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How to Write the Perfect Resume: Tips from a Recruiter

How to write the perfect resume: tips from a recruiter
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Everybody needs one, but not everybody has a good one. Yes, we’re talking about resumes. The average time spent reading a resume is 5-7 seconds, so making a good first impression is mission critical. To get a professional opinion, Emma Bullen spoke to executive recruiter Joanne Acri from Ari Agency Digital Recruitment in Toronto.

One of the things I get asked most often by my friends is if I can take a look at their resume. I love my friends, and I’m always flattered to be asked for my opinion. I’ll tell them when I think they’re selling themselves short and help them find pesky spelling mistakes, or get rid of information they simply don’t need.

The thing is, there are a lot of questions I have about resumes myself. So I thought, why not talk to a recruiter? They have to look at resumes all the time — from the lacklustre to the outstanding – so they know what makes a CV stand out. Curious about what separates a good resume from a bad resume? I asked Ari Agency’s Executive Recruiter, Joanne Acri to spill the beans. 

Emma Bullen: What common mistakes do you most frequently see in resumes?

Joanne Acri: Other than spelling mistakes and inconsistencies, it has to be formatting. Different computers view documents differently, and sending a Word document from a Mac to a PC can make your font and layout change completely. I’d always recommend sending in your resume as a pdf. It locks down the design, so it looks the same on every device.

The other thing is the length. If your resume is longer than two pages, you’d better be Barack Obama. Most recruiters don’t have time to read a three page resume. There’s no excuse not to keep yours succinct and cut it down to two pages.

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No qualifications? No problem. You’re hired!

dream-job-zero-experience Photo of man on laptop from Shutterstock.

It’s no BS. You can find your dream job by using these six tactics – even if you’ve got ZERO experience. Corrie Alexander explains.

There suddenly came a day when you realized exactly what you wanted to do from now until retirement. Unfortunately, you are working in a totally different line of work and have absolutely no experience in your desired field. You’ve got bills to pay and it feels like you’re going to be stuck in your dead-end job forever.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. you’re not alone. A recent survey indicates that nearly half of Canadians are unhappy in their current job. Continue reading →

The Do’s And Don’ts of Resume Formatting

Resume Formatting Tips

This article was originally published in BCJobs.ca

Clients often ask me how a resume should be formatted. (Note: this question doesn’t relate to resume types (e.g. chronological, functional, combination resumes), a subject which I will cover in a future blog.) The question relates to how a resume should be laid out from a visual, style and design standpoint. In other words, what design elements should a resume incorporate?

I would be lying if I said design plays no role in the creation of a resume; it does play a role, but it is a secondary one. The primary component of a resume is its content; it is the content that speaks to your background, education and skill sets. Design helps in the communication of that content. Design also helps the viewer interpret and internalize the words written on the page.

I always tell my clients not to be overly fussed with design and style, and to pay more attention to the composition of sentences, the grammar, the names and dates. That said, there are some basic style guidelines you should follow whenever creating a resume.

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5 Tips to Writing a Resume That Will Land You a Job

5 Tips to Writing a Resume That Will Land You a Job

We’ve covered five tips to writing a killer cover letter, now it’s time to switch gears and discuss five tips to writing a killer resume that’ll land you a job.

Writing a resume involves fitting your entire work experience onto a one-page piece of paper. As you’re well aware, it’s not easy. What makes writing a resume even harder isn’t the simple act of what to include on the resume, but rather how you should phrase and organize your inclusions in a manner that will appeal to hiring managers to ultimately land you an interview and get you a job.

With that in mind, there are five tips to writing a killer resume:

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Should You Lie on Your Resume?

Should You Lie On Your Resume

The answer is an obvious, resounding NO! But a recent survey from The Society of Human Resources Managers reported that 53% of the resumes and job applications they reviewed contained false information. Now that information could be fraudulent degrees, altered employment dates, false references and inflated pay claims. And in an online survey done by AOL Jobs, 26.5% of respondents stated that they either have lied or would consider lying on a resume.

