Resume Layout Matters

balanced, even, and flows easily from one section to the next

Resume Layout Matters!

When I read over a resume, I have a running train of thought/cynicism. I thought posting this mentality might help candidates write a better resume. With prior posts at seminars and panels, I have talked about what I like and don’t like to see. I thought that a running stream of consciousness might help.

For this exercise, I am looking at a resume with about seven years of experience. The education is listed at the end.

Reading

The resume layout looks good as it comes into focus on the screen.  I see it looks balanced from top to bottom and left to right. Without actually reading the doc, looking at a good balance of white and black space is easy. Efficiently used up the full page without being crowded or empty. Time lapsed: 25 seconds.

I look at the top 1/3 to ½ of the page first. Name, where they live, and who this candidate is.

Thought Process

This needs to be easy to read. The candidate with the easiest-to-read doc wins the first round, and this is single elimination. Not only do you not get a second chance, you won’t even know what knocked you out of the fight. The first thing I am asked to read shouldn’t be an overstuffed opening paragraph with many generic adjectives that everyone else uses. This is the appetizer before a nice meal, foreplay before great sex. Get me excited!  Set the tone for the rest of the doc.  I like 3, maybe 4 – short sentence descriptions and bullet points that are easy to read. I also like to see descriptive words that tell who this person is in columns or centered after the initial description. These words stand out from the rest of the document, centered between the first line of experience and the three short sentences.

Within a few seconds, I have determined if what I am looking for “might” be in the rest of the document. Do they live close to the office I am recruiting for, specifically the doc’s “presentation layer”? I haven’t met the person yet, but literally based on the clothing a person wears, you get an idea of who they are about. If the document is balanced, clean, and easy to read, it indicates that this person has their stuff together. Time lapsed another 1/2 second.

Reading

My eyes quickly go to the end of the document, skipping over the experience. But wait, there are a lot of numbers, percentages, and a few strategically bolded words/phrases. I haven’t read them, but my greedy mind has been triggered to return and look.

Thought Process

Something here was important enough to bold. The numbers and percentages show that someone did something for the BOTTOM LINE OF THE COMPANY. Someone did something measurable, which I know I can sell to a hiring manager.  I can not sell adjectives like “hardworking”, “dedicated” or “great communicator”.  I have not looked at the experience section of the document.

Reading

My eyes go straight to the end of the document, where I am looking for the education section.

Thought Process

I am not sure why we go to the end. Maybe it is human nature, in the same way, that some people skip to the end of a book and read the ending. I can sometimes triangulate an amount of experience/age if the graduation date is listed. Unless it is a specific role in a specific company, education isn’t that big a deal for me. I have hired enough positions that initially required a degree with great candidates because their experience made up for the degree. I know for myself, at the end of the day, if they are the right person, I can set the candidate up for success within the hiring loop, set the proper expectations with the hiring manager, and give a candidate a fair shot. Time lapsed, 1 seconds.

Reading

There are some recent certifications. This person has been keeping up with improving themselves. Probably keeping current with the technologies. There are also some professional groups that this person belongs to. I don’t know what they are, but they look good here. Hmm, likes outdoors and mountain biking/yoga/swimming / your sport here. OK, this person is well-balanced and is worth a look.

Thought Process

With the right experience, the lack of a degree isn’t a show-stopper for me. I know I can set the right expectations for the hiring manager. A degree makes it a little easier. A degree from a solid, well-known school is even better. It doesn’t have to be a great school, but even a school that is known because of its sports program is something everyone can relate to.  As a recruiter going to a hiring manager, an MBA will hurt me, help me, or be neutral.

We have all met smart MBAs and MBAs who just knew how to take tests. Depending on the position, this could help me, but it doesn’t mean that much to me unless it is a requirement. It will make things easier to sell if they are sharp, but unless they are exponentially smarter than our smarter folks without MBAs, it doesn’t mean that much to me personally, and it won’t mean much to them. (I will be the first to admit I don’t have an MBA). Some roles and leadership levels will require an MBA. 

