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Summary
Sentence: A resume
is a career summary. The
summary needs to showcase your selling
points at top along with your skills.
Remove
Items: Remove any
items that do not support your resume’s message.
In other words, do you
have the skills for the job that you are applying for?
Let’s assume you do and ask the next most logical
question, Does your resume reflect those skills in a brief and
concise manner?
Length:
Let common sense answer this question.
For a rule of thumb most resumes fall between
1-3 pages. If you are
in the middle management to executive level you will most likely
need 2 pages.
If possible try to stick with no more than 2 pages.
Getting
Started!
-
1.
Are you asking yourself any of these questions:
-
2.
How long should my resume be?
-
3.
How can I fit all my skills, background & experience on one
page?
What
can I cut out, and what should be highlighted?
If you are, you're not alone. As millions of workers update
their resumes,
one of the top concerns is length. Not long ago, job seekers
followed the
resume golden rule: No resume should exceed one page. However,
today's
job seekers are finding that rule no longer applies.
In
this time of mass confusion, the solution is simple: Use common
sense. If you are just graduating,
have fewer than five years of work experience or are contemplating a
complete career change, a one-page resume will probably work. Some
technical and executive candidates require multiple-page
resumes.
If you have more than five years of experience and a track record of
accomplishments, you will need at
least two pages to tell your story.
Your Resume Is Not an
Autobiography
Don't confuse telling your story with creating your autobiography.
Most people focus on what they have
done – where as most employers are asking themselves, “What can
you do for me?”. For employers, the
first step of the hiring process involves quickly skimming through
resumes and eliminating candidates who
clearly are not qualified (or at least that’s what their resume
says). Therefore, your
resume needs to
pass the first scan test. Pull
out your old version and ask yourself the following questions:
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Can
a hiring manager see my main credentials within 10 to 15
seconds?
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Does
critical information jump off the page?
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Do
I effectively sell myself on the top quarter of the first
page?
The Moment of
Impact
Because resumes are quickly skimmed during the first pass, it is
crucial your resume gets right to work
selling your credentials. Your key selling points & skills need
to be prominently displayed at the top of
the first page. If an MBA with a concentration in sports management
is important to the organization
you are interviewing, then that should be at the top of the page.
An
effective way to showcase your key qualifications is to include a
brief (one sentence) Career Summary statement at the top of the
first page. The remainder of the resume should back up the
statements
made in your summary.
Use an Editor's Eye
Many workers are proud of their careers and feel the information on
a resume should reflect all they've accomplished. However, the
resume shouldn't contain every detail. It should only include the
information
that will help you land an interview.
Hobbies, children, first part time jobs, etc., can sometimes
elicit
judgement form the hiring party.
Ask yourself is the information really needed or relevant.
Is it possible
this information reduce my chances in any way.
Another words, does it really matter that you were a
waiter or waitress in college or delivered pizzas?
Remember, we all think that everything we’ve done is
important to put on a resume. Of
course, we are bias. If
you are having trouble determining the right
information to include, then you may want to speak with a
professional resume writer for an objective
opinion.
Hot Tips to Keep Your Resume
Concise
1.
Eliminate Old Experience & Irrelevant Information
Employers are most interested in what you did recently and how you
can help them!. If you have a long
career history, focus on the last 10 to 15 years. If your early
career is important to your current goal,
briefly mention the experience without going into the details of
your first part time jobs, etc.
Avoid
listing hobbies and personal information such as date of birth or
marital status, how many children
you have, etc. Also,
eliminate outdated technical or business skills.
2.
Briefly Describe Job Duties
Many job seekers can trim the fat off their resumes simply by
removing long descriptions of job duties
or responsibilities. Instead, create a paragraph that briefly
highlights the scope of your responsibility and
then provide a bulleted list of your most impressive accomplishments
and skills.
3.
Avoid Repeating Information
Did you perform the same or similar job tasks for more than one
employer? Instead of repeating job duties,
focus on your accomplishments in each position.
6.
Use a Readable, Clean, Professional font
7.
Eliminate Personal Pronouns
8.
Customize Your Resume for the Sports Industry
Only include information relevant to your sports career goal. This
is particularly important for career
changers who need to focus on transferable skills and de-emphasize
unrelated career accomplishments.
This is very important if you want to transfer your skills from
another industry into sports. Remember
the employer must see, very clearly, how your experience can be an
asset to their sports company or organization.
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