The 4C's of Resume Writing

In a discussion I am following on the Career Link Linked In group – “What are the 4 Cs of business communication?” – a respondent said she believes they are Concise, Correct, Clarity and Complete. You can also say these are four keys to writing a successful resume and conducting a successful job interview.

CONCISE:

Forget the debate about should a resume be 1 page, 2 pages, or can it be more. For each person the answer is dependant on what they bring to the table in terms of knowledge, experience, education, skills and achievements and how they choose to get this information across. For me a 1 page resume is optimum for those in the earlier stages of their career; 2 pages is best for job seekers with 10+ years experience who have a lot to offer, and some cases require going beyond 2 pages to get the full message across, and I have no problem with that.

No matter how many pages you have, the key to success is to be concise with your sentences words and avoid useless information. If in doubt consider whether the information is relevant to the job you’re applying for and see if you can include it on a social media page and direct people there instead of adding extra weight to the resume itself.

In an interview you need to make a conscious effort to be concise with your answers and avoid rambling on and on and going off topic.

CORRECT:

This is especially true in terms of listing verifiable information such as dates of employment, titles, responsibilities, education, GPA, and most important when detailing achievements i.e. if you were part of a team that accomplished something great do not overstate or understate your contribution to the project.

The same holds true in an interview, and I will take it one step further. When asked a specific question only give the correct answer. If you don’t know an answer say so and don’t try to bamboozle your way around the question.

CLARITY:

This to me is the real problem in most resumes I see. Somewhere in the document there is useful information I am looking for. The problem is without a knowledgeable resume wordsmith and someone who knows how to format a resume for optimum effect the information gets lost in the miasma, and the reader is left out in the cold and thought of as being merely mediocre, whether this is true or not.

In an interview clarity is essential. When asked a question you must be clear in your answer and your tone of voice.

Clarity is often a by-product of practice and helps exude confidence. It helps if you think ahead about the questions you are likely to be asked and practice your answer so that they are crystal clear.

COMPLETE:

My take on the final Big C is a resume takes a lot more effort than sitting down at the computer and updating what you wrote in the past. There are numerous steps involved including identifying a core audience, determining value, knowing exactly who you are and who is your main competition, identifying your accomplishments, verifying all your information, getting recommendations, creating a dual (employer/employee) profile and matching it point by point, proofreading and editing the document, and seeing what tweaks need to be made for a particular job. When you have done all of this you can say the work is complete.

In terms of an interview, when you speak to the interviewer you must speak in complete sentences and complete your thoughts. Don’t assume they know what you are talking about and leave important points unsaid.