Resume styling?

[mkats]

I was temporarily involved in hiring for a new employee at my practice and got a few good laughs out of some of the resumes. Some of my favorites:

One person listed his name four times at the top of the resume, with no spaces. Such as: JohnDoeJohnDoeJohnDoeJohnDoe. I have no idea if he just wanted to be sure that I knew his name, or if he couldn't remember it himself, or what...

I got a lot of pictures, smack on the resume. Some people put pictures of themselves (I can understand why, but still not professional). Several people put pictures of stethoscopes, reflex hammers, and other medical equipment One person put a picture of half a stethoscope (with the earbuds chopped off).

I don't know if I would agree with putting typing skills on a resume - some say never do it, some say do it if your speed is great, depends on the job you're applying for, I guess, but it's not terribly important in the one we were looking to hire for at all. But I did have two people advertising typing skills below 35 wpm.

One woman included "Filipina" under her qualifications. Huh?

And finally, one person did put "I want a salary increase" under objective. At least he was honest!

[Prancer]

I think it's appropriate when a candidate is fresh out of school, has no work experience, and is applying for an entry level position. 'Develop' denotes an intention to improve, which is desirable in many cases (makes the candidate look gung-ho). 'Further develop' or 'refine' are also alternatives and if someone has a lot of experience/proven skills, 'apply' might be all that's needed.

It would also be appropriate if applied to a specific use of skills that is new to the candidate.

That might be, but you were specifically advising BaileyCatts to add that line to her resume. She is neither fresh out of school nor inexperienced. Under those circumstances, I think it would be a mistake to add that line to her objective.

[Christina]

Hmm. I've never had such discussion in a thread I've started!

You all have given me lots to think about. My situation is I'm applying for a job as a victim advocate that is about a $5k a year pay decrease (without pension). I have the knowledge, skills and abilities (can you tell I'm a government worker) to do the job and do it very well. I work regularly with this police department's investigators doing joint investigations, so they know me and know we all get along well. They have to advertise the position, though, and I have to beat out the other candidates. Having a college degree will get rid of most of the competition, I think, but there's always that chance.

I'd like to highlight my skills that are specific and were lacking by the former person (documentation, knowledge of state laws regarding stuff, ability to work with all types of people, knowledge of local services). I'm just 40, but I've got over 20 years of work experience and 10 at my current job.

What do you all think about highlighting my skills in bullet form and then underneath doing the chronological listing? And just how far back do I have to go? I graduated from college 11 1/2 years ago. None of my stuff before college is really relevant, so should I just pretend it doesn't exist?

[Japanfan]

What do you all think about highlighting my skills in bullet form and then underneath doing the chronological listing? And just how far back do I have to go? I graduated from college 11 1/2 years ago. None of my stuff before college is really relevant, so should I just pretend it doesn't exist?

I think it's fine since the skills summary will reflect all of your experience.

The other way is to highlight particular skills under each job item. Some people might prefer it this way, but I like the summary right at the top when someone has a wealth of experience.

You don't need to enter each and every job, especially if some positions aren't relevant. It would be the 11 1/2 years after college that mattered.

[Japanfan]

That might be, but you were specifically advising BaileyCatts to add that line to her resume. She is neither fresh out of school nor inexperienced. Under those circumstances, I think it would be a mistake to add that line to her objective.

Actually I said something like, which is not specific.

[vesperholly]

As I understand it the purpose for the objective statement is to provide more detail with regard to the goal of being hired for the job - to highlight a few key strengths the candidate can bring to the position and what the candidate wants from the position. For example, you can mention 'opportunity for advancement' or a long-term goal. It addresses why the candidate is a match.

Isn't that's what a cover letter is for? Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

[Japanfan]

Isn't that's what a cover letter is for? Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

I don't think there is any one right way. In my experience, if you ask people in HR how to do a resume and cover letter you'll get different answers.

The objective statement is just a new trend and is used in some business writing curricula. But I don't know whether you'll go in the discard pile because you don' have one - I doubt it.

I use it because I have templates that I follow when I do resumes. However, there may be cases in which I wouldn't use it (i.e. for someone with a wealth of professional experience).

Another trend that I've noted recently is to include a bullet list summarizing strengths and skills in cover letters. I like it because it is simple and to the point. In addition, it would eliminate the need for a similar bullet list in the resume.

[MacMadame]

What do you all think about highlighting my skills in bullet form and then underneath doing the chronological listing?

That seems to be the latest trend in resume writing.

[/QUOTE]And just how far back do I have to go? I graduated from college 11 1/2 years ago. None of my stuff before college is really relevant, so should I just pretend it doesn't exist?[/QUOTE]
Yes. There's no point putting it on, if it's not relevant.

The objective statement is just a new trend

The objective statement is most definitely NOT a new trend. It was a new trend in the early 90s when I first started being forced to do it. But it's fallen out of favor in recent years. (Thank goodness.)

[Japanfan]

The objective statement is most definitely NOT a new trend. It was a new trend in the early 90s when I first started being forced to do it. But it's fallen out of favor in recent years. (Thank goodness.)

It is relatively new here and in my experience. I've been working on resumes for over 10 years and first saw the objective statement some years ago. I can't say precisely how many but it was at least a few years after I started my current business (in 2000). And if is falling out of favour, I'm certainly not aware of it.

[Prancer]

What do you all think about highlighting my skills in bullet form and then underneath doing the chronological listing?

That would be the hybrid style. I've been advised by our Career Planning and Placement Office that the hybrid style is okay for those with a lot of professional skills, but should be used with caution. Your skill list should be as concrete as possible; avoid a lot of general statements like "Proven communication skills."

Speaking of CPPO--does your college have a CPPO office? Ours does resume reviews for all graduates, regardless of how long it has been since graduation. That might be something you could try, too. CPPO people are usually much more in touch with employment trends than the rest of us are.

Ours always advises going lean and mean over thorough and all-encompassing; they always remind us that the average resume gets a 15-30 seconds initial review, so if you have a lot of STUFF on the page, the reviewer's eye is unlikely to light on the specific things you want them to see.

And just how far back do I have to go? I graduated from college 11 1/2 years ago. None of my stuff before college is really relevant, so should I just pretend it doesn't exist?

Once I had about 10 years in on the job, I dropped everything before college. No one has ever asked about it. At that point, they weren't really interested in the fact that I had been working steadily at something, but that I had experience in the field.

The objective statement is most definitely NOT a new trend. It was a new trend in the early 90s when I first started being forced to do it. But it's fallen out of favor in recent years. (Thank goodness.)

I remember seeing them before that, and according to this, they've been around even longer: Objective statements have been a part of resume structure for many years – 50 or more.

Either way, they are definitely not a new trend in the US, at least. OTOH, I would NOT recommend a personal branding statement, so what does that guy know? I don't know if they are falling out of favor, but certainly they don't seem to be considered as critical as they used to be.

[MacMadame]

Either way, they are definitely not a new trend in the US, at least. OTOH, I would NOT recommend a personal branding statement, so what does that guy know? I don't know if they are falling out of favor, but certainly they don't seem to be considered as critical as they used to be.

Well, I used to see them all the time when I was hiring. In the past 4 years, not so much. Also, when I was looking, I would try to leave it off and I would have recruiters insist on putting one on. That hasn't happened in the past 3 years. Plus, the two "professional" resume writers I worked with didn't put them on but did the whole SUMMARY thing instead.

I put "professional" in quotes because I have to say I was very unimpressed with them overall. They did some good things for my resume but they also had no idea what I did and that was clear in how they structured things, some stuff they emphasized, and how they worded things. They just slung words around and it showed.