Your Resume

We at Fetch! Recruiting have seen a surge in resumes over the last couple of months - some quite good and some quite bad. During tough times an effective and properly written resume can really be the difference between a paycheque and unemployment.

Here are some tips from us - people who spend their days looking at resumes:

Length

Gone are the days of a 3 page limit - but longer is not better! Your resume should be long enough to appropriately describe each role you've held without being too wordy. A long 8 page resume will only hurt your chances, sure Senior Consultants will have 15+ years of projects to describe however they are expected to effectively articulate their career history in a nice concise document - consider a detailed project history for when you are asked for a detailed description of your projects.

Career Objectives

Get rid of it! These are never as powerful as they should be, everyone's looks the same "seeking a rewarding career with a progressive company - etc." Instead consider a bulleted list of highlights that summarize your business and technical skills

Responsibilities and Accomplishments

• Responsibilities are a vital component of your resumes. However responsibilities are not enough - anyone in that role would have held those duties... where can differentiate yourself?

• Accomplishments - these should be focused around anything you did to save the company money, make the company money or improved efficiencies (make money, save money, save time - this will make you a much more attractive candidate).

Formatting

Easy on the BOLD! Bold can be a powerful tool if used sparsely... you should bold your titles and years in that position... nothing else. Paragraphs are another mistake.

• Consider using bullet points

• These create a nice, reader-friendly layout.

• One thing to remember is that 99% of people reading your resume will not read it like a book - they will scan it, it's very difficult scanning paragraphs.

Remember these words - simple - clear - and effective. If you apply these principles to your resume you'll increase your chances of getting an interview.

Is your resumein top-shape? Maybe it's time to look for a new job! http://www.fetchrecruiting.ca/candidates/job-postings