You’ve been out of work for some time and you’re wondering why the phone isn't ringing. You’re more than qualified for most administrative jobs and your resume says so. But is your resume getting too long and wordy?
A resume that’s too long can be confusing to employers and HR people who must wade through hundreds of resumes a week. “Confuse ‘em, you lose ‘em” is an old saying that many professional resume writers use when they trim the fat of resumes.
The last thing you want to do is obfuscate your brand identity or message. How do you know if you resume is too long or wordy? Some obvious signs:
- Too many of your phrases or sentences begin with the same word or phrase, which weakens your message.
- You use bullet points, but they have crept up in length and now look like paragraphs.
- Your key results points are hidden at the end of long-winded preparatory sentences, which dilutes their impact.
- Your achievements are prefaced by adverbs and adjectives that HR people see all the time. Use of such superlatives as “extraordinary,” “impactful,” and “successful” are so overused that they simply slow readership to a crawl and bore most HR managers.
- Your summary reads like a novel. Take a long hard look at your summary and trim it way down to one or two sentences. Remember, HR managers have to wade through dozens of these every day.
- You didn’t write a grabber headline. Sell yourself here. Be short and concise to convey your strongest, most unique attribute.
- You didn’t get feedback from your peers. Show your resume to colleagues and others who know what you can do. If two or three have the same opinion about an area of your resume, heed their advice and modify or shorten what you’re saying.
For an added perspective, check out this video:
Got any thoughts on resume length? Feel free to share them in the comments section.
Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients. Please see more of his blogs and view additional job postings on Nexxt.
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