As you may have heard, we’ve started a Twitter chat to discuss everything resumes — and our first #MyCR chat was last night! We want to thank everyone for joining us, and we encourage you to join in for the next one in two weeks: Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. EST.
Missed #MyCR last night? Here’s a wrap-up:
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Q1: Do employers even look at resumes anymore?
@dorothynext: Big time but skim first looking for a stand out, something to grab them #MyCR
@monafro: “Look” – not too much. But resumes still matter. Over 80% of employers scan resumes and only ~18% get viewed by human eyes. #MyCR
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Q2: In today’s environment, what makes your resume stand out against the rest?
@dorothynext: If you can put down your results in numbers, it has instant credibility #MyCR
@monafro: I often hear that having every bullet point in the SAR (Situation – Action – Results) format really helps you win over others. #MyCR
@TheSportsResume: I have also read that Employers frown upon images, at least those not using an ATS to screen submissions. #MyCR
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Q3: What’s the age or experience cutoff for a 1-page resume?
@monafro: In terms of age cut off. Most career counselors have told me it’s 5-yrs. If you have more, you still gotta keep it to only 2-pages max #MyCR
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Q4: You’ve got length, you’ve got bullets and you’ve got an ATS in mind. How do you lead? Objective, pro. headline, creative slogan?
@delanianicole: I have a profile at the top of my resume. Tells employers I’m not looking for any job w/ just anyone, I want a job like their open one #MyCR
@classycareer: When I review resumes, I love seeing a highlight/summary section at the top that summarizes everything in the resume #MyCR
@monafro: A4: Sources tell me the Objective is out and the Brand Statement is in. From what I know, this is the summary first line. #MyCR
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Q5: What formats do you keep your resume in? And does one have an advantage over another?
@monafro: If you have a funky font or add images to your resume, you may be at risk of never getting through the ATS. #MyCR
@monafro: Chronological format is easiest for humans (and machines) to quickly scan. Functional resumes usually send red flags of gaps #MyCR
@kbmciver: i put edu first (as a student) then experience in reverse chronological order (starting with now) then activities & proficiencies #MyCR
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Q6: Favorite tool used to create resumes – Word, Adobe, Paint? Does anyone just use a LinkedIn export?
@kbmciver: A5: i always send my resume as a .pdf because it preserves formatting but i also uploaded it to Scribd for my personal website. #MyCR
@mycrappyresume: I did my resume with Adobe and some places only wanted word files. PDFs don’t translate well to Word files, so optimize one in both. #MyCR
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Q7: What is one thing that’s an auto-turnoff on a resume?
@monafro: Paragraphs instead of bulleted info. I don’t want to feel like I’m reading an essay. A resume is supposed to be a teaser. #MyCR