Resume Basics
First let’s dispel a major myth out there: a resume does not get you a job. Not ever. It is nonetheless a very important tool, playing one of two critical career functions:
1. Acting as a calling card to introduce you to an employer and spark interest in meeting you.
2. Acting as documentation of who you appear to be after they have met and liked you, often as a justification for what level of offer they will make you.
For ease of discussion we’ll refer throughout this article to a resume, in the singular, but the truth is that if you have only one version of your resume, you greatly diminish your chances of success. Each resume is a unique communication between yourself and your reader – even if you only make one or two word changes from one version to another, the effect of customization is substantive.
Types of Resumes
While there are many variations for special purposes, in general there are two basic and one hybrid resume formats:
Chronological
A chronological resume outlines your experience in reverse order from most recent to least recent, going back roughly 15 years or as long as you have been working (whatever is less). Your goal would be to demonstrate a clear pattern of advancement in the field to which you are currently applying. This format is therefore best when you are trying to move up in the same field – not move out of it to another. The academic curriculum vitae or c.v. is a type of chronological resume, though its exhaustive format, often extending to 10 or even 20 pages, is not favoured outside academic circles.
Functional
A functional resume focuses on your skills and abilities in order of relevance to the position for which you are applying, removing most if not all dates. Its headings are more likely to relate to areas of expertise than to experience or history, such as “Office Systems” and “Project Coordination” and the content under each heading puts your track record of responsibilities and deliverables in bullet form.
Hybrid
The hybrid resume uses an overall functional format in its headings and puts an emphasis on skills up front but also provides a chronological work history somewhere in the document. There is some debate as to whether a resume can succeed absent any references to time. Some say it’s your best chance if you have had long periods out of the workforce or your most relevant experience is from several years ago. Others argue that employers regard omission of dates as evasive and will screen you out on that basis alone. The safest path is to include dates if doing so will not be damaging to you (choose chronological or hybrid) and to understand the risks of leaving them out if you feel you must (choose functional).
Whatever format you choose, all resumes should include information on:
• relevant work experience
• education and professional development, designations and certifications
• skills and areas of expertise
• concrete examples of achievements, effectiveness or proven value to an employer
There may also be contexts where you would want to include some of the following information:
• relevant community service or volunteer work
• relevant extended periods of travel or work abroad
• relevant indications of personality, character, and preferred work environments
• relevant languages
• relevant interests or pastimes
Most importantly, all resumes should reflect an understanding of audience and purpose. Your audience is your reader, a particular employer with particular needs. Your purpose is to be attractive to that employer and respectful of their time and interest as you do so. The resume, contrary to popular opinion influenced by the lengthy c.v. formats we are taught in school, is not supposed to tell everything about you. It’s not even really about you at all. It is a marketing tool which should focus on the employer’s needs, including only the information about you which is relevant to those needs.
Extraneous information is confusing and frankly irritating to most employers. If you are applying to work in a Swiss Bank and know that several members of the department to which you are applying compete in an annual adventure race, then indicating you speak fluent German and have been kayaking for four years is very relevant. If the company is not actively doing business with clients who speak one of your languages and you have no idea as to their intramural programs, such information is completely irrelevant. So is your knowledge of PhotoShop and POS systems if they are not used in the department to which you are applying. No one is saying those skills are not valuable or that you should not be proud of them – the point is that they are not relevant in context and thus make you appear unfocused to your reader, which is contrary to your objective. Be clear, be correct, be concise, and be considerate of your prospective employer’s needs.
Final Takeaway
Make the resume not a litany or your past but rather a picture of the employer’s future and the benefits their company will enjoy by hiring you. Effectively demonstrate that you can deliver the results they need and they will call you.
Minto Roy
President
CareersToday Canada
www.careerstodaycanada.com
www.mintoroy.net