News
How Did You Get to The Top With That Resume?
Globe and Mail | October 12 2005
Even senior execs make too many mistakes that would disqualify them, WALLACE IMMEN finds.
The CEOs and vice–presidents with six–figure salaries squirmed in their seats at a recent meeting in Toronto, as top recruiters told them what they really think of their résumés.
It was a deflating message for the executives looking to make a career move. They might have corner–office credentials, but most of their résumés were forgettable -- or, worse yet, freighted with mistakes that would disqualify them for consideration for any job, let alone a C-suite position, the recruiters warned.
“It sounds like the kind of thing you should be advising people fresh out of university about, rather than executives, but I see basic mistakes every day in résumés of people applying to lead corporations,” said Michael Stern, founder of executive search firm Michael Stern Associates in Toronto.
All too many résumés they receive from executives who should know better are sloppy, vague, inaccurate or confusing, the panel of five recruiters from some of Canada’s top executive search firms told a packed meeting of the Toronto chapter of ExecuNet, an organization for executives on the job market.
But virtually all of their pet peeves could be avoided if executives took more care with the document that is supposed to represent their competence, they said.
Here is their prescription for writing winning résumés:
1. Read what you write
The recruiters agreed that their biggest turnoffs result from people not taking enough time to check their work before signing off on it.
Mr. Stern read from a cover letter he recently received as an example. “During my seven years at Arthur Andersen I blah, blah, blah, blah,” the letter began. “I assume she meant to fill in the blahs at some point, but this is what I got,” Mr. Stern said.
He also said he can’t even count the number of times he gets obvious form letters that read “I have selected (name of company goes here) as an organization that can employ my skills” or letters with a salutation to someone at another company. These are faux pas that will instantly disqualify someone as a candidate, he said.
Even spelling errors and uneven spacing can raise red flags: They say a person isn’t really serious about doing an accurate job, the recruiters said.
Jeff Hauswirth, a consultant in the Toronto office of search firm Spencer Stuart Canada, noted that recruiters can’t correct errors they discover. His clients specify they want to see the original document as an example of a person’s presentation. That makes it vital to meticulously fact–check and proofread a résumé before you send it anywhere.
2. And who are you?
In today’s busy market, recruiters are inundated with résumés completed by services or from standardized computer programs. Candidates aren’t doing enough to stand out from the pack, the recruiters warned.
“It’s shocking how many of the résumés we see that look the same,” said Steven Pezim, managing director of the Bedford Group. “We get cynical because you’re not telling us who you are.”
Mr. Stern said he opens at least 100 résumés every day sent by people he’s never met. What troubles him is how forgettable the vast majority are.
“I need a hook,” he said, “something that speaks with ideally no jargon at all that says why I should pay attention and helps you stand out from all the other candidates.”
He suggested being very specific about achievements and using facts to back them up. For instance, “too many people use vague, flowery language about creating solutions or calling yourself a wizard of managing costs,” he said.
Instead, he suggested, “tell me you cut back costs by 22 per cent when the industry average was 11. That makes it very clear how you can make a difference.”
Lisa Price, a recruiter for the Permanent Search Group, recommended doing Internet research about the challenges facing a company or industry you are targeting, then crafting a statement that speaks to how you will help overcome it.
“Our clients are becoming very, very specific about what they want in the person they will hire. As a candidate, you have to become savvy in directing your message to the skills they are looking for,” she recommended.
“The message has to be tight and clear that there is apparent value for the employer, or companies will move on” to the next candidate, Mr. Hauswirth said.
3. Be fanatical about facts
Organizations are becoming zealous about going over every qualification and checking references, said Jeff Rosin, managing director for Canada of Korn/Ferry International.
Computer databases make it much easier to catch white lies or embellished achievements that will come back to haunt a candidate.
It is remarkable how many people still inflate, fudge or lie, he said.
“There is a lot of misrepresentation about education,” he said, noting that employers don’t see that as an innocent mistake, and it can drop a candidate from contention.
“We don’t want to see your transcript, but if you took a few courses, don’t put that on the résumé as a degree. We expect a degree to mean you graduated,” he warned.
The pros also warned that discrepancies and inflation of claims about past salary trip up a surprising number of candidates. When stating compensation, explain how much was in benefits and bonuses, Mr. Rosin advised.
It’s also important not to leave any holes in your job history. A chronological summary of experience from the most recent to earliest job is preferred, the experts said.
