In this article, we'll look at all of the various elements you might want to include in your resume. We'll explain the pros and cons of each, so you can begin thinking about whether you want to use them.
There is no one right way
Ask a dozen different experts to tell you what to put in a resume and where to put it, and you'll get at least two dozen different answers, probably more. Some folks swear by one type of format or layout, while others abhor it. Some state emphatically that certain elements enhance a resume's effectiveness and all but guarantee an interview, while others insist that those very elements are sure to knock an applicant out of the running.
Why is there such dissension? For one thing, it is because there is dissension among employers. They all seem to have different resume preferences and priorities. For example, some employers like to see educational details appear at the beginning of the resume, while others prefer to read first about job history.
And of course, every job-seeker enters the game with a different set of qualifications, skills, and experience, and thus different resume needs. A resume design that makes one candidate shine may make another look a little tarnished. For instance, a straightforward, traditional listing of employment history may work very well for the woman who has been working steadily for many years. But what about the candidate who's been out of the work force for a time? That kind of resume will only play up her lack of recent work experience. So please, if anyone tells you there is only one right resume design, don't believe it.
The right resume is the one that presents your skills and qualifications in the best light—while meeting the employer's needs at the same time. Never forget your goal: to convince employers that you are the answer to their problems. The way you do that will depend upon: 1) the type of employer you approach; 2) the type of job you are seeking; and 3) the qualifications you have to offer.
Standard elements: Don't write a resume without them
Although there's quite a bit of controversy about some resume issues, not everything is open for debate. There are some elements that should always appear in your resume, no matter what:
- Name, address, and telephone number. This information, which always appears at the top of your resume, allows the prospective employer to contact you. Don't think so? But believe it or not, we have heard many horror stories about strong job candidates who provided phone numbers that were disconnected or never answered—or worse, forgot to include a phone number at all!
- Skills and experience. This is the meat of the resume: offering prospective employers the most clues about your qualifications. It provides details about your employment history, relevant volunteer experience, skills, and accomplishments.
- Education and training. In addition to reviewing your experience and skills, your potential employer will want to know how you've been trained for the role you want to play. Depending on the number of years of experience you have, you might include information about high school, college, or post-graduate schooling. Any relevant licenses or certification should be listed as well.
Elements in question
Career counselors, HR executives, and job-search experts are divided when it comes to the value of the following resume elements. Let's examine each of these "maybe" elements, and discuss situations in which they can be useful.
1. A job objective
A job objective is a brief statement that describes the kind of job you want. It appears at the top of the resume, directly after your name, address and phone number.
Many experts consider job objectives a waste of space. They say that most resume-writers use vague, namby-pamby phrases like, "Desire management position with potential for advancement," which tells an employer absolutely nothing—except that this individual doesn't have any concrete career goals.
On the other hand, some say that a job objective is a good thing, if it's specific, clear, and concise. In other words, if it tells the employer exactly what kind of job you want. Here are two examples:
- Position as a legal reporter on a metropolitan daily newspaper.
- Administrative assistant to corporate president.
Statements such as these tell the employer that you know where you want to go. They also allow the person screening the resume to tell at a glance what position you're after. And therein lies the potential rub.
Say you're interested in working for a particular firm. You've heard that it's a people-oriented company with great advancement opportunities. You are interested in any entry-level position, but you hear of an opening in the customer service department, so you apply for that, and you write, "Customer service representative" as your job objective. Even though you know you're interested in other jobs as well, the employer won't. And you probably will not be considered for any positions other than a customer service rep.
From a marketing-psychology standpoint, the biggest drawback of a job objective is that it focuses on what you want. Remember: employers are interested in what's in it for them. They are not much concerned about your hopes and dreams, cold as that may seem.
When determining whether to include a job objective, you'll need to consider both your personal goals and the type of job you want. You may want to include a job objective if:
- You are only interested in one specific position. Your sights are set. You want to be a corporate video producer—not a corporate communications associate, an audio/video coordinator or a public relations manager. That's fine. State your precise objective, and go for it. If only a mid-sized employer in a major city will do for you, say so. But you should realize that you may be closing some doors that might lead to opportunities you hadn't even considered.
