One of our favorite quotes about resumes comes from Mark Nelson, former partner of Dale Dauten of syndicated career-column fame. Describing a two-page resume with long paragraphs and tiny type, Nelson says: “This resume is like a lonely guy who can’t get a date, so he sits at home and eats and gets bigger and bigger. I meet people all the time who think employers are going to get excited by lots of detail in their resumes. No. Instead, [employers] think, ‘Here’s a guy who can’t prioritize and who doesn’t respect his reader.’” Overstuffed and text-heavy resumes are a problem for many job-seekers. A good way to avoid them is to prioritize your resume content based on how well it answers some basic questions. For example, does your resume tell:
- What you can bring to the employer to improve the company’s service and increase its profits?
- What you have done recently toward that end?
- How you can make money for the employer?
- How you can save money for the employer?
- How you can introduce and improve processes?
- How you can lead and develop people?
- How you can solve the company’s problems?
(These questions came from career columnist Sandra Pesmen and consultant Nancy Bergman of Stanley Barber & Associates)
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