How do I consolidate a 1/4 of a centuryOk, I've got tons of experience, (over 25 years). I've tried consolidating my resume several times. Is it true that Hr's and companies use a software program that scan's resumes for key action words, etc.? How can I consolidate a quarter of a century of just my work experience into a single page? I visited a job fair yesterday and had my resume critiqued and was told; besides the consolidation part, that in order for my resume to stand out, I needed to customize it for each particular job! There were some 50 companies at this job fair, did I really need 50 different resumes, or was this guy who branded himself as a resume expert just blowing smoke? Please, anybody, no, not just anybody…Those of you involved in the HR and the like, please, I need your advise.
Thank you,
George An HR response. My first suggestion is to let a professional resume writer do your resume. Outsource it. I have seen some great work done by professional resume writers. Ask to see some of their work and if it impresses you, it will impress someone else. A good resume will cost around $300. Remember you have about 15 seconds to impress someone with a resume. Second, a resume is not your autobiography. Companies today want relevant skill sets. What you did 25 years ago has very little bearing on what they want today. In addition, old skill sets, old management styles and old technologies date you. You're headed straight for the shred bin. Third, the one page rule is out of date. You can have two pages. Some of the tech resumes that I see are 5 pages long and I have seen a few that were even longer. However, more is not better. The first third of your resume is what gets read the most. Make it compelling. Yes, HR often uses queries to search resumes for relevant keywords. Its a good idea to have a keyword section in your resume. Replace the References Available Upon Request section (out-of-date) with it. Most resumes that are as long as Tolstoy's War and Peace usually end up as some HR clerk's grocery list.
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