Resumes -- raise the standard

[DieselFan]

I'm in the process of rounding up resumes for a position that is open in our company. While I have a significant say in who gets hired, the final decision rests w/the owner of the company. So, in order to stack the deck so that I don't end up working alongside some chump, I asked a couple of friends to send me their resumes. They seemed fairly intelligent, both college grads -- BUT, the resumes they sent me were horrible. And since I'm kind of acting as a go-between...I couldn't, in good faith, go back to them and help them with their resume...and these were, literally, resumes that I would have laughed at and chucked in the round file had I received them from some unknown.

So, basically, I thought I'd offer help to anyone that was working on their resume. Free, of course...my service to Thehogs.net community. Secondly, are their any other managers, supervisors, etc that have seen crappy resume after crappy resume...even from college grads?

An example, one guy sent me a resume that listed his job and it stated "In management training program" and nothing else. He could have said something like "Consistently met sales goals and peformance metrics while a selected participant of the Management training program" or something like that. Action oriented bullets that help to get the point across are what you need...not simply listing the tasks peformed.

Anyway...enough of my rant. Dr. Diesel has checked back in after a brief hiatus (vacation).

[Deadskins]

So, in order to stack the deck so that I don't end up working alongside some chump, I asked a couple of friends to send me their resumes. They seemed fairly intelligent, both college grads -- BUT, the resumes they sent me were horrible. And since I'm kind of acting as a go-between...I couldn't, in good faith, go back to them and help them with their resume.

Why not? You are willing to solicit your friends to join your company, but you won't help them with their resumes? And then you offer to help perfect strangers on this board with their resumes? I don't get it.

[NikiH]

It's an ethical decision not to tweak their resumes and then push them through. While they are friends, their ability may not be great.

I understand Diesel and where the hell were you 5 months ago. lol

[DieselFan]

It's an ethical decision not to tweak their resumes and then push them through. While they are friends, their ability may not be great.

I understand Diesel and where the hell were you 5 months ago. lol

Yes...that's the exact reason. If they had asked for my advice prior to submitting it...I would have helped them or at least given some guidelines. I would love to work alongside them...but, I really don't know their work habits. If their work habits are reflective of their resumes, that would be stressful and a burden on me, I'm afraid.

[JansenFan]

I re-did my resume, got rid of the tasks and replaced them with accomplishments. Haven't used it yet though.

[Irn-Bru]

My uncle, who was a very successful businessman with a seat on the Chicago commodities exchange, said that he didn't believe any person should have a resume longer than a page. "Do you think that the President of Ford Motor Company has a resume longer than a page?" he would say. "No--what do you think he *has* on his resume? 'President: Ford Motor Company.'" He also stressed the interview, and the first 90 seconds of an interview, more than anything else. One man's perspective, I suppose. (He seems to have done rather well for himself. He did some interesting things in his hiring practices: one time, he helped out a friend of his by giving him a job. His friend had been a scholar in the Hittite language, and had loved the work but could no longer stand the poverty. Within 2 years, my uncle's friend had done very well for himself, had learned the system (and made my uncle money), but moved on to start his own business. So my uncle hired his friends, who had seen their former scholar friend turn into a pretty good businessman. . .pretty soon there was a drain on Hittite specialists in the Chicago area. . .)

Anyway, I'm just about at the point where I've gotta form my resume for the first time (senior year of college, and all that). . .and have been asking around for general advice. I'll be watching this thread with some interest.

[DieselFan]

I re-did my resume, got rid of the tasks and replaced them with accomplishments. Haven't used it yet though.

Beautiful...from what I've seen, that little step alone will put you ahead of 90% of the other resumes out there

[NC43Hog]

Just don't say "I am a people person".

[cvillehog]

. . .and have been asking around for general advice.

In my current job I don't look at resumes, but in my last job I had to hire interns, and the only advice I have to pass on is this: proofread.

