The 3 Important Basics to Watch Out for in Every Resumé

Okay, let’s admit from the outset that none of us is Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors (except for Elon Musk, of course), but the single-page resume below makes a good point. It’s also funny in places. It was created by Novorésumé to show how you can limit your resumé to one page. (Hm, mine is five.) The resumé is also visually distinctive so it’s more likely to stand out from other resumés in a pile.

It’s not hard to see the different impressions created by a short versus a long resumé.

• A short resumé implies, “Here’s me. You want me because I’m awesome”
• A long resumé implies, “Really, I’m not worthless. I have done a lot of things”

Finding the balance between confidence and desperation is always a delicate dance when you’re presenting yourself to a prospective employer. It’s easy for Musk, who’s only had five jobs, each of which made him another million, or billion, dollars. Most of us have more false starts.

All over the Internet you’ll find advice on making your most effective resumé, so have a look around. For example, we found one suggestion to use neurolinguistics to create a go-getter image by making sure all of your job descriptions are in active voice (“I made yo-yos.) as opposed to passive (“Yo-yo maker,” or “I was responsible for making yo-yos.”)

There’s agreement on a few basics, though.

• Proof the daylights out of it — and have someone else proof it too — to make sure no embarrassing typos survive
• Build it so that it’s easy to keep current, and keep it current
• Build it so it’s easy to customize for each opening you apply for, and move things around to emphasize your suitability for that particular job

The best resumé for you depends, of course, on the industry in which you work, your skills, and your experience, so there’s no single right way to make one. One thing we’re certain all of the experts agree on is that you should construct your resumé before you need it so that you have plenty of time to figure out how to create the absolutely very best impression of you.

RELATED POSTS:

• The Remarkable Evolution of the Job Application
• 11 Dumbest Mistakes Job Applicants Make