ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2008 > January > 07 > Entry
7 Deadly Sins of résumé writing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1. Pride: Résumés may proudly represent your successes, but back them up with numbers so those reading your résumé can understand how you were able to accomplish your professional successes. It is key to be proud of your accomplishments without taking credit for the entire team’s work. It is not a good idea to include photos of yourself in the résumé, unless you are acting or modeling.
2. Envy: Résumés should never mention you did your boss’s job on a regular basis or acting “Acting Vice President” because you did all the work anyway. Be humble. The truth will come out in the interview. Too many acronyms can immediately get your resume in the circular file if the HR person reviewing it cannot understand your successes. Spell out acronyms at least the first time if they are uncommon.
3. Anger: Résumé writing must be completed without emotion. Even if you were fired, mistreated or sexually harassed. There is no place for this information in a résumé. Keep it to yourself. Focus on the good things, your successes.
4. Greed: It is important that a résumé not list any sort of salary requirement. A cover letter could mention a range only if required. If you are forced to give a salary requirement, give a $10,000 range to an employer.
5. Sloth (laziness): Be sure that you articulate how you made a difference specific to your background. Do not use a friend’s résumé with the same title with your company. It is uncommon for a position to be exactly the same as another person’s. Take the time to make your résumé strong and based on your personal information.
6. Gluttony: Do not take all the credit for projects you worked on in your résumé. Give credit where credit is due. You will be called on this exaggerated information in the interview most of the time.
7. Lust: The only place in a résumé where lust could come through to a reader is in the e-mail address. Many people put e-mail addresses that are inappropriate for a résumé (making sexual references in one way or another). Be sure that your e-mail is professional.
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Comments
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By Bill Newell
January 8, 2008 10:57 AM | Link to this
I’ve submitted tons of resumes over the years (I’m 55), but they’ve all been bond paper (hard copy), or recently, either attached Word docs or simple copy and pastes.
My question is… am I showing my age? Is there a trend to submit a personal website-style resume, i.e, an HTML resume?
By Joe
January 8, 2008 3:15 PM | Link to this
Bill, I maintain a resume in both traditional and HTML format. Many sites allow you to post a resume in HTML format and you can utilize these tools to include such things as metadata which will appear to a search engine but be invisible when viewing the resume itself. In addition, if you have an html-formatted resume you can cut and paste it straight from the browser screen if you are asked for a text-only (no html tags) version.
By Crystal
January 9, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this
I am new to Atlanta…what steps must a newcomer take to secure FT employment?
By Gail
January 10, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this
I worked for an organization that experienced significant turmoil - leading to the dismissal of the President who hired me. After 18 months and two interim presidents, a new leader was hired. We got along great for the first month and all of a sudden he started treating me VERY bad i.e. stopped communicating and fussing at me via email about things of which I was totally unaware. It got to the point where he would give projects that were clearly my responsibility to someone who had NO IDEA how to do it. That individual would have to bring the assignments to me. I would do the work, give it back to that individual who would then submit it to new president. Finally, he called me in a couple of times and scowled at me saying he could not work with me. I was so stunned, because I could not figure out what I had done, and when I asked him to explain the problem, he would only say, “As if you don’t know!” I honestly had no clue. Nothing I did was good enough, and even though the other employee who submitted my work to him told him that I actually did the work, which was very good, he never acknowledge me. It was HORRIBLE.
He forced me to resign by threatening to release me. Of course, I did not want to be fired, so I formally resigned, after working with this new president for just a few months. I was told by Board members that I was treated this way because some other board members wanted me gone because I was a reminder of the former president and because I was not from the area. I was an “outsider”. I was totally tramautized by this situation but have come to the conclusion that it really was a political situation that was poorly handled.
A few months have passed, and I am in the throws of looking for my next opportunity. I have forgiven that “leader” for his behavior and when I am settled, I will send him a note letting him know that he’s forgiven. I strongly believe that my next step will be great!
Question: When leaving a job in this way, am I justified in being concerned about what this “leader” (who was my supervisor) might say to a prospective employer who calls to verify my employment and/or skills?
Question: Since I only served under this “leader” for six months, is it ok to alude to this and refer future employers to my previous president with whom I worked for a much longer period of time?
Final Question: Please read the sentence below. Is this appropriate for inclusion in my cover letter re: why I left that organization? This is a true statement. I thought it was best to not mention the uncomfortable environment and mistreatment I experienced. Your thoughts please.
Statement included in cover letter:
While I appreciated gaining valuable experience, I left (name of org) to complete a Master’s degree and pursue career opportunities closer to home.