Résumé Rules: Accuracy and professionalism are key for success, regardless of career experience

But for any job seekers, there are key elements that human resources professionals seek in reviewing résumés.

Time is precious

Because most human resources professionals don’t have a lot of time to spend with each résumé, applicants should be specific when stating their career experience, as well as which job they’re seeking.

“The No.1 error that we see is that the résumé they complete is just not specific,” said Lisa Addington, senior human resources specialist for the city of Springfield.

“They say, ‘I do everything,’ or, ‘I do all the office work,’ when we need those individuals who are applying to really break that down. Small job duties can mean a lot.”

Résumés are meant to provide a quick glimpse into the professional life and experience of the job seeker, so brevity is crucial, according to Parker McKenna, human resources manager for Springfield Public Schools.

The ability to quickly scan résumés is particularly pertinent for McKenna, who said the district goes through about 1,300 of them a year.

“Each résumé is going to get a very brief moment in the spotlight,” McKenna said. “Anything (applicants) can do to highlight their skills and experiences quickly, and draw the reader’s eye to that, is going to be a good thing for the candidate.”

Addington added that dates of employment are also important; résumés without dates often never make it off the pile.

“If we’re looking for two to three years of experience, and the dates aren’t there, that application will not be looked at,” Addington said.

Making sure that the necessary professional and educational background information is formatted for easy readability also is important.

If employers can’t find needed information quickly, McKenna said, they probably aren’t going to spend a lot of time looking for it.

“I’ve seen resumes that start with 1976, with their first job out of college, and then go to the second job, and then on the fifth page of the resume they get to what they’re doing now,” said Rod Panyik, owner of Springfield-based executive recruiting firm Edgewood Consulting Group, a franchise of Management Recruiters International. “Jobs in 1976 are not relevant to today. The hiring authority wants to know what the applicant is doing now,” Panyik added.

Be professional

While catching the reader’s eye is important, however, it shouldn’t come at the expense of professionalism, according to Kim Hamm, practice partner in charge of recruiting for the Springfield office of accounting firm BKD LLP.

“Think about what image you’re trying to project,” said Hamm, whose office has 212 employees, according to Springfield Business Journal Book of Lists research. “If you’re a graphic designer, it may be different than if you’re in banking or accounting. You’re reflecting something about yourself with what you turn in.”

The biggest measures of professionalism in résumés are proper grammar, punctuation and spelling – and a lack of typos.

“Probably one in three résumés or applications has a spelling error,” the city’s Addington said.

“A big pet peeve is when someone is applying for, for example, an accounting position that requires a lot of attention to detail, and then they spell (something) wrong,” Addington added.

BKD’s Hamm said that written skills are among the most important for working in a professional environment, and errors in a résumé or job application act as a red flag for employers.

“We do a lot of communications in writing – to and from clients, to and from regulators and the like – so written skills are as important as verbal skills,” Hamm said. “When we get to the interview stage, we’ll look at verbal skills, but you may never get there if we’re put off by your writing skills.”

Springfield Public Schools’ McKenna said the overall look of a résumé is as important as what it actually says. Too many résumés, he noted, come with superfluous visuals that detract from key information.

“Things like very crazy paper, pictures, clip art – all of those things usually, for most jobs, are inappropriate and can lead to the perception of a lack of professionalism,” he said.

The information itself should stay on point as well, Addington said. She said many applications she reviews contain information about the applicants’ personal lives – from their hobbies to their choice of church.

“We sometimes get a page of what their hobbies and interests are, and while that’s great – and once they’re hired, we want to get to know that about the employee – on the front side, the information that’s lacking is what they’ve actually done in their current position,” she said, noting that government entities are legally prohibited from considering personal information in hiring decisions. “A lot of times, people don’t give themselves enough credit for what they’re actually accomplishing during the workday.”

Résumé Regrets

Human resources experts offer this list of the most common, and most damaging, mistakes in résumés.

·Errors in spelling, punctuation or grammar – even the smallest error can create doubt for an employer

·Missing information crucial to the job in question – if the employer can’t determine the candidate’s qualifications, the candidate likely won’t be considered

·Missing details about job duties – applicants shouldn’t sell their responsibilities short, even if they seem trivial

·Errors in employment dates – again, errors create doubt; also, incorrect information could be considered falsifying a legal document

·Lack of specifics – if a large firm has four openings for administrative assistants, listing “office work” as a previous job description won’t cut it

·Missing contact information – if an employer can’t contact the applicant, the applicant can’t be hired

·Too many words – HR executives have limited time

·Too much personal information – potential employers don’t want to know about applicants’ hobbies, their pets’ names or their preferred church

·Superfluous graphics or strange paper choices – a professional position requires a professional résumé

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