I’m a gadget freak so I’m always on the lookout for cool new tech toys. I got a kick out of Ubergizmo’s report of a pillbox charm that you can attach to your cellphone, available in Japan. It got me thinking that the majority of resumes out there should be sent with a bottle of aspirin because they are so boring and headache-inducing. What can you do to avoid this fate and keep the hiring manager’s interest?:

Don’t use resume templates. If you’re using one of MS Word’s default resume templates (such as “Elegant Resume” or “Professional Resume”), be sure to send at least two aspirin with your resume. Boring! Instead, create a distinctive design or hire a professional resume writer who can design a unique resume for you.

Remove tired phrases. If you are “responsible for” anything or say that your “duties included,” you will likely give your reader a headache. Check out this post for more overused and stale phrases.

De-emphasize job duties. If the bulk of your experience section talks about your job duties, you will probably need to send a handful of aspirin and possibly some No-Doze pills. Entertain your reader by emphasizing career accomplishments — they are interesting and will make the hiring manager want to interview you.

Don’t write a book. Your resume should be a snapshot of your qualifications, not an autobiography. Keep the content fresh, interesting, and brief to keep your reader engaged and awake. This article has tips on how to keep your resume concise.

Don’t go back to 1964. Employers care most about your recent career, so if you’re describing jobs from 25 or more years ago, you will need to send a stash of aspirin. To avoid giving your reader a headache by supplying your ancient work history, focus the most attention on the last 10-15 years of your experience. If you want, you can sum up your earlier jobs in a quick “Early Career” section.

End with a bang. If your reader has made it to the end, that’s great news. End with something positive, such as a powerful testimonial. Please don’t say that your references are available upon request, but if you do, be sure to include a couple of aspirin as a courtesy to the hiring manager.

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I’m often asked if it’s better to use bullets or paragraph format in the resume’s Experience section. My advice is to use both. Why? If you use bullets only, none of your accomplishments can stand out, which dilutes the impact of your strongest achievements. If you use paragraphs only, all of your achievements blend together and you lose the opportunity to emphasize your stand-out accomplishments.

To use a combination of paragraphs and bullets, first provide a very brief overview of your job duties in narrative format. Then showcase your accomplishments with a bulleted list of your top contributions. Bulleting your accomplishments will draw the eye and reinforce that you went above and beyond your job duties. To see how to format your work history using both paragraphs and bullets, click this resume sample and scroll to the Professional Experience section.

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The Simple Dollar blog provides an excellent list of 15 things you can do right now to help your career. Yes, “polish your resume” made the list, and the suggestion to keep a log — I call a “kudos file” — of career accomplishments as they happen will come in handy when it’s time to update your resume.

Your kudos file can include notes about your achievements (especially quantifiable results of your work), copies of performance reviews, awards, training completed, reference letters, complimentary emails or notes, details of projects initiated, and any other documents related to your career. When you’re ready to polish your resume, refer to your kudos file to refresh your memory about your accomplishments.

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How should you list your employer names when your company has merged or been acquired? Consolidating your positions under one employer is cleaner and will minimize the appearance of job-hopping. You can do something like:

ABC Company (formerly DEF Company) or
ABC Company (acquired DEF Company in 2007)

Best wishes,

Kim Isaacs

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We just received an inquiry from a job seeker who said he has “10 tears of experience.” Freudian slip, huh? All I can say, again, is please proofread your resume! Employers may be amused, right as they are sending your resume to the circular file.

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Anthony asks, “My resume is one page and a few lines. What can I do to get it to fit on one page?”

Kim’s Answer: I’m known in the industry as “The Slasher” — I can take any resume that’s a bit too long and cut it down to size. The changes never take away from the overall message. In fact, they usually strengthen the document! I bet that if you looked at your resume with a careful eye, you can find information to edit so that your resume fits on one page. Often, minor modifications to the layout and content can shorten your resume. Here are a few things to look for:

1. Orphans: The dangling word(s) that waste a whole line of space can often be eliminated. You can probably edit the sentence and save yourself a line.

