For those who take advice from bloggers on how to write a resume at face value, you would be better served hiring a professional resume writer. Why? Because people take note of advice that sounds good when in actuality it is not. Also, when choosing a resume writer solid business acumen trumps excellence as a grammarian 24/7/365.
You may ask, how can I make bold statements like these? By examining a blog post I just read I think you will see what I’m talking about. The post is titled “Four mistakes you probably don't know you're making in your resume.”
Starting backwards, here are excerpts from the blog in question (quoted verbatim)
Mistake #4: You use passive voice: Verbs can be in either active or passive voice. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb; in passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb. This is passive voice: “The migration project was led by my group. If you want to turn it into active voice, and therefore, make it more of a dynamic statement, you’d say, “My group led the migration project. You should be sure to employ active voice, particularly in a resume or cover letter where the purpose is to convey action that you’ve taken. You don’t want it to sound like you were a passive employee that things happened to.
This makes perfect sense since the goal of a resume is to use words that convey ACTION over passivity. However in my opinion both sentences convey the same message, and I think few people will notice the difference between the two and fewer will use it as a reason to deselect a candidate.
Here is where it gets interesting.
Mistake #1: Your bullet points don’t have parallel construction. For some of us, it’s really jarring to be sailing along in a gerund-friendly bulleted list only to be smacked in the face with a noun. If you use gerunds (the -ing forms of verbs) , then be sure to use them throughout your bulleted list.
Wrong:
•Maintained change management database
•Updated infrastructure configuration database
•Project manager for transition of support services from a vendor to internal staff
Correct:
•Maintained change management database
•Updated infrastructure configuration database
•Managed transition of support services from a vendor to internal staff
WHAT I FOUND AS POOR & INCONSISTENT ADVICE IN THIS BLOG POST
First off, in my opinion none of the bullet points are especially well written from a marketing point of view, however in Mistake #1 the sentence this blogger calls Wrong is the sentence I would use.
Why?
In my opinion the bullet point deemed WRONG was determined to be so through the eyes of a proofreader based strictly from the perspective of grammatical parallel construction. Whereas, if looked at from a business/marketing perspective this choice conveys a unique statement of fact in a neutral tense that is grammatically acceptable and at the same time lets us know this candidate possesses a unique and highly marketable skill set; Project Management. Which is more important to the hiring authority recruiting for this job a valuable skill set or the use of parallel construction?
Remember in Mistake # 4 we were told that a sentence that conveys action is preferable over a passive sentence. But earlier on in Mistake # 1 it seems the blogger contradicted her point of view.
An academic may not, but an astute resume writer with business savvy knows there is a major difference between the role of managing a transition project and the role of being a Project manager for same transition project.
Telling employers you were a Project manager, which was totally eliminated in her Correct sentence, conveyed that this candidate has more skills to offer than a run of the mill manager i.e. using project management methodology, and hands-on involvement in the pre and post implementation process including needs assessments and end user training etc. This is not conveyed in the Wrong sentence that just alludes to this person as an individual who managed an undocumented project, which failed to convey results.
In addition, by changing the sentence “Project manager for transition…” to “managed transition...” the writer not only changed the message but eliminated an important key word search term, Project manager, from the resume.
There is lots of advice you can get for free by reading blogs on the internet, however it pays to be wary of what you read and whether it is correct or applicable for your situation; and this includes my advice which on occasion some people disagree with as well.
Any questions or comments feel free to contact me at perry@perrynewman.com, and you can also email me a copy of your resume if you would like a free, no obligation resume review.
About Perry Newman
Perry Newman CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized career services professional – an executive resume writer and career transition coach, certified social media strategist, AIPC certified recruiter, and an original member of the Career Rocketeer team.
Perry is passionate about all things related to career management and is dedicated to helping people get hired and back to work ASAP in today’s marketplace where the average job search lasts 285 days.
As a resume writer he understands how a resume is perceived and therefore how it should be written. He is best known for choosing the perfect style and format to make a candidate standout in a crowd and identifying their key selling points and artfully integrating them into their resume, bio and dossier.
As a coach and social media strategist he helps individuals including CXO’s, professionals and career changers in all fields to understand and master the job search process form A to Z. He coaches and mentors them on relevant topics such as understanding the role of social media in a job search, developing and using a network to get known and generate interviews, how and where to submit a resume and cover letter, as well as how to interview for a job, and evaluate and negotiate a job offer.
As a recruiter he has long standing contacts with employers and other recruiters in numerous fields can introduce you to decision makers seeking top talent in the continental USA.
Perry offers a no cost/no obligation Resume and Social Media critique you are invited to email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com
No comments:
Post a Comment