Are You Saying Too Much?

As a professional resume writer, I base my whole approach to resumes on the idea that they are marketing documents rather than career histories. So I like to read marketing and branding blogs to keep myself fresh. One of my favorites is Copyblogger, and this morning I came across this post.

Chris Barrett asks "Are You In Love With Your Own Writing?"

In copy, online or off, you have to choose one point. Get your message across, then stop.

If you can’t distill your message down succinctly, then try harder. Every minute of additional effort on your part reduces the effort on the part of the reader, and that leads to more successful copy. Don’t force your reader to wade through a Wikipedia-sized reference when a few paragraphs will do. The easier you make it, the more successful your content will be.

This is just as true of resumes and cover letters as it is of marketing copy. I just finished working with a client - an accomplished executive with a diverse and interesting background. We went back and forth on changes for weeks. He loved his new resume - and he was thrilled with the number of interviews it was generating - but every few days, he decided he wanted to add just one more piece of information. And every time, I'd suggest that either (a) we left things as they were or (b) we deleted something to make room, because otherwise the things was going to keep growing and growing.

Your resume is a marketing brochure not a product catalog. It has to say just enough to make the sale and not one word more.

Comments

[Lea]

I absolutely agree, and I've linked to your article from my blog. I'm still not entirely sure how TrackBack works, so I wanted to let you know. The post is here: http://makeachangeresumes.blogspot.com/2007/06/less-is-more.html