Crafting the "Perfect" Résumé

By Bob McIntosh

Let's be honest; aiming for a perfect resume is a futile endeavor because true "perfection" does not exist. Instead, focus your efforts on crafting a resume that will land you an interview. Here are five effective strategies to enhance your resume and make it compelling enough to catch a potential employer's attention.

Make it easy to read. When hiring authorities get hundreds of resumes for a position, they want resumes that aren't dense; for example, 10-line paragraphs and five-line bulleted items. Keep your paragraphs to three lines and bulleted items to two lines.

Tailor it to as many jobs as you can. Two reasons for this: you need to connect the dots, showing the reader that you have the qualifications for the job. Second, keywords help your resume get through the applicant tracking system (ATS) process.

Don't dump keywords on your resume. Loading your resume with keywords won't get you noticed by hiring authorities. The ATS doesn't automatically select and reject resumes. Make sure to craft a resume that reads well.

Keep it within 10-15 years of work history. We get it; you're proud of how far you've come, but employers don't care that you used DOS back in the 80's. They want to know what you've accomplished most recently. Also, going beyond 15 years highlights your age.

Show your accomplishments. Simply stating what you did and not showing how well you did it won't impress the reader. If you installed network wire in houses and businesses, that's great. But if you did it quickly and on budget, that's better.

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