In praise of short resumes

One of the biggest complaints I have about the daily stream of resumes crossing my desk is that so many of them are simply too long. Resume writers can't seem to resist the urge to go into laborious detail about every project, every job, and every achievement they have ever had - no matter how many paragraphs are required.

Some people feel that since they don't know how many people will read their resume, they have to put in everything they can think of, to cover all bases. They don't want to be knocked out of the running for a good job just because they failed to mention the one thing someone might be looking for.

Other people write their resumes as though it's their autobiography. To them, leaving details out is like losing part of their lives. I've seen resumes of consultants that listed separate details of as many as 12 assignments spanning half as many years. Everything they did on all of those jobs should have been described in a paragraph.

No resume should be longer than two pages - and those two pages should not be crammed full of detail in print too small to be read. The resume should be well organized, consistent, and concentrate on career highlights. It isn't necessary to discuss every project - in fact, it's not even necessary to list every job when using a topical rather than chronological format. A good resume should gleam with summarized, well- organized career highlights.

Often a "technical summary" helps, but it should mention only the technologies that the writer was once or is currently proficient with. In other words, people who happened to be in the room when Unix was discussed five years ago should resist the urge to list Unix in their tech summary.

Write a resume that lists career highlights, summarizes skills, and invites interested readers to schedule a meeting to discuss the details. Remember, people hire people, not resumes.

Regrettably, we have had to discontinue our offer to critique our readers' resumes due to the volume of requests. It takes quite a lot of time to do a credible resume review, and we feel that our readers deserve better than the quick read that limited time and increasing demand had forced on us. To get some expert help, we highly recommend that you study one or more of the dozens of books on the subject at a bookstore or library. They'll show you step by step how to write a great resume. They're loaded with examples for practically every profession and cover careers from beginner to CEO.

Amy Schurr is an editor for Network World's Management Strategies and Features sections. If you have any career topics you'd like her to cover or want to comment on this newsletter, you can reach her at aschurr@nww.com.

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