Rules that no longer apply to resume writing and new rules that do apply
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Hear career coach Deborah Walker's important advice on how you should write an effective resume in the digital age.
Deborah Walker, President of Alpha Advantage, Inc., is a nationally respected career coach with extensive experience as a former headhunter and corporate recruiter.
There are some rules that don't apply any longer-- especially the number of pages. I'm continually being asked, what's the proper number of pages for a resume? That issue really died out once resumes became transmitted electronically through email or through being cut-and-pasted. If you could imagine 20-30 years ago, when say HR had to receive resumes in the mail, well then it would be an issue. They would have just the sheer stack of information would be really mind-boggling. Today the issue is really not so much the number of pages, but the issue is relevancy. Relevancy is really the first rule in resume strategy. Whatever is in that resume must relate to your current objective. Another is the issue of a cover letter. 20 years ago, cover letters were sent a separate document; they were an introduction to the resume. Now there's, more often than not, the cover letter is just merely that email message that accompanies that attached resume. So, That email cover letter, is just very, very short. Because again, the reading attention span is much, much shorter, and today's cover letter is going to focus on qualifications. Your resume is going to focus on accomplishments. But that cover letter has got to focus on qualifications, because that first person that is opening up that email is taking it and deciding whether or not they're going to read that resume is a screener. That screener is looking for qualifications.
When I say qualification, indicate the qualifications that are listed on the job posting. This is no place to get creative. Forget all you've ever read about cover letters in cover letter books. It doesn't relate any longer. Those were great 20 years ago, they're practically worthless today. This email cover letter focuses on qualifications, and those qualifications come directly from the job description. I even tell my clients, feel free to use the exact wording, so it's saying something like this: "You'll see from my attached resume that I have the following qualifications," and then list them in bullet form, and use as close to the wording in the job description as you can. And that way, the screener, because the screen has got that job description in their head. When they see those issues on your resume, they're going to go "Oh, this one's a match, this one's a match."
