What content should you include in your resume? So often people are convinced that a potential employer, HR professional, recruiter, the person or scanning device reading their resume, is interested in LOADS of information despite the fact that a professional resume writer, some with many years of experience and multiple certifications, uses the utmost diplomacy to explain to them that it is a mistake to waste the space. Those who review your resume are looking for an employee to fill a specific position and will be looking for relevant information. That information does not include a profile of your past employer/company. They are interested in hiring you not the company you used to work for. What is relevant, is your history of accomplishments with these companies. So BOLD your title/position, not the company name. The purpose of your resume is to sell YOU, not the company you are no longer employed by.
The following comments are from accredited, professional resume writers and provide information confirming the main reason the content you choose to put in your resume is critical to your success in obtaining a job interview.
“Information must be organized for easy reading. When the recipient first glances at it, key skills and accomplishments must be easily seen. Remember, five to twenty seconds is all your resume gets in the first screening round.”~ Canadian Resume Writing Services
“Even though you may spend hours writing and adjusting your resume and cover letter, chances are that an employer will spend less than a minute reviewing it.” ~ Canadian Careers
“Approximately 30 seconds will be allocated to reviewing one of potentially hundreds of resumes and in that time frame, here are a few things that will be noticed and will be of interest: Your name and contact data, a neat format devoid of unequal spacing, indents, white space or formatting discrepancies, correct spelling and grammar, consistent font type and size, a clear, concise, quantified list of accomplishments beginning with enticing action words and significant keywords that relate to the position.” ~ Elite Resumes
Remember the purpose of your resume, to sell yourself to the “reader” and motivate them to call you for an interview. Once you have succeeded in obtaining the job interview, you are then able to decide if the interviewer is interested in details about the company you used to work for or the school you once attended.
