My neighbour popped over this week for a quick resume re-write and we started talking about what was required in relation to the modern Australian resume. What surprised me, was not that she thought that creating a resume, was a 5 minute job (this is a common misconception, yet the reality is that a highly effective job winning resume can take up to a whole working day to create) BUT her misconception about what should be included in a modern Australian resume.
So in this article, I decided to bust some of the key myths about the modern Australian resume.
Myth One – Only include your last ten years of work history
This is one myth that needs to be busted, as not including older work history could mean you undersell yourself. While you should not include old work history that does not value add, you should be including work history that supports your focus and value proposition.
Yes - it is true that the majority of readers of your resume will be most interested in your recent experience, BUT there could be real value in going back further than 10 years. Perhaps you want to include older work history that includes working for well-known prestigious companies. Perhaps you have an impressive list of accomplishments in a position that you held 12 years ago, not 9 years ago. Don’t stop at 10 years, if this experience adds value. The 10 year rule - is a rule that can and should be broken, if you strategically incorporate material that enhances your application. Just think carefully about what should be included and how much emphasis you put on your older work history. For example, you could just focus on achievements with older positions, or screen out early dates, by just providing a summary. If there is solid reasoning behind including older work history – then include it!
Myth Two – A resume should include a strategic objective
I don’t like career objectives and only occasionally utilise them, for example for a career changer or new graduate. The reason is that a career objective is entirely focussed on YOUR needs, rather than the employers! Since the most effective resume is focussed on the potential employers needs, why focus the prime real estate space of your document on what you want! (That visual centre, 1/3 down on your 1st page of your resume, is where the employer will typically stop first, so this is where you should pack your punch!).
A better alternative is to include a profile, an introduction or qualifications and experience summary. That way you can really provide focus on the value that you offer the employer. This critical, but subtle difference might just result in you securing an interview.
Myth Three – Content is more important than formatting
Yes content is KING – but equally important is the formatting of your document. Your document should be visually appealing, in the same way company’s package their goods in a way to enhance their appeal for buyers. I mean what would you as a consumer choose for a gift - chocolate wrapped in white butcher paper - or for the same price, chocolate wrapped in rich-looking gold foil with ribbons, in a heart shaped box?
When formatting your resume, be consistent in design treatments, be conservative, and avoid starting too many consecutive lines with bullets, add white space, break up lengthy paragraphs, balance the resume top-to-bottom and left-to-right and use no more than 2 font styles.
Finally make sure you DON’T use templates from the major job search sites. Literally thousands of job seekers use these templates and if you are in the business of recruiting people, you know straight away the origin of the template and trust me – these online templates don’t make a good first good impression!
Myth Four – It is still a good idea to include personal information
The first and primary reason for a resume is to SCREEN Candidates OUT – so don’t under any circumstances give the reader an opportunity to exclude you on the basis of their personal biases and prejudices. That means the removal of ALL material that could prejudice your chances, including photographs, age, marital status, religion and hobbies.
While you might think including hobbies such as motocross bike riding indicates your fitness, or well-rounded personality, when a potential employer sees that you love motocross riding, they are probably just thinking of a potential employee that has numerous days off work, while recovering from a riding accident. Likewise, while your love of knitting might to you indicate stability, to a potential reader, you might be categorised as someone over 60 and ready to retire in 1 year’s time and a ‘stick in the mud’.
So don’t appeal to people prejudices, by including information that could exclude you and is not relevant to your ability to perform on the job.
Myth Five – Resumes MUST thoroughly describe the responsibilities of each position.
I love busting this myth, because it is so prevalent. The answer is no you don’t need to thoroughly describe the responsibilities of each position. In fact many of the resumes I create, focus entirely on putting my clients experience into context (for example, number of direct reports, budgets managed, areas of management authority, scale of company or project) and then I simply outline what my client achieved.
This goes back to the WIFM principles (what’s in it for me), namely employers are looking for someone that can solve business problems, meet challenging goals and produce the desired results to improve processes or increase profits. When outlining responsibilities, all you are stating is what you were supposed to do, not what you actually did, or achieved, or what value you bring to your new employer.
So focus on documenting your consistent ability to achieve results, rather than long and boring lists of duties and responsibilities within your resume.
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