RESUME LENGTH – If you are ‘starting out’ ON YOUR CAREER, 2 pages should be easy to achieve, and is ideal.
If your career is well advanced up to 4 /5 pages is acceptable especially if your early career relates to the position being applied for.
THE GOLDEN RULE – THERE IS NOT ONE RULE FOR EVERYONE – It is an individual situation dependent on the individual’s career and individual situation.
THE GUIDELINE – KEEP IT AS CONSICE AS YOU CAN unless there is a specific reason to expand on specific positions. For instance, time away from the workplace or career directional change
TEXT – Ensure it is professional and does not contain colloquial contemporary abbreviated language used in text – and ensure you have edited your document numerous times and obtained feedback from friends or family in relation to typos, spelling and grammar.
PRESENTATION – When writing your resume think always of how this will be received by your reader. Make it reader friendly, Easy to read with a logical flow that is easy to understand and an attractive presentation that ensures your reader gets ‘into’ reading your resume with ease.
FORMAT – This adds to the visual presentation making your reader comfortable that they understand your background with ease. It also finishes off your document and shows your reader that you have taken time to prepare and present yourself with pride.
THE VITAL DO NOT – Do not make your resume look like a shopping list, a long list of dot points with duties and tasks under each job. This shows no imagination and is boring in the extreme for your reader, and they will not read it. Do not use a font that is not ‘reader friendly’, just because it is your favoured one for emails and contacting friends. Even Times New Roman is out of favour now.
Do hire a professional resume writer with Recruitment and HR experience to guide you and showcase your strengths and target the position you are applying for.
Virginia Craven