- Your current career goal would be difficult for employers to discern without a job objective. Perhaps you have several years of experience as a computer programmer. On your last job, you were asked to write technical user's manuals, and this has inspired you to a new career goal: to become a full-time writer for a computer-book publishing company. Because your work history may not reflect your new interest, you'll want to establish it up front. The job objective can provide the same benefit if you have had a varied career, jumping from one field to another to another.
2. A summary of qualifications
A career or skills summary, like a job objective, appears at the beginning of the resume, before any information about your experience, skills, or education.
While the job objective pinpoints where you want to go, a career or skills summary identifies where you've been. It's a quick snapshot of your qualifications, a two or three-sentence summary of your resume. Here's an example:
“Nine years of editing experience, including three years as editor of a national association magazine. Author of more than 150 published articles. For seven years, all positions have been in a management or leadership capacity.”
Some experts say that a summary is not needed—that an employer should be able to tell all of this from reading your resume. To an extent, we agree. Your resume should make such information clear. But considering that employers spend precious little time screening resumes, it seems a smart marketing move to give them a way to grasp your qualifications with one glance. In a busy office, the summary may be the only element that a resume-screener will read.
Properly written, a summary acts like the headline on a print advertisement—it capsulizes the benefits you'll offer and inspires the employer to read more. And there are a few other advantages to including a summary:
- It lets you showcase areas of strong expertise that may be especially relevant to the job you're seeking.
- It allows you to bring into the spotlight qualifications that may be buried in the body of the resume.
- It gives you a way to stress the fact that you have many years of experience in a particular area-a fact that might not be immediately clear if that experience is the result of several different past jobs.
3. Volunteer experience
Your volunteer experience is a "must" element if you haven't had much paid experience, or if your periods of paid work are interrupted by long absences. But what if you have plenty of on-the-job experience? Should you include your volunteer activities? You should include, by all means, volunteer activities. Employers like to see a good citizen, an individual active in her community. The amount of detail you provide will depend on your level of participation. Volunteer experience related to the job you're pursuing will be more impressive and should be covered in more depth than unrelated activities.
4. Outside interests
Most employers like to get a feel for what an individual is like on a personal level. Including a short list of outside interests—sewing, jogging, stamp collecting, etc.—shows that you are a well-rounded person with a lot of interests and that you have a life.
Yet this can be a little risky. What if you love to read, but your prospective boss thinks people who bury their noses in books are eggheads? The fact that you play Softball, windsurf, and skydive may intimidate an unathletic couch potato who screens your resume.
As with everything you put on your resume, the question to ask is, "Will this be perceived as a possible benefit I can bring to the company?" It's great that you like to crochet. But unless you want a job in a craft store, how is that going to help your employer?
On the other hand, if you want a job in a house wares store, your love of cooking indicates that you will be enthusiastic about your job. Your interest in weight training and swimming enhances your strength as a candidate for a position as a health-club manager. Your hobby of studying a foreign language or repairing computers could come in handy in just about any workplace.
5. Awards and honors
It's generally beneficial to mention any special recognition you have received as a result of your work, volunteer activities, or educational prowess. If you have many awards to your credit, you should list just a handful that are most related to your job goal. We know we told you to be proud of your accomplishments—but a list of 20 or so awards and honors is a bit of overkill, not to mention obnoxious. Awards and honors should only be included on your resume if they are truly meaningful and significant. One expert, in fact, suggested that if it's not a Nobel Prize, you should leave it off. (Then again, if you've won the Nobel Prize, you probably don't need a resume.) Our opinion is that awards and honors, provided they are not hokey or contrived, show employers that you have been judged by others to be outstanding in some respect.
6. Professional/social affiliations
Lots of job-seekers, especially those in white-collar careers, belong to at least a few trade associations. Employers typically foot the bill for these association memberships, so there's little incentive for the employee not to belong.
If the majority of job-seekers have these memberships to their credit, is there any value to putting them on your resume? If you have taken a leadership role in these associations, details of your membership activity are most certainly very valuable. Otherwise, the answer is, "Yes, but…"
Most employers expect professionals to belong to one or two career-related trade organizations. You may look uninterested in your career if you don't list your memberships. But at the same time, don't expect this information to carry much weight, unless your resume demonstrates that you were an active member. Employers realize that many people who maintain membership status don't really do anything within the organization.
