Career Guidance Committee Chair's

Ten Tips for Resumes

by Ulla de Stricker

In my capacity as Career Committee Chair, I offer a free resume review and rework service to members of the Toronto Chapter of SLA. (For clients outside the Chapter there is a negotiated fee based on the estimated effort involved.) Simply email your resume to ulla@destricker.com and indicate when you can be reached by telephone.

Before sending the resume, please review the tips below and incorporate them as you think appropriate. They represent my personal judgment about what employers look for in a resume and are intended to assist in the difficult task of presenting oneself on paper. Be aware that in some settings there are unique expectations - for example, the academic community may desire more detail in a resume than is considered appropriate in a business environment.

CONTENT

1. "Tag line"
   
   A label such as "Business Researcher", "Intranet Architect and Content Manager", or "Senior Information Centre Manager" offers an instant orientation about the type of professional you are.
   
   
2. What is most outstanding about you? The "Highlights" or "Key Strengths" section
   
   It is essential to engage the reader in the first ten seconds. Don't be surprised if 90% of your effort goes into the first five lines of your resume!
   
   In bullet or brief paragraph form, set out the five or so key characteristics making you an attractive candidate. What skills, abilities, and experience are your special offerings? You may need to consult with several colleagues or friends who know you well in order to articulate the highlights - there can be a tendency to take one's own strengths for granted, and this isn't the place for modesty.
   
   The highlights section is intended to give readers an impression of you as a whole person and to have them think, "Oh, such an individual would be an asset in our organization!". The features you bring forward may be related to professional skills, personal talents, or special qualifications, as in the following three sets of random examples:
   
   
   • Research professional with 15 years experience in a financial services setting
   • Extensive experience in negotiating large scale licensing deals
   • Track record of demonstrated ROI for competitive intelligence investments
   • Proven ability to develop excellent client relationships through outstanding client service
     
     
   • Extensive experience in multicultural settings
   • Highly developed interpersonal and team building skills
   • Poise in high-pressure environments
   • Reputation for energy, enthusiasm, and positive approach
     
     
   • MBA with a specialization in …
   • Fluent in [language]
   
   
   Note: If a posting calls for very specific qualifications such as experience with a particular library automation or enterprise management system, include them here. However, general desktop and online search skills, nowadays assumed, are probably best mentioned elsewhere (say, in a section entitled "Additional Qualifications" at the end).
   
   
3. Track Record: Where did you learn to be so good?
   
   The section describing your professional experience should focus on the impact and results you generated and what you took away in terms of professional growth. In other words, what benefits did you leave behind when you left a position, and what expertise did you develop or enhance there? Avoid terms like "duties" or "responsibilities" and use the space to explain what you accomplished. It is more helpful for the reader to learn that "during four years offering reference service in an R&D setting, I developed in-depth knowledge of …" than to see a miniature version of the job description you had.
   
   
4. Where were you taught?
   
   Use a minimum of space to show the degrees you earned. As for continuing education, you may have attended too many seminars to mention, in which case a general "over 25 seminars covering [topics]" will suffice. If you are a recent MLS graduate lacking work experience, you may want to feature information about an award you won or special projects you undertook while in school.
   
   
5. Are your association and community activities relevant?
   
   If your volunteer activities have a bearing on the work you are seeking, by all means say, for example, that you have developed your leadership skills through United Way fund raising or soccer coaching work. Conversely, few employers are interested in knowing about personal interests or hobbies.
   
   
6. Can "famous" people recommend you?
   
   If well known individuals (or ones who must be assumed to have a strong reputation based on their positions) can vouch for you, include their names here; but don't waste space saying that references can be made available on request.
   
   

   LAYOUT

7. Your name
   
   Let your name be HUGE (readable from eight feet away) and use only a single line of 10-point type for your address information.
   
   
8. White space
   
   Be prepared to relinquish an old layout and begin afresh! Experiment with spacing, headers, indents, bullets, vertical lines, frames, and the like until you find the overall visual impression appealing. Have others comment on different versions to get a sense of what they prefer. Strive for an uncluttered look with clearly delineated segments and sacrifice words if need be. (Giveaway: If you need to use 10-point type for the body of your resume, there could be too much verbiage.)

   DISTANCE YOURSELF

9. Put yourself in the employer's shoes
   
   Look at the resume draft with the eyes of employers. Does the resume's information help them decide if you are right for a given position? Are words and phrases precise rather than generic? (For example, "excellent organizational skills" is vague and could mean different things to different people. "Reputation for creating order out of chaos" is clearer.)
   
   
10. Let others help
    
    When you are generally satisfied your resume fairly and accurately reflects what you are able to offer an employer, show it to others who know you. Their reaction may surprise you but it is vital to consider their input.

    MISCELLANEOUS

    
    I said ten tips - let me throw in a few more:
    
    
11. It's not about what you want; it's about what the employer wants!
    
    Do not occupy space with a career objectives statement. Employers assume you are a professional eager to deliver quality work. Focus your resume writing efforts on expressing what hiring you will do for them.
    
    
12. What about long time gaps? Degrees from ages ago?
    
    There is no need to worry about gaps in an employment history, but you may want to show that you raised a family or spent two years traveling and indicate what skills that time allowed you to develop. Similarly, if you are a seasoned professional, highlight all the experience you have to offer as a result.
    
    
13. The cover letter: Fresh and original, please!
    
    I can't overemphasize how powerful a good cover letter can be. Forget the clichés and tell your story - briefly - in such a way as to pique the reader's curiosity while substantiating your claim to be right for the job. As an example:
    
    
    • I am an energetic, outgoing individual with a set of skills well suited to an environment such as [the reader's]. Having had the privilege of working for X years in the [whatever] industry, I was able to develop special expertise in [whatever].
      
      My personal interest in […] has led me to study in depth such topics as […]. Insights I gathered in such study have helped me deliver superior results throughout my career, and I have often received acknowledgement for my understanding of "how to get the right things done".
      
      I am confident I can "get the right things done" for you and would welcome an opportunity to explain why.

Remember, all the hours you put into working on your resume are an investment in your professional future - and remember, no resume is ever final!