Obviously Human Resource departments are aware that this type of inaccurate information finds its way on to resumes. There was actually a recent post on HRMOnline with tips for human resource professionals on how to catch resume lies throughout their hiring process. This post isn’t meant to give you any ideas on how to outsmart HR, but to instead inform you on the ways you might be caught if you decide to add some fiction to your application:

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Take These 4 Things Off Your Resume Immediately

Get These 4 Things off of Your Resume Immediately

Struggling to find space on your resume to fit some key details and accomplishments? It might be time for a resume cleanup.

There may be a lot of items on your resume that were relevant six years ago, but are no longer relevant for what jobs you’re applying for in 2015 that can simply be removed. There are also items that need to be refreshed in order to make you look more professional.

Here are a few things you need to clean up or take off your resume immediately:

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Sometimes It’s the Little Things

Sometimes It's The Little Things

So you’ve spent hours working on your resume, maybe days. You’ve probably read our last blog post on how to perfect it and now it is time to send it off to the HR department of your dream company. But don’t send it just yet. There are some little things you can do that you probably haven’t even thought of, which might give you a tiny edge over another candidate.

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Everything You Need to Know About Styling Your Resume

Styling a Resume FreshGigs

It’s Resume Month! Check back every week to see how you can increase your chances of landing a job by improving your resume and cover letter—it’s resumes, and resumes only, for this month!

Noticed a job posting that you’re thinking of applying to? Chances are that the job posting has been noticed by hundreds of other curious candidates too, and the process for each candidate is the same: apply through email, or apply through a website. Unless you know the hiring manager personally, the only way to stand out from the crowd is through a well-designed resume.

If you’re a graphic designer, chances are you already have a resume that’s well designed, but for all other professions, a traditional resume (designed in Word or InDesign) is what you’re working with. And while resumes for other professions can have elements of graphic design associated with them (e.g. a resume geared for the advertising industry might lean towards the creative side), normally the customization is limited to bolding, underling, and italicizing.

Your resume serves a specific purpose, and that’s to get noticed by the hiring manager. As a result, you need to strategically customize your resume with the limited number of tools you have available in order grab the hiring manager’s attention—too much customization and your key points will all blend into one another, too little customization and your resume will be flat and boring.

Here’s everything you need to know about styling your resume:

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Should I Include References in my Resume?

Should I Include References on my Resume?

It’s Resume Month! Check back every week to see how you can increase your chances of landing a job by improving your resume and cover letter—it’s resumes, and resumes only, for this month!

If your job interview goes well and your prospective employer wants to make you a job offer, he or she will, without exceptions, ask you for references. So the question is, “should I list out the names of my references in my resume?” I tell my clients that it’s not necessary to list your referees for two reasons:

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Is It Necessary To Include “Sports, Hobbies, and Interests” In My Resume?

FreshGigs Sports, Hobbies, and Interests

This is a question I often get from clients: the answer I like to give is that it’s optional. Some may feel that they don’t have any sports activities or hobbies worth mentioning. If you feel that putting down “generic” interests would only take up valuable space in your resume – such as going to movies, hiking, or swimming – then leave that section blank.

On the other hand, the “sports and hobbies” section is the only part of the resume that gives the employer insight about who you are, and what you do, outside of work. For example, if you’ve had a life long interest in butterflies, and have managed to turn that interest into a blog with over 50,000 followers, employers want to know about that. They want to know about things that you care about, and who you are as an individual.

If you were a member of your university ski team and led your team to national championships for two years in a row, then this is information worth putting down. Though it may have been years since you graduated, this information tells employers that you were disciplined and committed enough dedicate hours of training and personal sacrifice to achieve your goals.

If you’ve had a life long interest in butterflies, and have managed to turn that interest into a blog with over 50,000 followers, employers want to know about that.

When I worked as a recruiter, I paid special attention to a candidate’s sports achievements because I think there’s a strong correlation between a person’s athletic successes while in school, and their career successes later in life. Traits that are developed through sports – such as discipline, focus and team work – become critical in one’s working life.

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