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Features Column 10 Talking Resumes: Writing resumes that stand out

Dear Cathy,
OK, let's talk resumes—which kind is in vogue with nonprofit HR these days?
—d.d. in Hollywood

You hit the nail on the head: your resume should talk. You want people who read your resume (and cover letter) to feel like they're having a conversation with you and getting to know the "story" of exactly what you have to offer and how your past experiences have led you to them. So while there's no one kind of resume in vogue now, the key with whatever format you use is to bring your background to life by animating it with vivid details of your experience and skills. Very often, people hit road blocks because they write their resumes too soon. They start working before they are clear on how to present themselves fully and draw out the themes and links in their work history. So, prior to writing your official resume, I strongly recommend making detailed notes on your strengths and skills, describing a couple of specific but brief work examples of how you utilized each skill, and noting any recurring trends. Over the course of your career, you should continue to add to this master list so that you can track your own development; if you know where you've been and where you want to go, it's much easier to direct your reader through the parts of your story that lead them to the ending you're hoping for (i.e. being hired).

One more note on the timing of resume writing. Often, you need a resume for networking before you are even targeting a particular position. Moreover, it's critical to continually update your resume every year or so. But without having a specific organization or job to "talk" to, it can be difficult to create a specific and engaging document. In that case, I suggest creating your own ideal job description, including the kind of organizational mission that you'd like to work on behalf of. This way, you can write your resume with an eye towards a position that gives your "voice" some lively inflections.

Okay, once you have a job description and your master list is in good shape, it's time to begin shaping your actual resume. This is often the most daunting step in the process because it requires you to carefully sort through your entire work history and accurately highlight your skills and contributions while bearing in mind what the organization is looking for. And, therein lies the art of resume writing: connecting your story to that of the organization and the position without either underplaying or exaggerating what you've done. Indeed, many people don't provide enough detail, which leaves the reader without enough information to get a real sense of them, while others s...t...r...e...t...c...h what they've done, which leaves the reader wondering if anything they've said is true.

To avoid these traps, I recommend trying—as much as possible—to think about what you have to offer in the same way you would think about a colleague's skills. That is, try to be as matter-of-fact as possible so that what you've done and how you've done it speak for themselves. For example, saying things like, "Delivered an incredibly dynamic presentation on alternative healthcare options at Johnson and Johnson's Annual Health Care Expo" doesn't really tell your reader much and comes off as an overstatement. At the same time, if you just say, "Delivered a presentation on alternative healthcare options at Johnson and Johnson's Annual Health Care Expo," you're missing an opportunity to fully engage your reader. Let's say you're applying for a job as a Program Director at a very grassroots healthcare advocacy organization for people with developmental disabilities and the organization has a history of raising issues before other organizations do. Taking the same line, you might say, "Delivered highly interactive presentation, 'Open or Closed Door: Alternative Healthcare Access for Individuals with Mental Retardation in the Tri-state Area' to an audience of two hundred at Johnson and Johnson's Annual Healthcare Expo." With this statement, you've provided an example of your skill in public speaking, shown commitment to a topic that is likely to be of interest to your potential employer, and indicated that you might have made an impact.

Showing impact is important, but wrongly done it can make your story fall apart. Many applicants say things like, "Increased productivity by 50 percent by developing innovative filing systems." These kinds of statements often don't have the effect you intend because the reality is that it's very hard to measure impact in such a precise way. Instead, I advise giving your reader a snapshot of the kind of systems (or processes, programs, and ideas) you've helped to develop, perhaps even briefly showing how you did so. For example, you might say, "Developed organization's first "paperless" client filing system in Filemaker pro, allowing front-line staff to more closely track trends in client need and providing evidence utilized in fundraising for new teen daycare." Finally, as you think about the impact you've had, it's important to be very selective about the verbs you use because they set the rest of the sentence and your readers' thoughts in motion. Some particularly descriptive verbs include: coordinate, manage, oversee, spearhead, initiate, develop, lead, assist, collaborate, supervise, create, craft, outreach, direct, and train. But no verb is the right verb if it isn't accurate. Above all, select words that closely describe what you did, but without minimizing or inflating anything. For example, if you assisted in developing a program and didn't assume a leadership role during the process, it's crucial to make that distinction. Or, if you led a team that implemented several projects, it's key to make it clear that you did not actually execute the projects, but rather managed the team that did.

There's no doubt about it: showing impact takes up space. In fact, if you've been out of college for more than a few years, it's almost impossible to write a good resume that's less than two or even three pages in length. Generally, however, with resumes over three pages, no matter how long you've been out of school you tend to lose your reader's attention and dilute—rather than increase—your impact. So if you've been in the working world for more than ten years, you need to be particularly conscious about what you leave in: although you don't want to have gaps in your experience, you also don't need to have the same level of detail for jobs that you did eons ago. Still, if you're just out of college, the myth is not such a myth after all—it's likely that you can fit everything you need into one page.

