Resumes – Less is More

On the surface it would seem that resumes should be chock full of information. Especially if you have reached the executive level, a common trap that people fall into is to think that all of the history of achievement and experience needs to be put into their resume to display how accomplished they are and how much experience they have. Overwhelm them with breadth of your experience. Sure, a lot of that information is important, but when you get to the executive level a lot of things are assumed by possible employers. To get to the executive level you have to have a pretty impressive past employment history. They know that. So, you need not mention every single thing that you ever did. nnShort And To The Point:nExecutive resumes, like all resumes, should be short and to the point, only containing the most important and pertinent information to your rise to the executive level. The one page rule still exists. If you can possibly get your resume to one page then you are doing well. Two pages are acceptable if absolutely necessary but staying away from multiple pages will always be the best bet. Your potential employer is looking through a lot of resumes and if your resume looks like work to read then there’s a good chance its next home is in the circular file. No one wants a laborious resume read. The smart resume maker will make his resume short but replete with the right information.nnBe Job Specific:nWith all that said, it’s not just about how short your resume is, but what information is included. Consider the job for which you are applying. What skills and experience do you have that specifically applies to that job. If the skill or experience doesn’t directly apply to the position, it probably doesn’t need to be included. This means that your resume needs to be different for each job to which you apply.nnSell Yourself:nIt is still important to remember that this is the ultimate sell job. You are a product and that may be the best way to think about it. Pick out your best product attributes and add those to your resume. That will ensure that only the very best of your skill and achievements make it onto the resume. It’s good to include skills and experience that have that are common to most executives to show that you are as capable as everyone else, but it’s even more important to make yourself stand out. Why should the employer remember you? Why should they call you and not the next person? You may want to talk to former bosses or friends and see what they think stands out about you. That can be very helpful as well as enlightening.nnTo sum it up, brevity will always be appreciated and keeping a resume short may be the difference between the resume being read or not. After you have created your resume, read through it and look for places where you can shorten phrases by using more precise terms. Look for information that on review seems superfluous. A little extra effort to shorten your resume with precision and by removing excess information can help you get the interview and get the job.