Beating The Odds: A Guide To The Perfect Resume

The daunting, and often fruitless task of job searching is one of the most crucial skills of 2020. This guide will be a cornerstone to your career acquisition success

What is a Resume?

The first step in understanding how to make a professional resume, is to understand what a resume is:

Curriculum vitae or CV

noun noun: curriculum vitae; plural noun: curricula vitae; plural noun: curricula vitarum

1. a brief account of a person's education, qualifications, and previous experience, typically sent with a job application.

This might not sound like a useful definition at a first glance... or any subsequent glance, as the definition does little to tell us how it is being used by our potential employer. But this is the reality people face while creating one of the most important papers they will ever write. Using the guide provided, we will go over the best conventions for getting your foot in the door.

Choosing a File Format

The very first thing you need to do before you start to write your resume, is choose the appropriate format. There are a set of things to keep in mind when selecting a format, these include but are not limited to:

• Industry standards, what formats are used in the industry tells you a lot about the ATS and recruiters that will be processing them

• Skills and talents, if your a graphic designer and you don't have a graphic resume, you might be overlooked for the position

• Software, when it comes to tools, not everyone has access to name brand software and may be forced to get "creative" (more on this later)

Let us take a look at the most commonly used (and subsequently supported) file formats and what sets them apart

Portable Document Format

This format was first developed to be a container for graphics, text ad code using a language called postscript. All objects are encoded with Cartesian coordinates so that elements can be placed anywhere on the screen. As such, this allows for a better structure for handling these extras (and allows an ATS to more easily remove pictures, videos and offending code).

This format should be used when:

• Demonstrating the ability to present yourself or your sales strategy

• your graphic knowledge and skills in the art of layout and content management are the primary skill sets you possess

• Meeting the requirements of the job posting or job position

• You have a direct line to a hiring manager for that position

This format should not be used when:

• You do not have sufficient graphic knowledge to utilize the format

• Your prospective employer has no use for your graphic knowledge

• Your job acceptance is solely based on skills, experience and education

• There simply isn't very much competition for the opening

Even though it is possible to create outstanding resumes using the PDF format, it comes with the added risk that the ATS your employer uses won't appreciate your artistic flair and the subsequent errors get your resume tossed.

Document XML

This format is an extension of DOC (we will get to that briefly) that allows for the use of xml encoded elements (images, tables, formatting etc) for use in Microsoft Word. This movement was fueled by the ODT or "Open Document Format" that was the competing word processing format at the time. The matters of history aside, the structure allows for simple text and formatting options. Although it is possible, I'd discourage the use of images in this format due to the way they are "in-lined" into the text, they tend to break information in unintended ways.

This format should be used when:

• You need a general CV that can be edited and ready at a moments notice

• Images are inappropriate for the particular job position

• You are not sure what companies will be viewing your CV

This format should not be used when:

• You are applying for a graphic, marketing or sales position

• You are well versed in resume layout and advanced graphic design and can use your own discretion

Document

This format is one of the oldest resume formats that are still widely used today. this format has evolved from the archaic RTF or "Rich Text Format" (which you will find most parsers can do rather easily). Though it has a simplistic syntax and set of features, I'd recommend not using it in any way, shape or form as it has a talent for being misrepresented due to a lack of standards around its use.

This format should not be used at all

Demystifying Human Expectation

A professional resume is like a culinary masterpiece, it is the best representation of familiar ingredients and preferences. No two people are going to react exactly the same way even from similar backgrounds. Ergo, you should tailor your resume to:

• The position, use keywords and phrases to re-frame yourself to fit the posted requirements

• The company image, you may have conveyed your qualifications but not your personality, be sure to add personal flare that is appropriate for that workplace

• The level of expertise, employers take more time to read a resume for a senior level than an entry level, the amount of content and length should reflect this

Keeping these points in mind, let us take a look at a "Summary" Section from an IT professional

"An accomplished Information Technology Manager with demonstrated success in managing IT and Business initiative’s that will improve business functionality with a positive impact to the bottom line. An effective communicator with an emphasis on building strong client, partner relationships in successfully leading and mentoring cross-functional teams interfacing with all key business units in multi-facility environments. I adapt to new environments quickly and apply technologies and organizational processes fluently and effectively to company goals and deliverables."

as this stands, it is not a terrible summary, but let us rewrite it using the key points above

"I stand here before you as an accomplished IT Manager, proficient in building strong relationships for your employees, partners and clients. To accomplish this, I utilize tools such as CRMs, project management software (such as Jira and Asana) and the Agile workflow ideology. As technology advances forward, my ability to adapt to new environments, software and methodologies, allows me to deliver only the best. With my many years of experience with cross-functional teams and multi-facility environments, I will meet and exceed your expectations."