The general rule for resume formatting is the same as for resume writing: be as simple and clear as possible so that your readers don't get distracted by lots of bells and whistles. You want them on the edge of their seat about your skills and experience, not about your font. That said, if you're applying for a job where design plays a role in the major job responsibilities then you may want to use more sophisticated formatting. Usually, however, I recommend easy-to-read fonts like Times or Palatino in a size no smaller than 10 point. The exception is your name at the top, which should be the largest font size (16 to 22 point). Beneath your name, you should put your email, mailing address, and phone number. If you include your cell phone number, it's important to be prepared for the possibility of getting unscheduled calls from a recruiters because more of them are now making informal pre-interview calls. Also, be careful about your email address; it's best not to have a really kooky one that will distract the reader.

There are many different ways to utilize font functions like bold, italics, and capitalization to make certain parts of your resume stand out more than others and there's no one rule. However, the important thing is to be consistent about what you're emphasizing. For example, if you use an 11 point font for one job title, use it for all of them. And generally you want to highlight what you've done, not when or where you've done it. Lastly, I recommend using bullets instead of full sentences throughout your resume because bullets make it easier for your reader to see what you've done and they allow you to direct the reader to the skills and experience you want to stress.

Much of how you structure and order your resume depends upon what phase of your career you're in and what kind of job you're applying for. For example, early in your career, you may not have a 'Summary of Expertise' section (also, often referred to as the 'Summary of Qualifications') because you may not yet be clear on what your areas of specialty are. Additionally, if you're just out of college or graduate school, your best bet is to put your 'Education' section at the top of your resume because that's the work you've been focusing on. However, if you're more than a year or so out of school, then, generally, I recommend drawing your reader's eye first and foremost to your work experience. Usually, it's easiest for readers to follow your story if you organize your work chronologically. That way, they can get a sense of the connections and movement from one job to another. If there is some gap in your resume, it's important to briefly explain it in your cover letter so that you don't leave room for inaccurate conclusions.

For people later in their careers, sometimes a functional resume fits better. For example, if a particular job calls for two major skill sets that you have, you may want to organize accordingly. At one point in my career, I had my resume divided into two categories; counseling and organization development because I was applying for positions that required a mix of these two different skill sets. Presenting my resume in this format also allowed me to shift the focus away from the fact that I had been in graduate school for two years and toward the skills that I developed through my studies and practicum. Sometimes, it can be helpful to have a couple of different versions of your resume, whether that be a chronological and a functional resume or even two or three chronological resumes that stress varying aspects of your background so that you can more quickly tailor your work history to what an organization is seeking.

Volunteer experience can also be an important part of resumes, particularly for people who are transitioning from another sector or are just out of college. Occasionally, I actually recommend placing volunteer experience before work experience if your work experience is not as pertinent to the field or position. Very often, I see resumes where I sense that applicants have done a lot of great things in their volunteer work, but they just list the organization or give a very brief description of tasks, which is a missed opportunity. Indeed, if your volunteer work is directly related to the position you're applying for, I recommend describing it with a couple of insightful bullet points.

Aside from putting your educational background at the very end of your resume, it's usually only necessary to name your school(s), degree(s) and date(s) of completion. Again, if you're recently out of school or transitioning from the for-profit sector or from one area of the nonprofit sector to another, you may want to briefly list pertinent courses. And while it's great to include any honors that you received, there's no need to include your GPA, especially when it's less than stellar (less than a 3.6 or so).

I advise waiting to write the 'Summary of Expertise' section until after you've written the other major sections of your resume because it's usually easier to write once you have all the pieces of your history in place. At that point it is also easier to weave the threads together. This section should go at the top of your resume, just beneath your name and contact information, and should consist of short bullets or a couple of sentences. It allows you to have a major influence on how your reader views the rest of your resume. It's like starting a conversation by saying, "This is an adventure story..." or "This is a story about dogged determination..." everything your reader sees will be through the particular lens you provide them with. A well-written summary can also make the reader's job much easier; after reading thousands of resumes, employers take great pleasure in happening upon those in which the applicants clearly know their skills because this saves them the annoyance of linking all the strands.

