JS Tip 434: Writing Resumes I

From the Changing Jobs Workshop: Writing a Stronger Resume

Let’s address this first. 

Forget the accent marks. You’ve seen “résumé,” “resumé,” and “resume.” The advice is all over the place; even respected dictionaries disagree. 

But with digital media (email, text, the internet), the accent marks present a problem. Digital font sets usually don’t include accent marks. So forget them. They’re too much of a hassle.

For those who say, “What about the confusion between resume (the document) and resume (to start again)? Bah. No one has a problem with desert and desert. Or tear and tear. Don’t worry about it.

Suggestion One: Use Terms of Measure

Resumes are sales documents; the product is you. One way you can improve your resume is to use terms of measure: Numbers. Percentages. Dollar amounts.

Consider this example:

Superhero. Wore tights and a cape. Flew around. Used super strength and super speed. Fought bad guys. Maintained a secret identity.

Interesting, but bland.

Identify how many people you served (or worked with). Identify how much money you handled each day. Identify the size of the projects you worked on. And rewrite your resume: 

Superhero. Made the world safe for truth, justice, and the American way 74 times. Sent 237 villains to jail. Named “Hero of the Century” by great metropolitan newspaper.

Numbers validate. Numbers quantify. Numbers impress. 

Next week, more suggestions. We love this stuff.