by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
While it is always a good idea to get numerous people -- career professionals, former
bosses and colleagues, mentors, and the like -- to review and evaluate your resume,
you might want to first consider reviewing and critiquing your resume using this simple
table. The most important thing to remember is to be sure you totally understand each
criterion -- and then be completely honest on how your resume rates. (If you feel you cannot
possibly be honest with yourself, then get a professional critique.)
In fact, we suggest reviewing some of the many
resume resources available on Quintessential
Careers, such as one of our resume tutorials,
resume quizzes, or numerous
resume samples. Remember the
purpose of your resume -- to create enough interest from the employer to invite you to a job interview.
A resume is a statement of facts (using keywords and action verbs) -- that highlights your accomplishments,
skills, and education/training.
Here's a review of the ten factors you should use to evaluate your resume.
Appearance/Style. For traditional formatted “print” resumes, appearance and
consistency are critical. Your resume must be professional. Stick to using only one to two “normal”
fonts. Use font sizes no smaller than 10 point. Keep colors to a minimum. Be consistent in the use
of color, font, size, and style (bolding, italicizing, underlining). Use normal (3/4-1”) margin widths.
Don't use resume templates; develop your resume from scratch -- with your own unique style.
Use bulleted phrases to describe your accomplishments, rather than lengthy (and hard-to-read) paragraphs.
Read more.
Completeness/Length. A resume should give a complete picture of why you should be called for
an interview; however, that does not mean you need to include every job you have ever worked at in your life.
U.S. resumes should rarely be longer than two pages (although you can have supplemental pages for
things such as grants, consulting, references, and the like), and for entry-level positions, really no longer
than one page. Some senior executives with exceptional work experiences are sometimes deserving
of a three-page resume.
Content/Layout. Use standard resume headings. All resumes must include certain critical
information, such as contact information, experience, and education. Other sections include job objective,
professional profile, honors and awards, professional interests and memberships, and keyword summary.
U.S. resumes should never include names of supervisors, salary information, photos, or references.
Read more. See some
sample resumes.
Focus. Perhaps the most critical element of any resume is its focus. Your resume must
have a specific theme -- related to the position (and employer) you are seeking. Do not include
extraneous information on your resume. Whether you use a job objective or not, always keep that
objective in mind when writing the rest of the resume. Your resume must be written in such a way
that your job/career objective, as well as what you're good at, is obvious to anyone reading your
resume.
Format/Approach. There are three types of resume formats: standard chronological, functional,
and combined chrono-functional. Job-seekers with a steady employment history in one field looking to
advance within that field should use a chronological resume that focuses on employment history
(starting with most recent). Recent college grads with a variety of work experiences and job-seekers
changing careers sometimes use a functional or chrono-functional resume.
Read more.
Perspective. Review your resume from the perspective of a hiring manager with just a
few seconds to review your resume. Your resume must be attention-getting, good-looking, and
sharply focused. Your resume should provide the employer enough reasons to invite you for an
interview.
Professionalism/Integrity. There's simply no excuse for resumes to have any kind of
misspellings or typos. Employers often toss resumes with even just one error in the trash. The
other issue is honesty. Your resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge your dates of employment,
job titles, certifications, or educational achievements. It's not only wrong, but more and more employers
are conducting background checks.
Use of Accomplishments. In terms of job-hunting, nothing is more important than documenting
all your accomplishments. It's even better if you can quantify those accomplishments. Employers
want job-seekers who are problem-solvers with a proven record of success. Do not describe your
experiences in terms of duties and responsibilities.
Read more.
Use of keywords and action verbs. Action verbs are verbs that make your experience jump
from the page. And while more important in the days before e-resumes, action verbs are still important
today. Keywords and keyword phrases are vital because as more and more resumes are placed into
large databases, employers search for job-seekers the same way you use Google to search a topic --
with one or more keywords. Read more about the power of
keywords
to enhance your resume. Review a detailed list of
job-seeker action verbs.
Versions. Job-hunting today really requires more than one version of your resume. You still
need your traditional "print" resume, but you'll also want to develop one or more electronic versions
of your resume. E-resumes come in a number of versions, including Rich Text, Text (ASCII), Portable
Document Format (PDF), and Web (HTML). Each type of e-resume has a different benefit, a different use.
Read more.
You might also want to review these Resume Preparation
Do's and Don'ts.
Evaluate your resume. How well does your resume perform? Have you followed all the
rules and guidelines of good resume writing?
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