4. Keep it readable
The textbook advice to never go more than two pages is excellent, the recruiters agreed, because attention can drift if the message isn’t concise.
However, Mr. Stern said that someone with a lot of experience and expertise to convey is better going to three pages than trying to fit everything on two pages of tiny, hard–to–read type.
“The idea is to convey what you’ve done in a concise way but don’t squeeze all the life out of it.”
But you can be too specific, Mr. Hauswirth cautioned. Recruiters’ eyes glaze over when they see so many numbers that they can’t make sense of them.
“It’s important to be specific about achievements, but remember, at the same time, that the people reading the résumés may not be accountants.”
Industry jargon is also a bugaboo, several recruiters said. Acronyms specific to one company or specialty don’t translate when you are trying to move to another industry. Explain them in everyday language if you want to make the point that your skills are transferable.
5. Cover yourself
A cover letter may not be as essential as it was in the days of snail–mail, the recruiters say. But Mr. Rosin said that a cover letter is a way of giving a recruiter a reason to pay immediate attention to the attached résumé.
“It’s a place where you can say something about you that gets my interest to read the résumé. If you don’t have that, I’ll glance at it and move on.”
Mr. Stern said he cringes every time he sees a cover letter that states an objective, with catchphrases that sound like answers to the questions of the talent portion of the Miss America pageant. Such phrases as “staying on the leading edge” or “ready to work cost–cutting magic in your company” are either too vague or too limiting.
Better to be clear. “My objective is to become CFO of your company.”
“I appreciate a cover letter because it often shows the writing skills better than the résumé,” which is often done by a preparation service, Ms. Price added. “I always look at the cover letter as an indication of their writing and personal communication skills. But keep it to the point. This is a letter, not an essay.”
6. Post it by e–mail
All of the recruiters agreed that the best way to submit a résumé these days is by e–mail in Word format.
Mr. Rosin said that he files résumés on an electronic database, and paper submissions are a time waster because hard copy has to be scanned in, adding an extra step to the process. Another advantage to an e–file is that busy people can load it onto a laptop or BlackBerry and give it a read while on the move to a meeting or on a plane.
7. Be persistent but not a pest
How long after you’ve sent off a résumé should you check in with a recruiter?
“I always tell people the absence of hearing from us does not mean bad news; it just means that I have nothing to communicate yet,” Mr. Rosin said.
If you want a reply to your inquiry, the recruiters advised sticking to e–mail. “It’s quick and we can respond quickly,” Ms. Price said.
Still, Mr. Pezim cautioned: “Please don’t be offended if we don’t call you back every time you call us. We just have to deal with an enormous amount of data every day.”
8. Résumé errors to avoid
Where do executives make the most mistakes? Here are the errors that Martin Buckland, organizer of the ExecuNet meeting in Toronto that brought recruiters together to critique executive résumés, says he most often corrects for clients:
- Emphasizing your employer, not you. A résumé is a personal document and it is important to highlight your position, not who paid your salary. For instance: vice–president robot development; Bigweld Co., 2001 to present.
- Lack of accomplishments. Decision–makers will hire based on a candidate’s achievements. The points to make can be remembered with the acronym STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
- Lack of detail. “I increased sales” doesn’t tell enough. Use dollar figures or percentages and explain how they stack up compared with the industry average.
- Abridging work history. Including only the most impressive jobs or cutting out early work history to make you appear younger can look like an effort to pull the wool over the eyes of a recruiter.
- Omitting years from education. That raises the red flag as far as age is concerned; when a date is missing, the question is, why?
- Using commercial software templates. These show no creativity, and display a lack of effort and emphasis on the importance of such a critical document.
- Lack of a brand statement. Think of a headline that promotes a movie of your accomplishments. For example: “Creates Business Opportunities and Leads People to Extraordinary Results.”
- Incorrect formatting. Dates on multiple lines and blocks of type that aren’t aligned make bad first impressions. Learn to use the tab key.
- More than one font. Select one and keep it the same throughout the whole document.
- Overpowering type. Big headings or bullets distract the eyes from the text.
- Personal pronouns. The word “I” should only be used in a cover letter.
- Generic file name. When an HR professional or recruiter opens your file, how many others are saved as “Résumé.doc?” Give it your name so it can be easily found in a list.
Wallace Immen
CTVglobemedia Publishing, Inc
Reprinted from Globe and Mail.