Great Resume Advice from Voltaire

 If you're asking 'what does a French philosopher have to do with resume writing?' you'd have a point. But the other day I read this Voltaire quote:

"The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out."

I read it on the same day that I received this question from someone who bought my book:

"Several times in your online course and your ebook, you mention not to include things that do not pertain directly to what you've chosen as your Value Proposition, but you never say why it would be a bad thing to include extra information.  Why? Why should you not include a little extra?  Most people would probably think that it might set them apart from the crowd.  I'm asking about job-related info, not personal hobbies and such."

Here's the thing. Employers don't care about everything you've done - they care about the things you've done that apply directly to their needs. If you've determined a value proposition that you know is important to potential employers, why would you confuse the message by then adding in lots of extra stuff?

The secret to writing a strong resume is as much about what you leave out as what you include. You must be sure that every word is there for a reason. When adding something to your resume, ask yourself  'does this piece of information increase the chances of my being asked to an interview or not?' If yes, put it in. If no, leave it out!

Comments

[Barbara Safani]

Louise,

I think it is hard for people to let go of all their "stuff" because they become emotionally attached to it. I tell people that writing a resume is similar to cleaning out a closet. You have to let go of the clothing that no longer fits or dates you. Nice post!

[Maureen McCann]

Excellent post Louise.

While it is tempting to unload every talent one possess onto a resume, imagine how employers feel as they sift through resumes trying to uncover one person who has all five, six, or seven qualifications they seek to fill the position.

Make an employers job easy - help them (quickly) uncover your value, by focusing on your value proposition, and making it easy to see that you match their requirements.

Happy hunting!

[Louise Fletcher]

Great analogy Barbara!

Maureen, that's a great way to think of it: How can I make it easy for employers to find what they need to find?

[Richard]

The resume should only include information that supports your career goal, or tells the person about some highly desirable personal quality, like integrity. Everything else should go, no matter how proud we are of it. This is tough, but nevessary.

[Guy]

"Does this piece of information increase the chances of my being asked to an interview or not?" hits the nail on the head. As a veteran headhunter with more than 20 years of experience I can tell you with absolute certainty that a resume’s primary purpose in life is to increase the likelihood of a substantive interview with the Hiring Manager. You’ll probably have only a few seconds to catch the reader’s impatient eye; extraneous information clouds the view…

[Anastasia from Moscow]

very interesting

thx anastasia

[how to write a resume]

Good point, I would like to stress out too that in their resume they shouldn't write any objectives since we all know that they want the job. Instead have a well polish 3-5 sentences summary. Some thoughts in how to write a resume? Just keep it clean and professional. No grammar errors, no I and me statement, and use specific figures when you can. Keep your qualification relevant to the position you're applying to.

[Tanya]

Great post and comments. I completely agree, more isn't always better.

[Jim Edwards]

Resumes only became customary after World War II, as a means for employers to eliminate unqualified candidates among scores of GIs looking for new jobs. Not much has changed. Nowadays, nearly every individual, starting a job search, begins by developing a resume, but decision makers only spend and average of ten seconds scanning them. A resume cannot do the heavy lifting in a job search. Its purpose is strictly to function, in conjunction with a follow-up call, as a marketing tool to initiate a conversation with the decision maker. Your goal should be to present your background and accomplishments in a visually appealing, reverse chronological order, with dates, succinctly and honestly. Stay away from functional resumes, extensive formatting and leaving dates off to hide age.

[Laura Paris]

Hi

you gyus did a great job such a wonderful site filled with lots of great advices and informations , thank you so much for your support through your site I really appreciate your efforts .

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[uk jobs advice]

Great post.

I think that it's fairly obvious that with the internet we are still in the 'wild west' phase, where no one quite knows what is going on. And it is 'cooler' to say things like 'ditch the resume' than to give solid advice like you give here. Especially because it can be easier and more fun to add some fancy graphics to your resume rather than do the harder, and more useful, work of tailoring your resume to the specific situation (which I think means not only industry, but company and position).

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