Resume Critique Worksheet for Job-Seekers

Resume Critique Worksheet for Job-Seekers

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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 expert resume resources available on Quintessential Careers, such as our worksheets, 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... as well as your fit for the position you seek.

Evaluate Your Resume: 10 Factors Job-Seekers Should Use

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. 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, no longer than one page unless you have an exceptional background of internships, extracurricular activities, sports, volunteer work, and more. Read our article, The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be?.

Content/Layout. Use standard resume headings. All resumes must include certain critical information, such as contact information, experience, and education. Other sections include a portion of the resume that gives it a sharp focus, 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. For more ideas on layout, see our large collection of job-seeker sample resumes and consider using Resume Components Worksheet.

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. Your resume must be written in such a way that your job/career focus, as well as what you're good at, is obvious to anyone reading your resume. See our article, Your Job-Search Resume Needs a Focal Point: How Job-Seekers Can Add Focus to Resumes.

Format/Approach. There are three types of resume formats: standard chronological, functional, and combined chrono-functional. Most job-seekers -- and especially those 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). Because hiring decision-makers strongly dislike chrono-functional, and especially purely functional, resumes, we advise against them except for extreme cases of problematic job histories that can be handled no other way.

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. 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 about accomplishments and consider using our Accomplishments Worksheet.

Use of keywords and action verbs. Action verbs are verbs that make your experience jump from the page. 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 and consider using our Resume Keywords Worksheet. Review a detailed list of job-seeker action verbs.

Versions. Job-hunting today usually 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 Text (ASCII), Portable Document Format (PDF), and Web (HTML).

You might also want to review these Resume Preparation Do's and Don'ts.