What about social clubs and organizations? Choose wisely. Involvement in clubs that are known to devote a lot of time to charity and community projects are impressive—you may want to detail your involvement under volunteer experience. However, memberships in purely social organizations probably will not make a strong marketing impact, unless you are working in a field where social contacts are very important to your success. Religious and political affiliations are probably best left off the resume, because of the potential for bias. Yet if you have gained experience related to your job goal through such affiliations, they can strengthen your marketing appeal.
No-noes, faux pas, and gaffes
Resumes, like hemlines and hair length, fall victim to trends. Some years back, in the wake of Vietnam, it was considered potentially hazardous to include military experience on a resume. In today's climate, military service may be more of a plus.
This, and other aspects of the resume, will certainly change again with time. That's all the more reason to make sure that your resume is updated regularly! At the moment, the following elements are resume "don'ts."
1. Photos
Unless you're an actor, a model, or otherwise make your living from your appearance, your photo does not belong on your resume. Sure, you may consider your looks an advantage. But you may resemble someone the hiring manager dislikes. Also, because of equal-opportunity laws, employers are skittish about resumes with pictures. They don't want to be accused of hiring or eliminating candidates based on looks. Some employers go as far as to cut the picture off before the resume is circulated or filed.
The bottom line is that putting a photo on your resume is now universally viewed as unprofessional. Don't diminish your experience by raising doubts about your professional savvy.
2. Personal statistics
It's no longer considered professional—or wise—to include information about physical appearance, health, or marital status in your resume.
Nancy Wright-Nelson, general manager of an executive recruitment firm, relates a story about a man who stated on his resume that he was divorced and had two children. He included the date of his divorce, the names and ages of his children, and the names of the prestigious universities the children attended. "The only thing this told me," she says, "is that he needed a job because he's putting two kids through college!"
Details of your personal life are not germane to your qualifications for the job, and it is illegal for prospective employers to base hiring decisions on your marital or family status. Even scrupulous employers who do not intend to discriminate may be subconsciously swayed by this information. So why provide it? Focus on your skills and accomplishments instead.
3. Personality profiles
Some job-seekers include a description of their personalities on their resumes. Usually, the personality profile reads something akin to: "Hardworking, likes people, a real team player." Hiring professionals agree that these statements are, by nature, always glowing and biased, and therefore are ignored by employers. After all, who in their right mind would include, "Tends to be temperamental, has problems meeting deadlines, resentful of working overtime"?
4. Job references
You can mention that references are available if you wish, but it's not really necessary. Few people can't provide references, so it doesn't distinguish you to say that you can. Should you write the names and phone numbers of your references on your resume, then? No.
However, if people who are respected in your field or known to the employer (such as a networking contact) agree to provide you with references, you may want to attach to your resume a separate sheet with this information. It may give you an edge if employers see right away that you maintained ongoing relationships with some of the best in the business and that they think very highly of you. (Be sure to alert those on your list that they may be getting calls from your potential employer so that they won't be caught off guard.) If the names of your references will not be recognizable to the employer, wait to provide them until the employer asks.
5. Testimonials
Some job-seekers include endorsements written by former employers, co-workers, or friends on their resume. Don't. Testimonials do not belong on the resume—your accomplishments and experience should prove your worth. Like personality profiles, testimonials are a bit suspect, because a candidate obviously is only going to provide positive reports. Testimonial comments carry more weight when they come in the form of a letter of recommendation, printed on the writer's company letterhead. If you wish, you can attach one or two of these letters to your resume.
6. The heading "RESUME"
Employers know your resume is a resume. You don't have to tell them. Use the extra space to highlight one more accomplishment or skill. In other words, make every word on your resume count.
7. Salary information
Employers like to imply that you should include salary information in your resume. But it's a fast rule of job-hunting protocol to hold off any salary discussion until you're offered the job. The employer's purpose for getting salary information up front is merely to eliminate you from consideration or to determine how little the company can get away with paying you.
Okay, we've looked at the different components that make up a resume. You should begin mulling over these various elements and think about which ones you want to include in your resume. While you're considering that, let's move on to the next topic on the agenda: how to organize all those elements into one show-stopping resume.
