can contribute to the company. Your resume should be clear about results you’ve achieved. Let’s say you created an amazing marketing campaign that resulted in a 10% increase in sales. Instead of writing, “Created excellent marketing campaign for X product,” include the words “resulted in.”
Hiring managers love numbers. They love when you are invested enough in your job to quantify your growth. Particularly if you are in any aspect of sales, marketing, or finance, you should reiterate how you increased sales or profits for the company. Another tack: show how you saved money for the company by reducing costs, thus increasing bottom line revenue by X%. Look for ways to quantify your experience. It shows you are committed to the bottom line and to continuous growth as an employee.
Vagueness might signify lack of confidence
You don’t sound confident enough. I’ll never forget the resume on which a job applicant basically said in the first few sentences, “I don’t have much nursing experience, but am willing to learn more.” I knew immediately why this person wasn’t getting any hits on her resume. She had undergone extensive clinical experiences, passed her licensing exam, and was looking for an entry-level job, but no one wants to hire a nurse who claims she has no idea what she is doing. Do not make this mistake. Have someone you respect read your resume, and tell you candidly whether you sound confident that you can go beyond your job responsibilities. If not, re-write.
All that occupies space does not have weight
At times you write something that just occupies space and does not convey any meaning. One such phrase is – References Available upon Request
All this phrase really does is take up valuable space. If a company wants to hire you, they will ask you for references-and they will assume that you have them. There’s no need to address the obvious.Use the space to give more details about your talents and accomplishments instead.
In a crummy job market with a record number of people applying for the same positions, it takes more than a list of desirable-sounding qualities to warrant an interview. Specific examples pack a punch, whereas anything too dependent on a list of buzzwords will sound just like everyone else’s cookie-cutter resume.
So, plan and play with the words in your resume very deftly.
Life after all , is a game of snakes and ladders… Plan and play it well.
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