FAQs from job seekers — Resumé Edition
The first of three articles that compile the most frequent questions I got during the 30-minute pro bono calls in 2022
In 2022 I mentored 250+ people throughout 1:1 sessions. Many of them are part of my pro bono program, where I offer 30 minute-sessions for free. One of my goals with the program was to observe the patterns of the unknown, so I could write about it and democratize the knowledge about talent acquisition in the tech industry — you can find the compilation here.
AND.
A FAQ format makes everything easier.
SO.
Here you will find brief but complete answers that almost every job seeker asks me. They will be presented in three articles:
- Resumés (this one)
- Application (TBD)
- Interviews (TBD)
LET'S GO!
Q: Is my resumé good?
I get this question EVERY time. My response is always the same: I don’t know — what’s the job you’re applying to?
There isn’t a resumé good per se. The only way to assess a resum’é is by comparing it to a job description, at least in content.
The classic example is that you’re a seasoned designer, have a Ph.D. in graphic design, and 10+ years of experience in the industry, most of it within marketing teams. Your resumé looks beautiful, and the information is clear. BUT. You’re applying for a role as Privacy Software Engineer. It doesn’t matter how “good” your resumé appears initially; it’s not a good resumé for the position.
SO. Understand your experience, define your goals, and study the industry. These will help you assess your resumé.
Q: What’s the best way to write a resumé?
STUDYING job postings will help you learn the best vocabulary to use within the industry/company/team you’re targeting and CHOOSING what to mention.
Every resumé is the edited version of a life someone tells someone else. We all have unique professional careers, and the biggest challenge with resumés is presenting our experience so that the hiring team will see the match we see. SO. It would be best if you had tools to gather information from your life AND the industry/company/team.
EXPERIENCES LIBRARY, the information from your life.
Whether you’re actively looking for a job now or not, have a document in which you write all your experiences, achievements, positive feedback, and anything. This document doesn’t have to be organized, objective, or clean. It just needs to be accessible, so you can open it anytime you remember something relevant about your career. Later on, when you decide to write/review your resumé, you can use this document as your library and CHOOSE what you want to add/delete from your new resumé based on the job posting.
JOB POSTINGS, the information from industry/company/team.
Every job posting will (or should!) give you all the information you need to apply for a role. Besides, you can use multiple job postings to study the most common words, skills, and experiences required for your targeted job. After that, you can review your expertise (using your library!) and EDIT your resumé to highlight what’s relevant for that industry/company/team.
Q: What format should I use for my resumé?
Answers vary a lot here, but based on the resumés I’ve seen, my experience, and discussion with others in the field, these are the main aspects regarding LAYOUT that you can work on in any resumé:
- Concise information about your professional experience. No need to add details such as your residential address, bank account, date of birth, photograph, etc.
- Clean layout. There is no need for multiple colors, images, etc. Focus on the content!
- Font formats. Use different font formats (bold, italic, size) to differentiate information hierarchy/structure.
- Upload it as PDF. This way, you’ll maintain the same layout, no matter what means you’re using to apply (email attachment, ATS, mail, etc).
Got other questions? Add them in the comments and I'll happily answer them!
