Resumes - Fact or Fluff?
Generations of discussion have raged over the form of a CV and what should be included. After a simple online search, you'll find a plethora of suggestions and "winning methods" for how to present your data. Our daily experience in recruiting and evaluating resumes confirms that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to success.
There are, however, some principles to follow in order to get the most out of the material you give and to catch the attention of any hiring manager skimming your CV. Speed is the name of the game in our experience. We need to analyse a large number of resumes in a short amount of time because we have a vacancy that needs to be filled right away!
This means that having a job seeker's previous work experience, hard skills, and availability plainly presented motivates us to consider you instead of going through a lengthy resume.
The first thing to keep in mind is that everything you put on your resume must be supported and shown by examples from your previous work experience.
It's standard practise to provide a number of qualities for companies to notice. This includes qualities such as being a great team player, swiftly adapting to new systems, being friendly and approachable, and being able to work under pressure, among others. All of these arguments are wonderful, but if you can't swiftly and succinctly back them up with real-world examples from your experience, they're just fluff on your CV. This makes it more difficult to find and assess the juicy information (your hard talents and expertise).
We've advised a number of job applicants on how to restructure this area. If they have a long list of ten personal characteristics, we propose highlighting three of them and including a brief description of how they might be shown.
When formatting your CV, your contact details should be prominent and visible.
The purpose of a resume is to persuade the hiring manager to pick up the phone and discuss the application process further. There may be a brief bio that explains your current circumstances, availability, and a brief description of what you're looking for. Again, all of this should be backed up with facts and real-world examples rather than fluff, giving the rest of the paper instant credibility.
It's amazing how few people include their phone number on their resume. We received several applications in the last several weeks that we were extremely interested in, but we were unable to reach them because their phone number was not published.
The section that can sometimes be overlooked is your employment history.
This is your best chance to pitch yourself and the skills you can bring to your new job in this part. It's best to make a timeline of your previous work experience, noting the start and end dates of each position, as well as the reason for your departure. Hiring managers want to know if your background matches the position they're looking to fill.
It is your duties and responsibilities in each employment, if there is ever a moment to go overboard with information in a resume. Go into detail about the specific duties you completed on a daily basis, ideally in dot points. Assume that whoever is reading the document has never heard of a (insert job title here) and go over the processes you were engaged in, who you communicated with, any documents you worked on, and any other pertinent information.
We would recommend writing down at least 10 distinct chores and responsibilities that you fulfilled on a regular basis as a good exercise. More information, on the other hand, is advised because it will provide you a complete picture of your experience. When hiring managers are looking for candidates for a given position, they may have a specific responsibility in mind that they are looking for. Listing as many duties as possible provides you the best opportunity of matching with their goals.
These few important elements should be kept in mind in order to best represent your experience and promote yourself and your skills via your resume. To give oneself credibility, remember that it's all about the facts, not the fluff. Make the most of your experience and don't forget to add your phone number! It's crucial to make your abilities known!
Write a winning resume
First impressions count, even when it comes to something as simple as a resume. Talk to one of our recruiters today to help your resume standout!