Critique Your Resume

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You have written your resume. To your untrained eye, it looks pretty good and you believe you are ready to send it out. Unfortunately, the success of your resume depends not on whether you like it, but rather on the opinion of hiring managers. As a result, you have to look at your resume from an employer's perspective.

Let's take a look at the common subheadings and other elements of a resume and explore what employers like to see. Based on the information provided, self-score your existing resume.

Heading: The heading of your resume should include your name, contact information (address, phone numbers, email address). Follow these tips to ensure that your heading is following proper resume protocol.
1. Avoid providing your work number. Potential interviewers may interpret the inclusion of a work number as a lack of loyalty on your part since you are job-hunting on your current employer's dime.
2. Don't include your home phone number if young children and/or non-English-speaking family members tend to pick up the phone. Instead, use your cell phone. If you don't own a cell phone, then kindly ask residents in your household to let the home phone go directly to voice mail.
3. When you are searching for a job, don't pick up your cell phone in places where you are not able to talk, such as on a train or in the middle of a lunch meeting. If you don't know who is calling, let your cell phone go to voice mail.

Critique: Does the heading of your resume include your full name, address, professional-sounding email, and a contact number? ___ Yes ___No

Objective/Profile Statement: Your profile statement should provide a summary of the skills, knowledge, and abilities you feel are most important to the position you are seeking. This means that if you have more than one career interest, you will need to adapt your profile for each interest.
Here's a sample of an effective profile statement.
Strong, diverse background in accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing within various environments, leveraging analytical and problem-solving skills to achieve positive results. Excel in managing multiple financial/accounting/HR activities concurrently. Uphold highest level of professional and personal ethics; well-versed in regulatory requirements. Proficient in use of technology, including Excel, QuickBooks, and Intuit's Enterprise Solutions software, to support top-priority business goals.
Critique: Does your resume profile go beyond the usual seeking-an-opportunity-to-grow type of statements? Have you taken the time to delve into what you can offer an organization? ___ Yes ___ No
Professional History: Your work history section must be packed with accomplishments. Each profession has different standards as to what constitutes accomplishments. For example, an accomplishment for a teacher may be the ability to create a curriculum that is suitable for all learning styles. For an administrative assistant, an accomplishment can be the streamlining of files that allows for accessibility.
Many job seekers are under the impression that accomplishments have to contain numbers. This is not the case, as illustrated by the examples in the previous paragraph. A gauge you can use as to whether something is an accomplishment or not is this: are you proud of the activity? Did the activity win praise from others?
Critique: Does each position have at least three noticeable accomplishments? Note: the number of accomplishments varies from individual to individual. Use the number three as a realistic gauge. ___ Yes ___No
Format: If you are using a Microsoft Word template, scratch it. Interviewers are used to seeing those formats again and again. Be creative and create a format that suits your specific goals and work history. In addition, if you have ever used a resume template before, you can attest to the fact that you have no creative control. Depending on the template, you may not even be permitted to add extra bullets statements, if necessary. You are subject to the template layout and can't veer away from the design because if you do, you run the risk of a formatting disaster on your hands.
Critique: Does your format highlight your accomplishments by being original? ___ Yes ___No
Font face and size: Don't use a small font face and size just to keep the resume to one page. Small lettering will make it difficult for the decision-maker to read. Please understand that resumes don't have to be one page. If your resume needs to be longer to include all the relevant information that is fine. Hiring managers expect resumes to run up to three pages. Choose a font size that is easy on the eye.
Critique: Does your resume have an easy-to-read font face and size? ___ Yes ___ No
Action-oriented sentence starters: Your resume should never include the words “I” or “we.” For example, instead of writing I implemented, begin the sentence with Implemented. Here is a list of action words you can use in your resume. They are split into categories for easy use.
Management action words: analyzed, coordinated, delegated, executed, incorporated, motivated, and oversaw.
Communication action words: addressed, authored, persuaded, summarized, renegotiated, reported, and wrote.
Creative action words: conceived, conceptualized, created, designed, developed, and produced.
Detail-oriented action words: approved, compiled, edited, inspected, gathered, and proofread.
Critique: Does each sentence of your resume begin with an action word? ___ Yes ___No

You know your resume is ready to be submitted when you score one hundred percent on the evaluation above. Good luck!

- Linda Matias

Author of How to Say It: Job Interviews (Prentice Hall Press), Linda Matias is qualified to assist you in your career transition, whether it be a complete career makeover, interview preparation, or resume assistance. You can contact Linda directly at linda@careerstrides.com or visit her website www.careerstrides.com for additional career advice and to view resume samples.

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