We teach our kids, “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” We need to take our own advice to heart when it comes to what should be used in a resume. Executives can work diligently and do extensive amounts of research to know what to put on a resume, only to struggle with landing a job. There’s a lot of contradictory information on the internet regarding the best executive resume format, the content that should be used on a resume, and more. When you can sort away the myths from the facts, you’ll be in a better position to have success in your job hunt. Here are a few of the most common myths you may have heard.
A First-Class Resume Guarantees A Job
Life holds no guarantees, and even having a first-class resume will not guarantee you a job. The resume alone, in fact, may not even get your foot in the door for an interview. If you are sending out emails to people who don’t know you or haven’t heard of you, don’t be surprised if your resume alone doesn’t do the trick. Numerous factors go into sorting through resumes for recruiters and hiring managers, so the only thing you can do is your best when writing a resume. However, it’s important not to get discouraged, because it could be factors other than your resume preventing you from landing an interview.
Fill One Page with As Much As Possible
With HR managers and recruiters looking at hundreds of resumes for positions, they won’t look at resumes longer than one page. This is not true that your resume has to be limited to one page, so you should cram as much information as possible on it. The top resume writing services will tell you a two-page resume is perfectly acceptable, and even better, especially if you have many years of experience and a significant list of accomplishments. The worst thing you can do is try to fit it all on one page. The best formats are easy to read and incorporate white space throughout the document, so avoid the temptation to stuff as many words as you can onto a single page.
Use LOTS of Action Verbs
There is a difference between a weak action verb and a strong action verb related to resume writing. Action verbs are important when writing an effective resume. Weak action verbs include words like “managed,” “supervised,” and others. They are weak because everyone uses them. The overuse of these verbs makes them less important, so it is entirely possible to make your resume sound boring when you incorporate them. Instead, focus on actual results rather than the process you went through to achieve the results.
Resumes Don’t Really Matter Anyway
Have you heard that resumes don’t really matter anymore? If you haven’t heard this, you may. The old saying “it’s not what you know, but who you know” is true to an extent. However, no matter what your connection is with someone, a poorly written resume isn’t going to do you any favors. A quality resume may not land you a job on its’ own, but a bad one can definitely put you out of consideration quickly. Further, the human resource department will need to have a copy of your resume on file, so thinking you won’t need one won’t help you.
Professional Resume Services knows about every myth there is regarding executive resumes. We are one of the top resume writing services because we focus on the facts and research exactly what employers want to see. If you have any questions about crafting your resume, or about a possible myth you may have heard, feel free to contact us at any time for advice.
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