My General Resume Advice

One thing that I enjoy is interviewing and hiring. It's something I'm very interested in. I'm often reading guides on how to write a good resume or watching Youtube videos about how to crush a job interview. Another aspect of this is sharing this information and helping others apply it for themselves. I consider myself a regular contributor to the /r/sysadminresumes and /r/Resume subreddits, as well as The Workforce section of Stack Exchange (The Workforce covers much more than resumes though). Throughout my time of looking at a LOT of resumes, I notice that a lot of people make the same mistakes. Below is my advice for making your own resume better.

Before we dive into tips and tricks, let's examine what exactly the point of a resume is. Your resume is a brief summary of who you are in a professional context. It's meant to be a taste of what you've been doing in your field and how your skill-set can match up to the skill-set needed for the position you're applying to. The average time your resume gets looked at is 5 to 7 seconds. That means that you have to convey a lot of information in a very short time-frame, which is why writing a resume is very different than writing essays or short stories. This leads me to my first point. 

Keep It Short

I've seen people with 5 years of experience somehow take up 5 pages. Keep it at 1 page. 2 pages max. With so much information needing to be given in such a short time, space is premium and how you use it can make the difference between an amazing resume and a mediocre one.  

Keep It Relevant

Ideally, you should only include relevant experience. For example, I only apply to mid-level or senior-level SysAdmin positions. Yes, I've worked in fast-food, cleaned floors, stocked shelves, and sold computers, etc. That sort of work has had an impact on who I am but it's not relevant to the job I'm applying to. Another reason not to include those jobs is because I did all of that nearly 10 years ago. There are some people out there who will tell you to list every job you've ever had. Don't do that. List the relevant positions you've held over the last 5 to 10 years. If you have more than 10 years experience in a field, that's fantastic and you can toot that horn in your cover letter and later in the interview. 

There are some things that you think may not be particularly relevant but can be part of your pitch, or why you're a good fit for the job. When I was trying to break into IT, I didn't have any professional experience. I talked about the volunteer work I'd done fixing PCs for people and I'd talked up my customer service in my non-IT jobs (Wendy's, Albertson's, etc.). If you're fresh out of school and don't have a lot of work experience (or any at all), play up your senior project, a thesis, clubs and organizations you belong(ed) to and your GPA if it was good. It's not about what cards you're dealt: It's about how you play them. 

Keep It Clean & Easy to Read

The point of your resume is to help you stand out as a candidate, but there's only so much liberty you can take with that. Using various color combinations or patterns will certainly stand out but it will make it harder to read as well. You want to balance form and function. Your resume should look pleasant to the eye but it should also be a breeze to glance at and get a solid picture of what you have to offer professionally. Stay away from fancy fonts and stick with the normal Arial or Times New Roman.

If you're using one of the available resume templates in MS Word or Google Docs, customize the template. If all you do is plug your information into it, hiring managers can tell. Make it your own but don't go crazy. 

Focus on Accomplishments, not Duties

When you're writing the "Experience" section of your resume, for each job you list, try to talk about the completed projects, awards, and accomplishments. Which sounds better? "Managed large virtual environment" or "Reduced management overhead by upgrading virtual infrastructure from vSphere 5.5 to 6.5"? Don't argue with me: The second option sounds better. Way too many people just put the HR-authored job description blob here. Stand out and talk up your accolades rather than your day-to-day. Also, try to keep your bullet-points limited to 3 or 4 when you're trying to conserve space. If your resume is otherwise fairly light and you have a lot of accomplishments in the 1 or 2 roles you've got on there, spread it out to 5 or 6. 

Ditch the Summary

Including a summary at the top of your resume (underneath your name and contact info), used to be very common advice but it's a relatively dated practice. If written poorly, it'll make you look very green. It's usually beneficial for resumes with more experience (IE, 10+ years exp.), or for tying together differing experiences, such as if you've had a few different jobs in the last 5 years but now you've found your calling and you're honing in one specific industry/field. Or, if your education was in Early Childhood Development and your experience has been as a Paralegal.

Generally, unless you're experienced AND changing careers, I like to leave the Summary off and save that info for the cover letter. 

Don't List Soft-Skills

Having a "Skills" section (or similar under a different title like Competencies, etc.) is good but don't list objective things like "Great listener". For example, listing C++ is fine but saying something like "Excellent Critical Thinking Skills" isn't. Let the hiring manager be the judge of that, or let that information come from your references. 

Order Matters

In IT, Experience is king. Education comes in a close second while certifications are a distant third place. I'd bet good money that experience is the most important thing in nearly any industry. However, the importance of industry certifications and formal education may vary depending on your field. Put these in order of importance, but factor your strengths as well. If you have experience and relevant certifications but lack a degree, for example, put that last.  

DON'T LIE

I shouldn't have to specify this, but don't lie in a job interview or on your resume. You WILL be caught it will be very embarrassing at a minimum. You'll definitely stand out but not in a positive way.  

Proof, Proof, and Proof More

Double-, triple-, and quadruple-check your resume for typos and formatting inconsistencies. Nothing will kill an otherwise great resume faster than simple typing mistakes or inconsistent italics. It might not sound like a big deal but having 1 heading a smaller font will stick out like a sore thumb and it could indicate a lack of attention to detail.