How to Write a Resume that Gets the Interview
Want your resume to get attention? Then you need to write something that will separate yours from the pack. Alison Green, a management consultant who spent years as a manager of a non-profit organization, has seen thousands of resumes and knows what makes one stand out. The author of two books, How To Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager and Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Leader's Guide to Getting Results, she also blogs at Ask A Manager.
Alison and I chose to review this resume from a BNET reader (all identifying details were removed). It illustrates some of the common mistakes hiring managers see--a boring and unnecessary objective section, extremely perfunctory descriptions of work experience and the absence of details that would show us what kind of employee this person is. Overall, there's nothing about this resume that stands out -- nothing that shows us this person did exceptional work, nothing that makes us excited to talk to the candidate.
We want to be clear that we're not saying this BNET reader actually did a mediocre job -- for all we know, she was the best employee her previous employer ever had. But nothing about this resume conveys that.
Roll your mouse over the resume to learn what is great and what could be done better.
In the near future, I'll be reviewing a cover letter. If you'd like your cover letter to be considered please send an email to EvilHRLady@gmail.com with the phrase "Cover Letter" in the subject line. Unfortunately, I won't be able to review all of them, but maybe yours will get picked. Please remove identifying information.
For further reading:
- 8 Simple Ways to Customize Your Resume
- How to Write a Resume: 6 Steps to Take Before You Write
- How to Write a Resume: Dos and Don'ts
Photo by J Wynia, flickr cc 2.0
