We are on a mission at The HBCU Career Center to end resume fails. Our philosophy is that one of the best ways to prepare for any job interview is to truly commit and immerse yourself in the resume writing process.  After years of looking at a myriad of resumes, many of which were really bad, I ended up writing a Resume Guide: How to Look Good on Paper.

How to End Resume Fails?

I decided that to end resume fails, we needed to explain to people how the resume writing process helps with the honest self-evaluation. This reflection is absolutely necessary to prepare for the job interview. So why not do it in the resume writing process?

Identify your competencies

Writing your resume is a really good way to think about and summarize a list of competencies. These competencies are traits that you have and that employers need.  Keep in mind that employers are interested in the competencies you have right now; not the ones you are going to develop and not necessarily the ones you had five or ten years ago.  Resumes that don’t demonstrate the competencies that are in demand and that the employer is asking for now, will definitely fail to hold recruiters’ attention.

Get a clearer picture of what you want

There is nothing like the resume writing process to clarify your career goals at this point in your professional life. The resume is not about what you want to do with the rest of your life. It’s about what you are looking for in your next opportunity.  Resumes that don’t share a compelling picture of where you are right now and how you want to contribute right now, won’t hold the recruiters’ attention.

Refresh your memory about relevant professional and education history

Writing your resume gives you the opportunity to recall the important accomplishments that you want to share.  Resume writing is a great way to recall and create language for the stories you will tell in job interviews. If you want to end resume fails, write the resume that shows your best, most impressive summary of professional highlights. And if your resume doesn't share recent and relevant information, it won’t hold recruiters’ attention.

Brag about your accomplishments

The bottom line is that your resume will fail you if you do not include accomplishments. The emphasis here being on recent and non-trivial professional accomplishments.  Your resume must demonstrate the value that you brought to previous employers, regardless of the positions that you held. If your resume just lists tasks without speaking to the impact of your role, it won’t hold recruiters’ attention. Because we want to #endresumefails, we regularly share resume tips like the ones shared here to our job board registrants.

Formatting Tips

• Bullets make your resume easier to read

• Avoid big blocks of text

• Remove unnecessary phrases like Duties Include, Responsibilities Include, & Responsibilities. That is precious space!

• Adjust margins if the resume is slightly too long. Don’t go less than .5 inch, but don’t leave a few lines hanging on another page either