Seriously, it’s 2016 and you STILL don’t know how to write a decent resume?

I never thought of myself as someone who would write a “how to write a CV” kind of post, but I guess I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with how many people actually still don’t get this. One would expect that by now everyone would know how to write a good CV; there’s a ton of templates, examples, blog posts, articles, tips and what the hell not out there. Not to mention swarm of online tools that help create compelling resumes or enhance them.

CV is just like an opener in a bar when you walk on a girl. You don’t need to score immediately (and won’t!), you just need a smart way to get though the first line of defense. Generic CVs are a shotgun strategy and, just like when you hit on a girl with a same generic sleazy opener, are usually a turn-off.

I’d like to point out one very clear fact that most people kind of know, but rarely anyone seems to take into the account.

Nobody reads your CV. People scan it. Shape it in a way it can be scanned and key points very well seen. If it’s a smaller company you’re applying to, you usually have 10 seconds before they either throw you into “To be rejected” folder, or do a second pass and actually read your CV — so make it count. If it’s a large company, they’re probably using screening tools that parse your CV, so approach your CV in exactly the same way you would do your web page for SEO purposes.

Just land an interview

You can (and should) have your extended four-page “director’s cut” resume, but only so you would use it as a base which you modify each time into a one or two page CV for a specific position you’re applying to.

• Don’t waste space on fluff like “References: available upon request”. I mean… what useful piece of information you think this part communicates? Of course you will provide references if I ask for them, that goes without saying.
• Be short and relevant to a position you’re applying for. Nobody is interested in your life story. A guy reading your resume just wants to find a confirmation that you’re relevant for what they need and schedule an introductory/exploratory call, which as we know is the whole purpose of your CV . Also, if it’s a senior position you’re applying for, and you advertise yourself as someone with “10+ years of experience”, do not reference junior roles from a decade ago.
• I’m not interested in your hobbies, martial status, or favorite color. I just want to know if you have the relevant knowledge and/or experience to schedule a damn introductory call. Your passion for vinyl will become relevant much further in the hiring process, when I will try to assess you holistically as a person.

Focus. People look at your resume to see if you match their job requirements. So they can schedule an interview. There’s only two things that they want to see, and in this particular order: 1) Your experience — and the skills/expertise you developed, as a consequence of gained experience; 2) Your background — education, interests, certifications or whatever you did in your life to determine if you have the right fabric to be taught the needed set of skills.

It may be a good thing to write three key points at the very top of your CV that show why you are a good fit for the position you apply for. For example, if you’re applying for a “Senior Product Manager” role, you might want to write:

• 6+ years of experience as a product manager reporting to VP Product / Director of Product
• Presented at “Mind the Product” conference in 2015
• BsCS in Computer science; MBA from University of Virginia

Of course, these points are something that’s should be outlined in more details later in actual resume, but it gives fantastic overview of being a great fit for the role!

You just showed me exactly what I’m looking for without having me dig it out from your resume? Bam! Interview landed immediately, and as a bonus, I really, really like you a lot for saving two minutes of my life :)

One thing I really hate to see is an essay written for every single position held.

Everybody tackled multiple things and was engaged in tens of projects. But when you write about previous experience (which is a key to every CV) — limit your accomplishments to three bullet points per company/position. No way you could do more than three really important things that left a mark anyhow. When I see 10 bullet points listed, I hardly get pass the third one anyways…

…but whatever you do, please DON’T

• …write about yourself in third person. It really feels awkward. Seriously. Very awkward. It’s one thing to read Board of Directors page of a Fortune 500 company where people are referenced in third person, and totally different and lame to read someone’s resume written in that manner.
• …write Objective and/or Summary. I mean “Highly motivated and self-driven passionate individual with bias towards action and high versatility…” kind of crap. Do you really believe this will resonate with whoever reads it? That they will say — “Oh frabjous day! Finally someone passionate with bias for action!”. You’ve just wasted the only 10 seconds of attention you could have gotten, and earned yourself “Thanks for applying…” reply!
  It’s OK for LinkedIn to let you have a summary in profile. Presenting yourself in any way that makes you feel good about yourself is— in one part — what they do. But that’s not what people who desperately want to recruit the next team member want, so just drop it from your CV!

I know this post will make pretty much the same impact as throwing a pebble in ocean, but if it helps even 10 people improve their CV and makes at least one poor guy who got tasked with hiring a team member less frustrated, it won’t be a wasted evening on Medium after all :)