The Resume, In Consideration

Reposted from TUESDAY, JANUARY 06, 2009

Plenty of resumes cross my desk, and I’m often asked to review and or comment on those of my colleagues and cronies. This post is in two parts, the entry level resume, for those just out of college, and the professional resume, for those more seasoned and experienced.

The Entry Resume, In Consideration

• GPA matters for your first job out of college and for applying to grad school, everything else is strictly both job performance and managerial potential
• Foreign language proficiency is certainly a plus, but it really only matters if you are going to use it professionally. Meaning overseas or a CONUS (Continental United States) job traveling overseas
• The resume gets the interview, the interview gets the job.
• Know who is more important than know how. Hate to say it, but I look more closely at resumes when I have a personal referral from someone I know and trust
• Fiscal numeracy is certainly important, but not as important as exceptional speaking and writing skills, at least that has been the case in my professions
• Ability to multi-task when necessary, yet singular focus when necessary, and knowing the time and place for each
• Detailed follow through, and dealing with stressful situations and occasional conflicting guidance, are perhaps the most desirable of qualities
• Good judgment at a young age, meaning: dress appropriately for the situation, don’t get drunk or offensive in front of clients or senior staff, especially when drinks/dinners/parties are free
• Good judgment at a young age, meaning: no felonies or other sins of moral turpitude which would preclude getting a security clearance
• Well rounded individuals with a variety of experiences are highly valued. Compare taking AP courses all summer vs life-guarding in a different state and getting trained on CPR or EMT? Taking AP courses vs learning to play an instrument? Taking AP courses vs working construction or landscaping?
• Ability to manage one’s personal finances, living within one’s means

The Professional Resume, In Consideration

• All of the above, plus +
• When and where you got your degree(s)
• Professional certifications
• A separate list of references, at least one for each job, with context
• A separate sheet with contact information for those that can verify educational degrees, employment length of time, and commercial credentials. Most companies outsource background checks, so the easier you can make this for them, the better.
• For each position, quantitative and objective measures matter FAR more than subjective assessments and superlatives. How many managed, revenues, profitability, budget, complexity of projects, results achieved?

I’ll discuss the interview in part II.