Resume Writing Tips - Content

Jun 20, 2006
Paym Bergson

Resume Writing - how much is too much information? Should I really embellish my previous work? What goes into a Resume?

In continuing with our Resume Writing Tips in Career Advice - just how much information is enough, or too much? Your Career deserves the best chance - so you think you need pages and pages of information? Not unless you are in a Professional capacity where your publications/endeavours are directly related to your advancement (meaning Professors, Actors, Engineers create a different CV than most others).

Usually, keep your resume to two pages. Do NOT stretch a one page resume to two pages! Your resume is simply a listing of your education and experience - with dates and locations to back up the information, and a BRIEF (please note this word) description of the work entailed. Now, having said brief - we are not talking about "duties included cashier. Period." You would expand on cashier duties (were you responsible for returns, debit, credit match, customer problems if the credit/debit card was refused, did you open the cash for the store, or one of many in a supermarket) but not go into full minor details (opened at 8 am every morning and there was always a problem with cash that I would have to reconcile before the store opened).

Use action words to describe your responsibilities - notice I also have avoided using the word 'duties' here - responsibilities gives a feeling of ownership; duties almost implies chores. For example - sales staff - greeted customers, helped customers find the right gift, listened to what the customer wanted and helped to find the item they desired. Notice the lack of full sentences - use phrases - it helps to convey the information and save on space. Think of sound bytes.

And remember - DO NOT LIE. While there is nothing wrong with being upbeat and proud of your accomplishments (some may even call this bragging), this does not mean you should try and embellish to the point of lying - that's fraud. Your Resume is your written reputation. If you lose that, you can never get it back.