Out of Date Resume Practices

Job searching is an area that the tried and true tactics do not always ring to be the best.  In fact, there are quite a few of these practices that are actually hurting your chances of getting a new position.

Dear Sir or Madam: Dear applicant, please, please do not address your cover letter in this fashion. When was the last time you used these titles in real life? Probably not recently and there is good reason for that.  It’s a dated way to start your letter.  Also not a terrific opening is, “To Whom this May Concern.” Today information is at our finger tips.  Odds are you can find the hiring managers name or at least the department and address your letter that way.  As an added bonus the employer already knows you have some initiative.    

Paper Resumes:  I absolutely beg of you to PLEASE put away the beige, pink, blue, and grey resume paper that is left over from the late 1980’s, early 1990’s.  Fancy resume paper is no longer worth your while, especially because you should be submitting your resume electronically.  As a recruiter when we receive mailed or faxed resumes a red flag goes off in our head.  These practices don’t denote that you’re old, however they do send the message you are out of touch with the current practices.

Pages and Pages of Bullets: Now don’t get me wrong on this, bullet points of your job responsibilities in past positions makes things easier to read and saves recruiters time, however you should limit each position to 2-3 bullet points.  Once you’ve gotten past that number you’ve lost your audience and seem to be just listing for the sake of listing.  Use your own voice in the bullets, make it natural, and only the highlight the big stuff that really defines your time in the position.  “Customer Service” is simply not worth a bullet point.