*Pro Tip: Your resume sounds bolder in active voice - Learn about it here

As you can see, this results in a much better organized and informative statement. Since this isn't an essay, this should be written in first person and directed towards the hiring manager processing your resume. Now be weary of wording, as confidence can be interpreted as presumptuousness and may not be well received.

The Myths Of Resume Building 2020

We are told a myriad of do's and don'ts that hamper our ability to make a name for ourselves through our resume layout and graphic content. There are a couple myths and legends about what the proper resume should look like, and like all myths and legends, they survive due to misinformation and miscommunication. So without further ado, let us debunk the mysteries of "Communication Through Interpretive Resume"

Avoid Using the Wrong Font The ATS Can't Parse It.

Wait what? something I seem to read all the time suggests that a parser literally "reads" the resume and if you choose a font that is unreadable you may "confuse" the parser. So this is the single silliest thing I have ever read about ATS parsing, so to demonstrate the sheer amount of silliness, I put a resume that used the Iconic "Wingdings" font through a parser.

Your Average Resume

An Incomprehensible Travesty of a Font Choice

As you can see, this is as humanly unreadable as is possible to achieve (somewhere between a deck of cards and an astrological calendar) and still parsed perfectly fine. So moral of the story, use a font that is appropriate for what you want to convey and only worry about human readability, not about how an ATS will judge you for choosing papyrus.

Avoid Images and Tables in Your Resume

This has a bit of truth as there was once a time when this was absolutely true, parsers would break context at "boundaries" such as images and tables (not to mention poor choices in table organization that are still prevalent today). This can spread work experience across 5 different categories, place summaries in work history and shuffle education like a deck of cards. sufficed to say, the prospect of processing images and tables in the parser was rather daunting. However today most parsers simply remove tables, images and formatting before the final parse, leaving behind a solid block of text (we will get to why this is important later).

There is however, a reason to be weary of tables and how you format your resume. If for instance you choose to use a DOCX format. Information flows left to right, up to down systemically, we'll touch on exactly how to ensure ordering a little later.

Avoid a Head Shot in Your Resume as You Don't Want to Be Profiled

when it comes to profiling there is no surprise that it happens, but without knowing why or how, it can be incredibly detrimental to a resume not to have a Image. Generally, if your face and demeanor is an asset in your job, then use a photo. Do not include a photo if:

• Your job is not front facing, you really don't need the potential profiling, in this case let your expertise and experience do the talking

• You do not have control of who your resume is placed in front of, general resumes used to market your skills by a recruiter or a employment specialist should not contain a picture (as 9 times out of 10 they will likely have to remove it).

• Your picture is terribly unflattering, incredibly self explanatory, but take the time to really... really critique the photo's composition and professionalism, as it can easily be more of a burden than benefit.

So if you happen to be in marketing and sales, or your appearance does not subvert the expectation of your "would be" employer, than a head shot can make a resume incredibly personal. This can close the gap between your personality and the company culture.

Avoid Spelling and Grammar Mistakes Like Your Job Depends on it

If you haven't heard how typos and grammatical errors can affect your viability for a position, let me be the first to tell you. This is by no means a myth, legend or rumor, in fact a well positioned spelling mistake might prevent you from getting past the ATS, let alone a recruiter or hiring manager. So to combat a pandemic... of bad spelling and grammar (see what I did there?), here are 3 steps to correct your mistakes:

1. Don't make your resume in 5 minutes, without this little gem, the rest of these suggestions don't help very much.

2. Use spellcheck, like really... its in almost every editor, word processor and browser, even my notepad has it, if you are not sure if you have spellcheck, type a bunch of incorrect words and wait for the underline correction.