2. General layout: Is your layout a space hog? You might have large empty columns that are using valuable space or wide margins that can be shortened. Look at your address line — if you use a separate line for your address, phone, and email, you can save several lines by placing all of your contact information on one line. Even a change to the font size or type can help you add more room to your resume. You can also shorten the space between sections or lines and combine information contained in lists in one line. Please note: White space is very important — your resume still needs to be easy on the eye, so be judicious with these changes!

3. Content: Is every word on your resume selling you for your career goal? Analyze the information you’ve included with an objective eye (or ask the opinion of a hiring manager in your industry), and delete content that doesn’t help “sell” you.

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I just finished writing two resumes for a Presidents’ Day feature on Monster.com - the resumes of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. While these presidents won’t need to use their shiny new resumes, I really enjoyed learning more about their fascinating careers. One fact that particularly struck me was the level of failure experienced by “Honest Abe,” our 16th president. Early in his career, Abe lost his campaign for Speaker of the House of Illinois, and lost his run for Congress twice (after he did make it to Congress, he lost the re-election). He lost two more runs for Senate as well as a vice-presidential election.

Yet Abe hung in there, overcoming his failures to become one of the greatest U.S. presidents. We have all faced failures in our lives and careers - some failures have knocked us right off our feet. But there’s always a chance to do better, to find a new way to overcome and succeed. Maybe you’ve been fired, or are dealing with a bad performance review. Or you blew that important sales meeting. Whatever you feel your failure is, do what Abe did - dust yourself off and move forward with your eye on the goal.

Abe said it best: “I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” (–Abraham Lincoln)

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Resume Writing Tip: Energize Your Resume with Powerful Words
By Kim Isaacs, CPRW, NCRW

“Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled.” - Horace, Roman poet (65-8 B.C.)

Have you read your resume lately? Does it seem dull and lifeless? If your own resume is putting you to sleep, it’s time to inject it with energizing words.

Here’s an example of how language on your resume can make a difference:

Before: “Responsible for handling acquisition of ABC Company, combining two different organizational structures and developing a new product catalog.”

After: “Increased revenue by $1 million annually by negotiating, closing, and orchestrating acquisition of ABC Company. Integrated new organization within three weeks, managed system conversion, and oversaw rollout of expanded product catalog.”

While the “Before” statement shows an outstanding achievement, the matter-of-fact way it is written doesn’t evoke a “Wow!” response. By leading with action words and quantifying results, the “After” example clearly shows how the manager made a direct impact on the company’s bottom line.

Avoid Common Mistakes

1. Repeating power words. Avoid using the same power words in close proximity to each other. Break open that thesaurus, and find another way to describe your efforts.

2. Starting descriptive sentences with terms that are stale or overused, such as:

Responsible for…
Duties include…
Job responsibilities include…
Job tasks…

The resume reader knows that you are describing your job duties and responsibilities. Instead, dazzle them with language that shows how you contributed to the organization’s goals or mission.

3. Using passive voice. Instead, use active voice throughout your resume — sentences are more dynamic and place you in the role of “doer.” Use a sentence pattern that places the subject, you, ahead of the achievement or responsibility. Compare these examples:

Passive voice: “Numerous quality assurance systems and processes were created and implemented, decreasing errors by 15%.”

Active voice: “Decreased error rate by 15% by creating and implementing quality assurance systems.”

Both sentences contain action-oriented words and present a strong accomplishment. The “Active” example suggests that the job seeker actually performed the accomplishment, whereas it’s unclear who achieved these results in the “Passive” example.

Does Your Resume “Wow” the Reader?

You want your resume to help you secure the best job possible in the shortest period of time. But hiring managers who are unimpressed by a resume usually do not drop you a line with suggestions or comments for the next time. It’s worth taking the time to evaluate your resume and improve the document. You can’t change your history, but you can change how you describe it to the world. Make sure that your words give credit where credit is due.

Resources for Resume Power Words

Monster’s Action Phrases and Power Verbs

Boston College’s list of action words, broken down by skills

Purdue University Online Writing Lab

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