Resume Mythis

Myths are plentiful on the subject of writing and using a resume. By avoiding the mistakes that misleading information can cause, you can create a more powerful resume and achieve more gratifying results with your credentials.

Ten common misperceptions about writing a great resume

To put together a resume that attracts the kind of attention you seek and expresses to an employer the qualifications that count, you need to consider the following stumbling blocks - any of which can trip you up as you travel along your career path.

Resumes are easy to write and can be completed quickly. This view has long been prevalent among those who ignore their resumes until they begin an active job search. The truth, however, is that writing an effective resume requires both time and effort. Anyone can do it, but it takes intensive self-assessment, careful preparation, and detailed execution, often with several revisions to get it right. The return on that investment is a resume that serves you well in the job market and helps you manage your career successfully.
Once written, your resume need not be updated or tailored. Your resume is actually a living document. You should constantly update and refine it to reflect your growth and development in the workplace. Continued refinement can help you gauge your career progress and ensure that your record is always ready and available for review, if an attractive opportunity becomes available.
Page count doesn't matter. Unfortunately, it does. Employers have limited time to review your resume and limited space in which to store it. Therefore, keep your resume to two pages, maximum, and use your objective statement to focus on the information that best positions you to compete for the kind of job you want. To make sure that an employer correctly enters your resume into a computerized management system (see Chapter 1), print each page on a separate sheet of paper, rather than on both sides of a single sheet.
The best resume identifies your previous responsibilities. Employers are less interested in responsibilities than in work accomplished - what you did and how well you did it in previous jobs. Therefore, use action verbs to describe the tasks you performed, the actions you took, and the achievements you accomplished. For example, "Performed daily audits of all accounts payable activities. Corrected errors and updated records to ensure compliance with internal policy and external regulations. Trained new clerks and supervised their initial work."
Your resume should state your salary expectations. Your resume is not the place to make salary demands. Stating a salary requirement simply adds another issue that may cause an employer to reject you as a candidate. Therefore, focus your resume on presenting your credentials in such a clear and compelling way that an employer will make you a generous job offer that will keep pay talks to a minimum.
Your resume should include references and personal information. A recruiter expects you to be able to provide references when asked, so there's no reason to state "References available on request" or to note your references' names and contact information on your resume. Also, don't include personal information such as your gender, age, ethnic background, marital status, religion, height, and weight (unless such information is relevant to performing the job you're seeking).
Your resume should state why you left your previous position or are leaving your current one. This issue is likely to come up during your evaluation by an employer, but it is best addressed in an interview, rather than on your resume. Moreover, when providing such information, always avoid making critical statements of other employers and individuals. Negative remarks can cause recruiters to worry about what you would say if you leave their organization in the future.
Your resume should include a recent photograph. Employers must avoid any discrimination based on a person's ethnicity, gender, age, or religion. A photograph can lead to such a situation, so most employers don't want to see one included with a resume.
Your resume should include lots of graphics and artwork to make it eye-appealing. Making your resume attractive is important, but complex graphics and even overly elaborate typefaces (such as Old English) take up space and make it difficult for your resume to be processed by computer-based resume management systems. The best way to highlight the information in your resume is to provide plenty of white space on the document. Using bullets and short paragraphs of no more than 4–5 lines breaks up your text and sets off important details.
You can write a great resume by simply filling in the blanks. Avoid using "plug and chug" templates when writing your resume. These canned programs are available in software, on CD ROM, and in print workbooks. Their generic language and cookie-cutter look and feel are easily recognized by recruiters and undercut the impact of your resume.

Three common misperceptions about using a resume

Although not as common as the myths about resume writing, there are a number of misconceptions about how to use a resume effectively in a job search.

You don't need a resume to get a job. Although every rule has its exceptions, a resume is normally your ticket into the job market. Recruiters are under intense pressure to locate and interview candidates and fill open positions quickly. If you don't have a resume, you slow down the evaluation process and increase the recruiter's risk of making a hiring mistake. Moreover, not having such an important document can create the perception that you don't take adequate responsibility for your career, which may raise a red flag about your suitability for the job.
Your resume will get you a job. Only you can get you a job. A great resume should intrigue employers so much that they want to meet with you. In other words, your resume can open an employer's door - giving you the opportunity to sell yourself - but after that, it's up to you. A resume is an integral part of a larger process that involves research, follow-up, and additional communications, all of which you must plan and execute effectively to achieve your job-search objective.
How you send your resume to a recruiter doesn't matter. The way you send your resume to an employer has an impact on its effectiveness when a recruiter is reviewing the document. For example, don't mail your resume folded into a typical #10 business envelope. Instead, send the unfolded pages in a 9-x-12-inch envelope so that they can be properly processed by the computer-based resume management systems now being used in most employers' human resources departments. Similarly, a resume sent over the Internet should be formatted and adjusted to ensure its accurate transmission via e-mail. (For additional information on resume distribution, see Chapters 8 and 9.)