3. Read your own work... aloud, like again, this step finds the grammar mistakes, mainly due to the little known "fact" that writing and reading aloud use different language centers (It is an absolutely titillating "fact" you can find more on Here)

4. Get another person to read it, you know what part of the brain uses an even more differentiated language center? someone else's language center... and their ability to not be the person who wrote it also helps them catch repeating words and strange sentence fragments.

"Great Resume, All You Need to do... Is Change Everything About It!"

for people who aren't particularily well versed in writing, a lot of tips for resume building will appear like a veritable pit of contradiction.

"Keep your resume short and sweet but include as much information as possible"

alright that might makes sense.

"communicate your soft skills, but don't detract from what you employer wants to see"

wait what?

"when job searching, don't stand for being overlooked but don't take things sitting down"

that doesn't even make sense!

no matter how proficient one gets at resume writing, there are some key (and not so obvious) points when it comes to really utilizing the latent power of a resume.

• Give it your heart and soul, no seriously, you want to be able to convey your personality effectively as possible as this ensures an employer isn't "taking a gamble" against the company culture. This means you will not only get opportunities for which you are adept , but an environment you will enjoy being part of.

• Stop selling yourself like an product, one of the weirdest habits is to sell oneself so prolifically the employer is reminded of a late night infomercial.

"I am efficient, reliable and proficient at all my duties and would be a great asset"

Are you some sort of vacuum cleaner!? none of these things really "say" anything to your employer about what you do. simplify your traits to "what and how", what can I do for you? how would I do it?

"I will improve your bottom line, by optimizing your sales pipelines"

This gives your employer a clear view of your worth as an employee

• Practice writing literally anything, there is no substitute for practice as practice makes perfect, treating your resume as a narrative, parable or epic will keep your prospective employer entertained while he peruses your skills

How to Fit In to Stand Out

It can be a confusing endeavor, the goal is to stand out as a competent and outstanding candidate, a diamond in the rough. But the prospect of conforming to a machine really hampers our ability to express ourselves or tailor to the job at hand. There are numerous rules depending on software, format and technique that we will employ to get the best results, we will discuss them in great detail.

The Correct Information Order for commonly used fields

Format aside, this is the most acceptable ordering for this information (which really helps less complicated parser figure out what is what). A fair portion of these are North American formats and may change across countries. Do not feel as though you need to include everything here, you may find less is more.

Header/Contact Full Name, Address, Phone Number, Email

Experience/Professional Experience

Company, Address, Job Title, Start Date, End Date, Responsibility Summary

Education

School Type, School Name, Address, Degree Type, Degree Name, Date Issued

Address

City, State/province, Zip/Postal, Country

Date

Month, Year

But How do I Know it Will Be Parsed in The Right Order?

Its true what they say, "the simple things in life give the most pleasure" and it just so happens that in most word processors (such as word, open office and google docs) the data is represented in a simple way. If you remember, parsers like to create blocks of continuous data as they toss irrelevant formatting information. So here is the trick, hold the right arrow key, you will then witness hilarity, as the caret follows a perfect path down your resume. Congratulations, you manually checked the parser's read order, which tend to cause the majority of parsing errors.

Sadly, the trick mentioned above only works with word processors. graphic editing suites (the ones most notably used to make PDFs and Image formats) tend to use text boxes and elegant formatting. Although the use of the right arrow still applies to tables and columns, the right arrow won't step over text boxes. So for the parser to succeed, you must use headings for all your text boxes to ensure that no matter what order text boxes are parsed, the parser knows the section for which the data pertains.

*Pro Tip: always text boxes with a return or "Line break", if a parser ever gets confused, it will give it the extra little hint that it must separate your resume sections

A Little Something From Us To You

For being such a valued reader, we have created many ATS friendly resume templates of both a document and a graphic nature. We have made the choice use google's G suite to maintain edit-ability for graphic resumes

We will be adding to our collection weekly, so come by frequently

*Pro Tip: Sharing useful posts with friends and peers will always make them think you are a genius!

Thanks Again For Reading, Comments are Welcomed