Results tagged “candidates” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

Among the resume “rules” you may have heard is the one in which resumes should be limited to one page. While it’s true that most entry-level job-seekers should try to limit their resumes to a single page, this length is rarely appropriate for those at senior and executive levels. Top-level job-seekers will find it virtually impossible to capture the breadth of their experience and accomplishments in a single page, and some employers expect longer resumes from those candidates, sometimes up to five pages. In a 2007 survey by Accountemps, a specialized staffing service, only 7 percent of senior executives from human resources, finance and marketing departments favored one-page resumes for executives, while 61 percent favored two pages. Respondents were receptive to three-page resumes for executive roles, with nearly a third (31 percent) citing this as the ideal length.

One-page resumes can be useful for candidates in certain situations, such as networking, in which the job-seeker wants to give potential network contacts a thumbnail glance at his or her career.

A summary of guidelines on resume length:

• One page is usually preferred for college students and new grads, but those with rich campus backgrounds and work/internship experience may need two pages.
• Two-page resumes are suitable for many job-seekers.
• Three or more pages may be required at the senior level.
• Job-seekers should never sacrifice readability (tiny type, narrow margins) just to squeeze a resume into a certain number of pages.
• When a resume spills onto an additional page, it should fill up at least half of that page. If not, try to condense.

See our article, The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be? for a variety of opinions and guidelines on resume length.

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If you are an entrepreneur transitioning back to the workplace, make the most of your resume by emphasizing the entrepreneurial transferable skills that apply to the type of job you’re targeting. Many employers, for example, seek candidates who can handle startup and turnaround situations. They’re also looking for professionals with experience in asset and liability management, budget development, building strategic alliances, business plan development, capital equipment budgets, competitive analysis, costing and budgeting, financial strategies, market strategy, profit and loss management/direction, new business development, operations management, research and development, return on investment, and strategic planning direction. Focus also on your entrepreneurial successes and accomplishments; avoid conveying any impression that you are leaving the entrepreneurial life because you didn’t succeed at it. Read more in our Frequently Asked Questions About Resumes: The Complete Resume FAQ.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Resume has poor or inconsistent formatting, unclear layout. “A resume should be clear, concise and provide enough relevant information to encourage the phone call it’s meant to generate,” said Human Resources Professional Veronica Richmond of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. My preference is for easy reading, because I see just too many resumes per position to fight a layout that is not clear. I want to find the relevant information easily.”

An example of poor formatting that Curtis Pollen doesn’t like to see is “everything lined up on the left margin including name, address heading information.” Pollen, who is senior director of talent recruitment for the American Heart Association, Wallingford, CT, rails when the “content layout doesn’t flow smoothly, for example, [the candidate] will list all accomplishments up front then just provide jobs and dates down below. I like to see what accomplishments were achieved in a particular job to ensure there is a match for the position I am recruiting for.”

Pollen also noted that candidates don’t pay enough attention to how the resume looks when loaded to a job board or his organization’s career site, sometimes resulting in “resumes where everything runs together and is hard to read.” Pollen advised job-seekers to check the format to ensure it looks appropriate before submitting it.

Candidates who don’t bother to check the way their resumes print out annoy Jeff Weaver, regional manager for a global information services company, such as when a two-page resume spills over — by just a few lines — onto an unintended third page. Granted, computer incompatibilities often are the culprits for a format that is inconsistent between sender and recipient, but candidates can experiment with sending their resumes to friends’ computers to ensure they print out as intended, and as Weaver advises, tweak the margins or remove unnecessary page breaks to eliminate an unintended straggler page.
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Not enough description of the scope of a given job is provided beyond the job’s title. Some candidates assume their title will tell the full story, but titles often have different meanings from organization to organization. You must convey a sense of what the scope of each position encompassed.
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumesidentified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Resume is too general. To keep from limiting themselves, candidates sometimes create a very broad resume that lacks specific information. A peeve for one survey respondent is “failure to include enough information for a recruiter to determine fit. Executives more so than less-senior level candidates should be aware of the importance of effective communication, and yet they seem less motivated to tailor their resume to the specific job in which they are seeking.”
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

Any disclosure on your resume — such as religion, church affiliations, or political affiliations — that could get you screened out as a candidate is risky. You may take the stance that you don’t want to work for an employer that would eliminate you because a hiring manager didn’t like your political beliefs or religious affiliation. But given that, for most candidates, religion, politics, and any other controversial affiliations are not relevant to your next job, it’s wise to leave them out. Read more in our Frequently Asked Questions About Resumes: The Complete Resume FAQ.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.