The Resume Test

See If Your Resume Good Enough?

 

Take a look at your latest resume to see if you missed these items. It might explain why you are not getting responses and interviews.

When a hiring manager is spending only 10 seconds to scan your resume, in order to decide whether to read it or not, subtle clues can tip him off.

You want all the clues to stack up in your favor so that he does read your resume (at least most of it) and he does call you for an interview.

 

1) The Job Title

Does your resume have a "Job Title" listed near the top and in big bold letters?

The Job Title is the position / job you are going after. i.e. Sales Manager, Accounts Payable Clerk, Chief Scientist, Web Copy Writer.

Find out why a Job Title is so important click here.

 

2) The Objective

Do you have an Objective statement? Is it one of those canned sentences that sound a bit like fluff, or is it a hard hitting, very direct statement about what position you are looking for.

If is sounds like. "Looking for a position where I can yada yada yada..." Then you have a problem.

Do you know that the Objective Statement is optional and in certain resumes, you don't want one? Click here to find out why...

 

3) Silver Bullet Section

Can a hiring manager look at your "above the fold" section and within 6 seconds tell what you are good at and what your biggest accomplishments are?

Or do you make the hiring manager read about each job you've had so he can guess what it is you are good at?

If you don't have 5 to 8 bullets near the top of your resume, and if they don't tell the reader what you do well, then you may need some help with your resume.

Next to the Job Title, the Silver Bullet Section of your resume is the most important part. Click here to understand why...

 

4) Professional Looking Email Address

What do these email addresses say about the candidate?

CuteChick16@Yahoo.com

GoneFishing@AOL.com

Email addresses, because you and you alone create them, say a lot about you.

The email service provider you use - yahoo, hotmail, aol, says a lot about you as well.

Certain email addresses will suggest that you are too old for the job.

Certain email address suggest maybe you are out of touch.

To find out the best way two set up your email address for use on a resume, click here

 

5) Location of Education

Is your education section near the top of the first page or on the very bottom of the last page?

Believe it or not, 65% of the resumes we see have the education in the wrong location.

To understand exactly where each bit of information goes, you should look at our Perfect Resume Templates.

 

6) Number of Pages

The number of people who are confused about the length of a resume is huge. There are lots of theories and myths. The only people who really know the truth are hiring managers and professional resume writers.

The length of a resume tells the reader a lot, even before they read the first word

Don't you think you should know what the correct number of pages is for your resume?

 

ANSWERS

If you aren't sure about any of these resume issues, there is a good chance your resume is not yet good enough to get the hiring manager's attention and to get him to call you for an interview.

It only takes one or two things on your resume to cause it to be deleted or tossed out.

We answer all these questions and more in our How To Write The Perfect Resume, A Resume Writing Guide, Complete With Resume Templates.