My Thoughts on Resume Writing
Throughout my career, I’ve changed jobs quite a bit. Most of the time, it was by choice, but a couple of times, it was due to layoffs. I’ve also survived rounds of layoffs and watched friends and colleagues lose their jobs. This has given me the opportunity to write many resumes and help others with theirs. This post gathers my thoughts on resume writing and its role when you’re job-seeking.
What I’m sharing is based entirely on my background and experience in job hunting. Keep in mind that I’m a software developer, and the roles I was seeking were in that field. When I helped others, the roles they were looking for were either the same or related in some way. I have no idea if an HR professional would agree with me; I only know what has worked for me.
From my perspective, a resume has a single purpose: to get you to the interview stage. I doubt anyone is hired solely based on a resume. The interview is where the deal is closed. This mindset helps me set goals for my resume and strengthen anything that helps me get to the interview.
With that in mind, I approach a resume using a newspaper mindset, ensuring I include the 5 W’s as quickly as possible: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
- Who am I?
- What do I want?
- Where am I located or seeking to be?
- When would I like to take the next step?
- Why am I the right person for the role?
Getting these details into the first part of the resume (or shortly after) informs the reader, grabs their attention, and encourages them to keep reading.
Grabbing attention and encouraging continued reading is essential. I believe you have around 15 to 30 seconds of an HR person’s time before they decide whether to keep reading or move on. I also think their first inclination is to say “no” rather than risk wasting time for the next person involved in the hiring process. HR personnel might tell me this isn’t true, but my experience has taught me otherwise.
Resume Length
Related to that 15-30 seconds of initial reading time is the total length of a resume. It should absolutely not be longer than two pages. I can’t tell you how many resumes I’ve seen from seasoned professionals that include page after page of job history, dating back to high school internships and summer jobs.
I understand the intention, it seems important to show that we’ve been steadily employed since entering the workforce, with no gaps. But this is a mistake, and here’s why:
- It wastes valuable space and will likely break the two-page limit rule.
- Are you seeking to return to those early jobs or capitalize on those experiences?
Anything older than ten years is probably irrelevant to the roles you’re seeking now and should be cut from the resume. Instead, keep those experiences as stories for the interview process, if relevant.
Resume Layout
Here’s the layout I use for my resume:
- Contact Information
- Career Objective
- Skills
- Job History
And that’s pretty much it.
Contact Information
This section includes your name, address, phone number, email, LinkedIn and GitHub URL (if you have one), and how to contact you. It answers the Who and part of the Where from the 5 W’s.
Career Objective
The Career Objective is essentially a marketing tool for yourself. It can feel awkward to write about yourself with a lot of “I did this…” and “I did that…”. One tip is to write the first draft in the third person, as if you’re writing about someone else, and then replace all the third-person references with “I.”
Your resume is a promotional tool to get you to the interview stage, so make it as positive and enticing as possible.
Here’s an example of my Career Objective:
“I have more than 20 years of software development experience across several industries and disciplines: industrial control, embedded systems, retail software, Internet development, and company-wide intranet and web application development. I’ve consistently delivered successful software applications individually and as a leader or member of a team. Additionally, I work cross-discipline with other groups and bring projects to successful and profitable conclusions.
Having been in the industry for a while, I fully embrace the concept that ‘change is the only constant,’ and I can take productive advantage of emerging technologies. I also excel at teaching new technologies in corporate environments and as a STEM instructor.”
While this objective focuses mainly on the Why (why someone should hire me), it doesn’t address the What (what I want). This is okay because I always include a link to my LinkedIn profile, which provides a more thorough view of me, my skills, and my experience. Modify this section as needed for your purposes.
If you have a GitHub account, include that as well. It’s a great way to show what you’ve done and reinforces what you say your skills are.
Skills
The Skills section should be a concise list of your abilities. This helps the reader determine if you meet the technical qualifications for the role. Highlight the skills you feel strongest about, and tailor the list to the job you’re applying for.
Avoid including base-level skills that are expected, like “good with Windows” or “conversant with Linux.” Also, don’t include skills you’re only marginally familiar with, embellishments will be revealed during an interview and can reflect poorly on you.
Job History
As mentioned earlier, limit the Job History section to the last ten years, if applicable. This is where you detail where you worked, when, and what you did for each organization.
The “what you did” section is not just another list of skills, it’s your opportunity to show how you used your skills and how they benefited the organization. Here are two examples of how to describe the same work:
- Part of a team producing APIs that improved the user experience and assisted customer support.
- Led the team that created SaaS APIs, revamping the customer experience, improving retention, and reducing support costs.
The first example is written in the ‘passive voice’ and isn’t very interesting. The second example is more actively engaging and clearly states the impact of your work.
References
I usually close with something like “References Available on Request.” This can encourage the reader to contact you for references and allows you to choose the most relevant ones. Before listing someone as a reference, check that they’re still comfortable recommending you—especially if you haven’t worked together for a while.
Other Considerations
Proofread
Always proofread your resume, have others proofread it, and use tools like Grammarly to check for errors. Few things make a resume look more amateurish than misspellings or grammatical mistakes.
Fonts
Stick to one or two fonts, preferably sans-serif for readability. I recommend Tahoma or Helvetica. Avoid using overly stylized fonts like Comic Sans.
Graphics
If you have strong design skills, a graphical resume can look fantastic, but ensure the essential information is still easy to find. If you’re unsure about your design abilities, save your creativity for other projects.
Humor
Humor is tricky to pull off, especially in writing. What one person finds funny, another might find offensive. Save humor for the interview, where you can “read the room” and gauge the reaction in real-time.
Closing Thoughts
Your resume is a tool, and like any tool, mastering it takes time and practice. Continually tweak and refine your resume to ensure it serves you well.
Remember, your resume is also a sales tool, it should present you in the best possible light. Put in the effort, and it will pay off.