Media Center
What Makes a Good Resume?
What format?
We sometimes get resumes sent to us in PDF format. Please do NOT send your resume to us in PDF format. We need to copy and paste your resume, without your personal information (address, phone, email, etc.) into our database and into a format that we can use to send to our clients (remember, we only send to clients with your permission).
We do not change the wording in your resume (we may run a spell check and correct obvious misspelled words), but we do need to put it into our standard format. Our standard format includes our cover page, which is a “cover letter” giving the client our assessment of you, some comments about your strengths, and why we think you are the right person for the job. This is done from the information we get from you during our interview with you.
Resumes that are heavily formatted using tables or graphics don’t work very well either when we have to cut and paste into our format.
Don’t embed your personal information in a header or footer in the resume. Put this information at the top of the resume, not in a header or footer.
The best format to use is Word 93-97 or a program that is compatible with MS Word. Minimize tables and graphics. You can also use a Rich Text format. Using bullet points is fine.
While we prefer to receive resumes that are not password protected, if you really want to use a password when you send your resume to us that’s fine; just be sure to send the password along in a separate email.
We also prefer to have you resume in both English and Japanese. Our clients often ask for both. Just make sure that the two resumes are consistent with each other.
So what is important in your resume?
The most important thing in your resume is the information you put in it. First of all, that information has to be 100% factual. Do not embellish the facts and never put in anything in your resume that is not completely true.
The information should be presented professionally, in a straight-forward style, and include the keywords that will make your resume show up in a database search when we are looking for a person with specific experience or skills for one of our clients’ open jobs.
Oh, and by the way, you may need to rewrite your resume to fit the requirements of a specific job. The “one resume fits all” approach is not always the right way. If we feel you need to rewrite your resume we will tell you that. We will not rewrite it for you. It’s your resume, and it needs to come from you, not from us. We will never suggest that you rewrite your resume to include information that is not true, but we may suggest that you read the job description carefully and if you have skills and experience that match that job description don’t hesitate to include them in your resume.
What should go into your resume and how many pages should it be?
First, let’s look at the length. You may have heard that a resume should only be a maximum of two pages. The fact is your resume should be as many pages as it takes to include your entire job history.
You may want to start your resume with one or two paragraphs giving a summary of your experience and skills. If you do include a summary make sure it is meaningful and not filled with things like, “I am a results oriented leader with high level communications skills.” If you include a summary include Keywords in it.
Put in the details for each job you have held for the last 8 to 10 years in chronological order starting with your most recent job and working backwards. One or two paragraphs should be enough with a few bullet points. Beyond the last 8 to 10 years just put in the companies, dates, job title, and at most 2 or 3 bullet points (if any at all) highlighting what you did.
In the details include:
- Company name
- Department and Job Title (don’t just say something like “I.T. Manager.” Be specific. Were you a network manager? An applications manager? A project manager?)
- Start and end dates (include the month and year)
- Specific duties as they apply to the job you did
- Accomplishments (Did you increase sales by 25%? Did you come up with an idea that saved the company a large amount of money? Use actual numbers, not vague statements.)
- Keywords. (Remember, you want your resume to come up to the top of the list in a keyword database search.)
- Any special awards related to the work you did or the job you are applying for
Personal data (home address, phone numbers, email addresses, date of birth, etc.): we want to see it, but we don’t share it with our clients unless they are making you an offer (and they need your home address).
What should not go into your resume?
Should you put in an objective? When sending your resume to us the answer is, “generally not.” If you are applying to a company for some non-specific job it may help, but generally speaking, we don’t need it. We’ll find that out when we interview you.
Don’t include irrelevant information that does not relate to the job you are applying for. Remember when I said you might need more than one resume? That’s right! Each job may require different information about your experience. Your resume needs to “speak to” the hiring manager.
The reason for leaving each job. Of course the reasons are important, but we prefer to discuss those reasons during our interview with you. You should be prepared to tell us why you left each job and we will include the relevant information in the format we use when we submit your resume to our clients.
Hobbies are not relevant to most jobs. Don’t include them.
This sentence; “References available upon request.” If we or our clients need references for you we will ask you.
Finally, if your word processing program includes a spell checker and grammar checker, use them.