[JansenFan]

Yep, when there is 15 resumes to weed through, it's the little things that make your resume stand out and move to the top. Good paper is another thing to think about, and maybe an ivory or beige color to make it "different" than the other 14.

I saw one about a year ago that was done landscape with multiple coloumns. Looked very good and it stood out from the rest. The guy got called for an interview and eventually hired, but the interview was based almost soley on the resume.

Of course he got laid off about 3 weeks later after moving down from PA to take the job...

[wormer]

My uncle, who was a very successful businessman with a seat on the Chicago commodities exchange, said that he didn't believe any person should have a resume longer than a page.

This is a DEFFINATE! ONE PAGE ONLY!

Short concise bullet points.

Quadruple check for typo's, misspelling and grammatical inaccuracies. Have 2 or 3 other people read it as well to catch things you might gloss over.
(I have also heard reading it BACKWARDS helps you catch spelling & typo problems.

Use action words. Describe your work responsibilities and emphasize specific skills and/or accomplishments.

If just out of school make sure to list academic honors and organizations you were involved in, including Greek organizations. (Academic org's show you are energetic and interested in bettering yourself. Social groups show you probably have good socialization skills)

Don't be afraid to list athletic activities/teams or other interests. This lets the interviewer know more about you as a person and (in the case of athletic teams) shows you are probably a team player and competitive! Which means you will want to WIN! at your new job. If you win the company usually wins as well.

[tazlah]

Good paper is another thing to think about, and maybe an ivory or beige color to make it "different" than the other 14.

I actually disagree with the color comment -- however, that's because I've seen resumes on all sorts of papers (the kind with borders, the kind that looks like clouds in the background, the kind that looks rumpled -- why in gods earth would you choose that one!).

My resume is on bright white, 80lb bond paper -- it actually really stands out because a) it's whiter than the average printer paper, and b) it's a very heavy weight so when the hiring party is thumbing through a stack of resumes, they cannot help but stop at it because of the tactile difference.

My personal choice is "Keep it simple" -- one page (is preferrable), no fancy fonts, be concise, use action words, excellent quality white paper. Also, include the end comment: "Reference available upon request."

[cvillehog]

I haven't mailed a resume since I stopped applying for fellowships in 2001. Now they are all pretty much emailed, sometimes faxed, so the paper doesn't matter. However, that brings a new challenge of having a format that looks good in plain text.

[NikiH]

It does matter, you have to bring a copy with you to the interview! Silly cville.

[wormer]

I haven't mailed a resume since I stopped applying for fellowships in 2001. Now they are all pretty much emailed, sometimes faxed, so the paper doesn't matter. However, that brings a new challenge of having a format that looks good in plain text.

It does matter, you have to bring a copy with you to the interview! Silly cville.

Both of you make good points. - If they allow for a regular mail option I might use that one. Mailing a SWEET hard copy might make yours stand out! (You can allways follow up w/ an email if they ask you for one)

[cvillehog]

Both of you make good points. - If they allow for a regular mail option I might use that one. Mailing a SWEET hard copy might make yours stand out! (You can allways follow up w/ an email if they ask you for one)

Assuming they give a fax and email in addition to the postal address (if they even give a postal address), does it make you look a little behind the times to use snail mail?

Also, many large companies scan resumes and all the hiring manager sees is a printout.

[DieselFan]

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/about/best/nyc/77601002.html

I ran across this on another website...pretty funny...but has some off-color language, so I didn't cut and paste it.

[wormer]

Both of you make good points. - If they allow for a regular mail option I might use that one. Mailing a SWEET hard copy might make yours stand out! (You can allways follow up w/ an email if they ask you for one)

Assuming they give a fax and email in addition to the postal address (if they even give a postal address), does it make you look a little behind the times to use snail mail?

Also, many large companies scan resumes and all the hiring manager sees is a printout.

I thaught of that when I wrote the suggestion. It's a good question. I do not look at resumes in my current position. I'm trying to think how I would react to one. I don't think I would hold it against the person at all.

My main point really was to do something to make yours stand out against the rest. This is important.