Resume Help: Quick Clean Up Tips

In the spirit of spring / summer cleaning, let’s help Remi clean up her resume.  Like most of our readers, Remi has accomplished a lot in her career.  However, her resume has caused a stall in her job search.  My first reaction to Remi’s resume was that it was a big wall of words that I could not get beyond.  The content was eight dense pages of narratives about each job from her 14-year career.  Take a look at this snippet from her resume. What Remi needs is a clean up!

Eliminate Redundant Information

Duplicate information works against you in two ways. It wastes valuable space on your résumé and when a reader comes across the same information twice (especially in one job description) they tend to tune out and lose interest.

Clear out Unnecessary Language

Phrases such as, “Since assuming management responsibilities for this area,“ are considered fluff.  It disrupts an efficient flow of language and dilutes the candidate’s message.  Read every line of your resume and omit unnecessary introductions, parenthetical commentary, or adjectives that add no value.  Strike that information so your more compelling information will stand out.

Remove Minor Details

Sometimes candidates bury their top accomplishments with an excessive amount of details.  In some cases this is a mind-numbing explanation of every step in a process when only an overview is needed. Sometimes, it is a listing of every technology used to complete a task. Use the CAR (Challenge-Action-Result) model to explain your accomplishments.  What was the challenge? What action did you take?  What was the result?  Briefly explain those items in one to two lines and you will hit the mark.

Sort Responsibility from Accomplishments

One of the reasons Remi’s readers may feel they have hit the dreaded wall of words is that she had little to no white space on her resume.  White space gives the eyes a break and helps the reader take mental pauses to absorb what they are reading. A two-part job description format allows a candidate to feature the most important aspects of that job with distinction. Simply sort responsibility from accomplishments. Place the responsibilities in an opening summary in a narrative format.  Follow with a list of bullets – one accomplishment per bullet.

The first goal of a resume is to attract a reader and keep their attention so they read the entire document.   If readers are overwhelmed by a dense and unorganized document, it will not be read entirely.  Follow these quick tips to clean up your resume.  If you would like to read more on this subject, check out these blogs:

Professional Experience Revamp

How to Describe Your Current Position

Formatting the Education and Professional Credential Sections of Your Resume