We see A LOT of the same issues across Resumes we review every day. Here are 5 of our most common concerns, that are easy to fix right now:

 

1. Two Pages are OKAY.

If you’re trying to squeeze everything onto one page, you’re losing valuable real estate that could be used to add more, important content. As competitive as the job market is today, you need to be squeezing as much as you can without cluttering.

Everything still needs to flow, and the important details need to be highlighted, but now you have more space! We don’t recommend exceeding 2 pages unless you’re a high level Executive, Academic, or Medical professional, in which case we usually recommend a CV.
Stick to one page if you are a recent grad with a short amount of work history.

 

2. The Margins.

With our Resumes, we use 0.8 margins all around. Any larger and you lose valuable real estate. Any smaller and the text appears overwhelming. White space needs to be utilized to create clarity and flow.

3. The Information After Your Contact Info…

…should not be titled, “Objective.” This is an old way of stating what You want from a position. Unfortunately, employers are only interested in what You can do for Them. Title this section, “Professional Profile” or “Professional Summary”, and use the space to write 2-3 sentences that highlight what you’re capable of producing.

 

4. Skills

After your Profile, highlight 8-12 of your most valuable skills. This will create space between your Contact, Profile, and Skills, which allows whomever is looking to find your relevant details quickly and effectively. We use the vertical line separator between each skill for a clean, professional look.

 

 

5. Accomplishments/Achievements

Think about anything you’ve contributed in your current/previous positions in the form of percentages, awards, or other quantifiable data.

List these accomplishments under each position, to keep them in context. We see Resumes that separate all achievements into one section; however, without relating to when/where they were accomplished, the hiring manager loses context, and your accolades lose value.

**BONUS TIP**

Format your own Resume. Avoid using a template, or hiring a service that uses templates.