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I'm overhauling my resume. What should I stress?

By Anne McKinney, Prep Publishing

Remember that a resume is designed to reveal, or hint at, what you can do for the company or organization. The typical business resume is one-page and is accompanied by a one-page cover letter that specifically tells the reader why you are writing to him. Obviously a one-page resume is merely an edited version of yourself, so choose carefully what you put on your resume in order to show the skills and accomplishments that the potential employer will find useful and relevant.

Most people are very good judges of their own resumes. So be honest: look at your resume and decide for yourself: Is it a limp, boring “laundry list” which would make good bedtime reading for an insomniac, or does it communicate aggressively in such a fashion that the only obvious next step after reading it is to want to dial your number in order to at least talk with you and perhaps meet you. Remember that that’s the goal of your resume: to motivate the reader to want to meet you. But first the reader has to be aroused to dial your number, or e-mail you, or write you. We’ve heard a lot about how “every vote counts.” Well, on a one-page resume, every word counts. Present the duties, achievements, licenses, affiliations, and other facts about you that will motivate the reader to want to meet you. (Forget the unimportant or “old” stuff; for example, no one really cares if we won the third grade spelling bee.)

The more artistic the field, the more creative can be the design and even paper color. Remember some practical things, though. Pick a font that middle-aged eyes can read easily. It’s not wise to go below a 10 point font, and lots of people prefer 11 point or 12 point. Remember, too, that colored paper doesn’t lend itself to being copied easily without machine adjustments, so if the recipient wants to make a copy of your resume “to show someone else,” a colored paper will not reproduce well. I have found that a nice cheerful ivory colored paper is a very businesslike shade which reproduces well. Frankly, I don’t believe in spending lots of money on paper with watermarks, etc. Busy readers don’t hold paper up to the light to see if the stationery you sent them has watermarks. Don’t get so carried away with paper color and weight that you neglect to proofread the words on your resume. It’s much more important to appear literate and attentive to detail than “fancy” in font or paper selection.

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Source: Prep Publishing

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