August 10, 2016 Seven Things to Think About When It Comes to . . . the Do’s and Don’ts for Creating an Amazing Resume

Even though most people often get hired because of a personal contact or referral, you still need to have a great resume. Here are seven key do’s and don’ts to take your resume from ok to one that stands out in a crowd.

1. Size does matter: Your resume should use a 9 to 12 point font. Using anything larger or smaller makes it hard on the reader or seems like you are trying to make up for limited experience. Stick to fonts that are used in books, like Times New Roman, Helvetica, and Garamond, which will ensure that they are ideal for others to read.

2. Say it with color: Find ways to incorporate color into your resume to help you stand out. One way is to include a color logo of the companies that you have worked for. Adding logos is a simple and easy way to make your resume “pop” and differentiate it from the others in the pile.

3. Keep bullets to a minimum: For each section or job position include a maximum of 5 bullets. Any more than that will most likely not be read.

[] 4. Include examples and statistics: More than 50 percent of hiring managers say that they wish candidates would have included more examples and numbers to explain their previous work/accomplishments. Include the number of customers reached or the exact percentage growth of what you have helped create.

5. Avoid personal information: Don’t include your marital status, number of children, photo of yourself, or other personal details on your resume. A professional photo of yourself should appear on your LinkedIn profile. Also stay away from “cutesy” emails like 1hotmama@gmail.com, instead try to use your first and last name.@gmail.com

6. Manage the length: If you have less than four years of experience, the ideal resume should be one page and include approximately 400 words per page.

7. Take out filler words: Bullets are not meant to be complete prose sentences. Be sure to take out filler words like “a” and “the” and find the most concise way to list your work experience using tailored key words and action verbs like created, managed, coordinated, and developed.

This week, dust off your current resume by using these and other ways to make it engaging to the reader. Taking one hour to make simple yet important changes can make all the difference and enable you to stand in a meaningful way.

Professional Acts of Kindness

One of the many lessons I learned about life and careers is, “If you see things before others, be strategic and look for what else they may be missing.” In 1993, I had just left Burson-Marsteller where I did media relations for IBM. I became a junior PR manager, slowly moving up the proverbial corporate ladder at AT&T. Two years later, I was bold and crazy enough to pitch senior PR management to hold its first (and only)

Internet conference for many of its 800 global PR managers. In fact, it seems silly to say this now, but the initial memo may have called it the “Information Superhighway.”

A key part of my pitch was connected to Josh Quittner – this “masters of deception” guy, who according to tech folklore, had “hijacked” the McDonalds.com domain and then made them “an offer they could not refuse” for its release. Or perhaps like the kids game, that was the message that was passed along to me over the “telephone” wire. I loved the principle and story (and Quittner!) and instantly ran with it. I found the WIRED article and threw his hat in the ring as the unique and unconventional keynote speaker we needed.

The best part of the story is the other lesson Josh Quittner taught me about recognizing those who are normally kept behind the scenes. When he agreed to participate, it was Josh who insisted that I be the one to introduce him because it had been my idea to hold the conference and secure Quittner. That act of professional kindness was a defining moment of my career, bringing me out of virtual obscurity into a visibility that helped me secure amazing assignments, including almost a year in Amsterdam.

I emailed Josh in December 2014 after more than 15 years to tell him this story that he may not or even should have remembered. I simply wanted him to know that I have never forgotten him, nor those two lessons!

Truth is, we all have people who’ve taught us volumes through their personal and sometimes quiet wisdom. Often, they have no idea that they ever said or did something that left a lasting impact. Josh Quittner is one many, many people I have encountered who have been that for me.

The Living on Purpose Project is a collective personal thank you to people who are exploring what they love. My conversations with everyday folks, celebrities and accomplished individuals – are not about talking to people who “have it all figured out,” or only for those who want to do some major career 180. It’s just real people sharing what we’ve learned (often the hard way) about life and career.

We can all learn from someone else’s lessons learned, “hard but necessary” advice once heard, or even failures. When we all share not just what we do, but rather why we do what we do, and how we came to do it, it is then that everyone can make better choices as we navigate similar paths and travel universal experiences. These choices are what will enable us to seek and maybe even find our purpose.

The Living on Purpose Project is part of my path to purpose.

What’s yours?