Contradictions
Finding balance through the chaos.
By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP
I was told recently by dependable sources that one department at Amazon requires a one-page resume and another department requires a two-page resume. Both are within the same division. Neither has this information on the application page.
I was told recently by reliable sources that recruiters want your skills at the bottom of resume. I was also told that recruiters want the skills section at the top of the resume AND the bottom of the resume, so twice.
Recently, a few clients have told me that my advice directly contradicts advice that they have received from other career coaches and recruiters.
[Sigh]
I am aware that resume writing and career coaching are an art, not a science. There is no one right answer.
However, there is a lot of confusing information about resume and the job search swirling around out there. And for the first time in my 10 years of helping people to control their career, I admit that I don’t always know how to help with the contradictions.
Sometimes my colleagues suggest that job seekers should go with your gut, but if you’re new to the job search or you haven’t had to look for a job in a long time, and you have no idea how to apply to jobs, then you are not going have any gut reaction to advice people give you. If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink then you are familiar with the idea that gut reaction tends to be based on knowledge, even if you don’t realize it at the time. But you won’t have a gut reaction if you don’t know what you’re doing. Or your gut reaction will be wrong if you’ve been given false information to start.
An example of false information is college career centers telling graduating seniors that their resume must be one page. Their errant advice is not that’s it’s okay that the resume is one page, but that the resume must be one page. And then as the graduates move up professionally, they carry this limiting mandate with them. This limiting mandate then forces them to omit important information in their resume Experience Section that could help prove why they deserve the next job.
When I work with graduates, I often have to untangle this mess with them. Then we get so much clear, focused proof on the resume that there is no way their experience would fit on one page.
Resume length is not the only contradiction. As I tell my clients, right now the hiring world is the Wild West, and that means that contradictions are everywhere. People are getting confusing and contradictory information on both sides of the hiring desk, from coaches, writers, and the hiring team. It’s maddening.
So let me help with what I know for sure. There are a few basic guidelines that will increase your chances of landing a job:
Make sure your impact, results, and achievements are clear and obvious in the Experience section. Don’t simply state your skills and actions.
Make sure that you address the needs of the company at the top of the resume in the title and summary. Plagiarize the skills from the job posting in the skills section.
If you are omitting important information in your Experience Section that proves why you deserve the job because you’re trying to stick to one page, add that information back in because realistically you have up to 2 pages.
And … in general make sure that you’re talking to career services professionals like me. Don’t talk to peers, don’t talk to your parents, don’t talk to random people on the internet. I’ve witnessed too many clients go astray in their job search because a peer recommended something on their resume based on something some random person said.
This was a conversation recently with a client, Emily:
EMILY: “I want to add “stakeholder buy-in” to the resume.”
ME: “Do you have experience getting stakeholder buy-in?”
EMILY: ”No. I was just told by friends that it was something important that I should put in my resume.”
Instead, talk to someone who has recruited, someone who has hired, and someone who has had success writing resumes for people. The advice will vary, but at least the specialist will give you the benefit of their experience. As I said, I’ve been doing this 10 years, I have plenty of education and certifications, I’ve helped hundreds of graduates to CEOs to land excellent jobs, and I’m still stuck on how to untangle some of the hiring chaos that’s happening right now.
I’m here if you want some advice.
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Better job. More pay. More control.
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