As with the rest of your resume, it's important to do your best to stay away from general language or clichés and also to highlight different areas depending upon the position you're applying for. For example, saying you're a good communicator doesn't really tell the reader much because the phrase can be interpreted in so many different ways. Instead, I advise unpacking your skill-set. So, if you have a lot of direct service in your background, for part of your summary you might say, "I am a highly attuned listener, skilled at assessing client needs and then directing them to appropriate resources." So that readers can get a real sense of your whole person, you may want to have a 'Striking Attributes' or 'Key Qualities' section instead of summarizing your skills. This can be a particularly good piece to include if you're applying for work that relies very heavily on "people" skills. For example, in my own resume, I include the following attributes: idealistic yet grounded, great capacity to put people at ease, and vivaciousness. Whatever you chose, just make sure it really fits you!

There are a number of additional possible sections you can include in your resume to further draw your readers into your world and show how you would fit well into theirs. Depending on your experience and the skills required in a particular job, you may want to add a section that details your computer expertise. But a caution is in order here: if you're trying to move away from administrative jobs, you may not want to include this section. And it's not necessary to highlight computer skills for most program jobs (e.g., Program Coordinator and Program Director) because it's assumed that you'll have mastery of programs such as Word, Excel, and, increasingly, Power Point. However, if you're applying for a job in office administration, then you should include a more extensive list.

Being fluent in additional languages is always a great plus, and for some jobs can push your resume onto the bestseller list! Depending upon the way that the rest of your resume is structured, you may want to have a separate section on languages. But be careful and specific about how you describe your proficiency—it's very important that you have the skill level you say you have. So, if you can't read and write a particular language fluently, then you should specify that you are a fluent speaker only. Or, if you can only read and write very simple phrases, you might want to reconsider including the information in the first place.

Additionally, you can show you commitment to the field of the position you're applying to by mentioning your affiliations to related groups. Although 'Interests' sections used to be very popular, they are less so today; partially because they often come across as very generic. Knowing that you enjoy traveling, reading and jogging doesn't really tell your prospective employer much. I only recommend having a section on interests if there is something really distinctive that you do or if an interest relates to the organization's mission or job duties in some way. Finally, for some jobs, having a 'Publications' or 'Presentations' section can help you further connect the dots between you and your potential employer.

Although many books suggest writing your objective at the top of your resume, I don't think it enhances your materials at all. It's important for you to know what your objective is, but what an employer cares about is whether you're the right fit for their organization and the position available. If your objective doesn't fit with what they're looking for then you shouldn't be applying anyway. Lastly, there's no need to include the line, "References available upon request." Readers already make that assumption and wherever possible you want to cut out general language that doesn't distinguish you.

While I can't say that any particular kind of resume structure is in vogue right now, I can tell you something that is perennially out of vogue: first and foremost, resumes with typos. They are the equivalent of having someone look out the window while you're talking to them—you end up feeling that the person isn't interested and doesn't care. And despite the many books and trainings that warn against typos, I can't tell you how many resumes I see that have them. Well, I can tell you, and I will: it's upwards of 50 or 60 percent. You read correctly—that isn't a typo! Although it might sound like overkill, I recommend that you proof your resume at least three times yourself AND have two other people look at it, preferably folks who are mad hatter editors. Using spell check doesn't count as proofing because spell check doesn't recognize when a word is spelled correctly but is not the word you intended. Nor does a spell check catch grammatical errors. A colleague of mine recently told me two unfortunate examples of this—a resume where a person listed his job title as 'City Manger' instead of manager and wrote 'My goats' instead of goals. Ouch! After all the hard work you put into your resume, the last thing you want is for a silly mistake to disqualify you.

Resume writing surely can make you feel a little like a mad hatter yourself, especially when you're really in need of a job. But if you put in the extra time up-front—really getting to know your skills and attributes, learning what the position requires, utilizing simple and clear formatting, and doing lots of proofing—I promise it gets easier, and pretty soon you'll be turning out some real page-turners!

In order to give you a couple of examples of "talking resumes," I asked two Action Without Borders/Idealist.org staff members if I could work with them on their resumes and they kindly obliged. Russ is currently Associate Director and has been in the sector for almost fifteen years. He isn't looking for work at this time, but uses his resume as a networking tool to further his volunteer experience on boards. Susan is an intern who graduated from college two years ago and has a lot of experience doing community service and technology training. She is in the job market and is looking for work that calls on both aspects of her background. So without further ado, I present to you three versions of each person's resume:

1. The original resume they sent me
2. A version with lots of questions and comments from me
3. The final version, which resulted from dialogue on my comments, discussion of their intended audience, and potential job or volunteer targets

1. Russ
2. Original resume
3. Resume with Comments
4. Final resume [Ed.: Note that the verb tenses vary as Russ still works with Idealist but has completed some of the projects listed in his resume.]

1. Susan
2. Original resume
3. Resume with Comments
4. Final resume