6 Ways to Improve Your Resume: InfoGraphic
Are you looking for ways to improve your resume? This infographic provides 6 ways to improve your resume based on the common mistakes I often see in resumes. Below the infographic, there’s a detailed overview on each bullet outlining more details on the steps to improve your resume.
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I’m an HR and Recruitment Leader that has worked and consulted at Google, Microsoft, Activision, and frog Design.
I posted this resume infographic originally on Pinterest. You’re on the right website. :)
You can read the resume infographic bullets here, with a little more detail:
Unnecessary Decoration. There have been so many times I’ve been in a room with a hiring manager and they’ve gotten distracted and sidetracked by the unnecessary resume pieces. If you have an inactive GitHub or a website that’s password protected, make sure to update it, leave it off, or provide the password on your resume.
Positive Thoughts Only. This may seem obvious, but it’s a common missed concept. Your goal when creating your resume is to reduce the risk of any possible negative thoughts. When you’re getting creative and want to add new pieces to your resume, ask yourself “is there a good chance this could cause negative thoughts about my candidacy?”
Lengthy. This is perhaps the most common mistake that people can’t get past, even after being told of the concern. No one will read your whole resume, even if it’s only two pages long, so making it longer isn’t helping. Your resume shouldn’t be more than two pages unless you’re an academic or researcher with a lot of publications and/or research. Even then, your resume should never exceed 5 pages. No one has time to delve into more than that. Remember that finding candidates is a side gig to doing the job for most hiring managers. Don’t overwhelm them.
The GPA Pitfall. Everyone has a completely different idea of what a good GPA is. Some think less than a 3.8 isn’t worth listing on a resume. Some people are proud of a 3.2 because they went to night school while parenting and working full time. Without context, there’s too much risk. Unless it’s a 4.0 GPA, leave it off. Even then, if you’re more than two years out of college, having it listed at all, even with a 4.0, causes negative banter in the post-interview debrief. Your safest bet is to leave it off your resume and provide it when asked.
Missing Resume Essentials. If you’re a writer or designer, you should absolutely have a portfolio or website on your resume. If you provide a website, provide the password (unless you really can’t, then provide a reason). If you’re an engineer, we want to know what you coded the project in. No one needs to know that you know Google Docs or Microsoft Word (most people need those basics in today’s office and it’s a given), but career specific tools are important to list on your resume.
Human Connection! I think this is the most important missed piece. At the end of your resume, list a couple of hobbies or interests and one specific example or experience related to your interests. It makes you jump off the page as an actual human when someone is reading it. Example: My hobbies and interests include macrame, pickling, yoga and traveling. My most recent international trip was to Iceland where I saw the aurora borealis for the first time.
Need Resume Help?
If you like these recommendations, but still feel you could use some resume help beyond a resume infographic, please visit the Contact Page and reach out. I’m offering a special $75 USD resume consultation. This will include a 20 minute video call consultation, and a follow up email with my recommendations on resume alterations. Prices for non-USD include 65£ GBP, 70€ EUR, $100 CAD, $110 AUD. Venmo and Paypal accepted. You can verify my resume and experience on my Linkedin here.
Are You a Podcast Listener?
Did you know that I also have two career based podcast series? Yup! The Bossy Sauce podcast is a storytelling platform to connect women and to inspire them to achieve whatever we set our minds to. The Job Interview podcast is a series where I provide mock interviews to faux candidates that are as close as possible to the real thing, but I delve into the interview feedback after. As the listener, you can listen to how others interview! Both these podcasts are free and available on most platforms including Apple/iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, iHeart Radio etc.
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