Thought Process

I like to see something personal at the end of the resume. I am trying to build a picture of this person in my mind. It is like reading a book that has no pictures. I don’t need a lot of pictures, but they give me another hint and more insight. Hobbies that are physical or outdoors are always good. You don’t have to be 6 foot 2 and 220 pounds, but taking care of yourself is always a good thing. Time Lapsed: 1-2 seconds.

Reading

Now I look to the experience. I don’t go to the most recent job. I go to the last job listed, just above the education.

Thought Process

Maybe it is because I am lazy, or it is right there, but I don’t go to the most recent experience. I see a position that is related to the position that is being applied for. Solid! I am looking for a senior person, and this prior position was pretty junior. This is another good thing.  I want to see career progression. Your oldest experience should be your most junior position. Each successive position should build on the last.  Time lapsed: 2-3 seconds.

Reading

I looked through the most recent experience, just looking at the company names and titles. There are good companies/brands listed as prior employers. It’s solid. I can sell this. Time Lapsed: 3-5 seconds.

Thought Process

If you worked for a company that most people don’t know or haven’t heard about, put a description of what that company did, how big it was, and any other helpful information to put things into perspective. The more prominent companies usually have the resources to go after the better candidates. There are a lot of amazing folks working for little-known companies. If you tell me you worked for Acme, I don’t know what they did or who they were. Acme may have been a world leader in your industry, but that doesn’t mean I know about it. 

I look for the bolded phrases, numbers, and percentages, skipping over all the other text. I am looking for these specifics I noticed earlier. Time Lapsed: 15-30 seconds.

Reading

I am now looking for the things I saw earlier by looking at the first and last part of the resume. Bolded phrases, a couple of italic words, and numbers and percentages catch my attention. I hunt these up anxiously. Consciously looking! These are hidden nuggets for me.

Thought Process

“Effectively managed team of 7” is your opinion, and I am NOT going to the hiring manager with this. I won’t lead with it anyway. I CAN SELL THIS to the hiring manager. “managed / member of / etc. team of 7 that increased sales by 22% quarter over quarter for 2 years”. This is what our company is looking for. I think these are FACTS that I can verify via a reference check if I need to. I love this stuff!

Reading

Now, I look through all of the experience, trying to make sure that it makes sense. The timelines, titles, and accomplishments have progressed. I like the timeline. No misspellings, no typos. Looks pretty good. I look for the bullet point format vs. the paragraph format. Bullets are usually briefer, easier to read, and easier on the eyes. Time Lapsed: 5-10 seconds

Thought Process

I am hiring any candidate based on their experience in the last few years. I am not worried about their entry-level accomplishments right out of school. Recruiters want to see the most recent experience’s most relevant bullet points. I also want to see a balanced number of bullets. In most cases, more bullets are needed for the most recent experience and the fewest bullets for the oldest experience. Again, I don’t care for what you did right out of school, so make the most of your most recent experience. List as much as you can from your most recent positions.

Thought Proces

 I put my name on any candidate I send to a hiring manager. If I miss a typo or a grammatical error, I look bad. So, I am now going over this resume for just those. I don’t take long because most typos and mistakes would have jumped out at me by now, but I don’t want them asking me, “What is up with this typo?”  The tone of that question is usually asked in such a way that it makes it sound like this is MY resume, and I wrote it. That sucks.

Hopefully, this will give you an indication of my mindset as I look through these documents. It is a product of the job. Many candidates, the pressure to get the position filled, and many resumes that don’t communicate effectively. As much as I hope for relevant bullet points, I am also looking for reasons to throw out your resume. My goal is to get to just a few candidates that I can call.

I don’t want to answer accusatory questions from a hiring manager or interview loop asking me to justify why I would bring this particular resume. This entire process will probably take me 3-5 minutes, max.

PS, yes, let’s call this candidate.

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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