APICS Atlanta - Resumé Tips

Article by: Jon Harvill CPC
APICS Atlanta Career Center Director

There are several good books describing the perfect resume. Unfortunately, they do not all describe the same thing. You will get as many different opinions as the number of people you ask. It is logical that the resume style used by an artistic director will be distinctly different from that of a college professor or a master scheduler. For general guidance, I recommend the book, What Color is Your Parachute, by Richard Nelson Bolles. It has been around a long time but is updated regularly.

The resume has one primary purpose: to lead to getting a job interview! It is a marketing piece, not a personal history or autobiography. The following suggestions may help make it more effective:

• Keep it brief - one or two pages, with sufficiently wide margins.
• Keep it neat. If it is likely to be copied, use plain white bond paper. Check that the copy is free of typographical errors, misspellings, grammatical errors and smudges.
• Be meticulously honest, but accentuate the positives. Highlight pertinent accomplishments, directly related experiences, and academic achievements.
• Omit nearly everything else. (Be sure to include name, address, e-mail address and telephone number.)
• Your "track record" is important. State specifically how you saved time and/or money, or helped the company make money. Use action verbs.
• Reread your resume before sending it out. Let friends or business associates check it with a fresh eye and a less biased perspective.
• Rework it until it is perfect, but not at the expense of delaying action in your job search.
• When possible, tailor your resume for each specific job you are seeking. Include the exact words from the job posting or from what you might know about the job and company.

Other resume readers may have different priorities, but, as a headhunter, I judge a resume by how quickly I can get the information from it that I am seeking. Clearly stated job titles, company affiliations, and bulleted accomplishments work for me. A resume loses credibility the first time I observe an ambiguous statement about a degree received (or possibly not), of a nebulous certification attained, or even unexplained gaps in employment.

If you are an APICS member, I will be happy to give very general feedback on your resume. You can call me at 770 952-0009 for more information about this Chapter's employment related services.

Additional inquiries should be made to:
Jon Harvill, CPC, APICS Atlanta Career Center Director, careercenter@apicsatlanta.org
c/o Professional Search of Atlanta, Phone: (770) 952-0009, Fax: (770) 952-9422,
E-mail: JHarvill@professionalsearchatlanta.com, Website: professionalsearchatlanta.com