The Three Absolute Rules of Résumé Employment Dates

Job applicants often complain that developing their résumé to match the hiring manager’s hot buttons is oftentimes much like trying to hit a moving target, which is often the case. Résumés and the hiring managers/human resource personnel that read them is always a subjective process. A person can develop their document one way in accordance to feedback from a hiring professional, only to have it rejected by a different human resource person who has a different formatting preference.

However, there are a few constants that are known to be true when developing a résumé and this blog will focus on a series of things to keep in mind when going into this creative process. Today’s post will focus on employment dates.

In this day and age, when so many people are actively switching jobs to gain more salary or achieve higher employment levels, working at a company more than five years can look like an eternity to some.

This can complicate employment dates and how a person lists them on their résumé. Here are three absolute rules to consider when putting together this document:

1) There is no law out there that requires you to list every single job you have ever worked on your résumé.
Please note: applications are totally different animals because you DO have to list all employers. However, résumés are what YOU choose to put out there. The good news is that you can be selective about which jobs you list, and if you have an employment gap (fired, laid off, quit, took a leave of absence, etc.) a way to skirt around this hole is to address this section of your résumé as “RELEVANT HISTORY” – which tells the employer, “These are the jobs that I think are relevant to the position for which I am applying.” If you are applying for a magazine sales job and have several jobs in that field, but also have a brief stint as a bartender, this particular position might not be relevant, and you'd probably want to leave it off.

2) Don’t ever lie about when you’ve worked somewhere.
If you had to put a bull’s-eye on the one thing that is the easiest for employers to check, this would be it. Be honest. If you aren’t, they’ll find out.

3) Always disclose the employment dates of jobs that you list on your résumé.
Always list the employment dates, no matter what. If you don’t, it looks like you are hiding something. It is interesting to note that I am seeing a common practice on résumés nowadays that only lists the years that people were at each position, instead of listing the start month and year and end month and year. (Remember, this is your résumé, not an application) The school of thought behind this approach is that this ‘cleans up’ the résumé so the hiring manager doesn’t have to ‘do the math’ to figure out exactly when you were there. The exception to this rule is if you are listing a position where you were only employed there less than a year. If this is the case, then list the month and year for start date and end date for each position.

Follow these three simple rules on employment dates, and this can help you stay on track by clearly and effectively communicating where you worked and when.

Business Writing: An Essential Part of Your Professional Portfolio

I recently attended an industry meeting where the guest speaker addressed the topic of business writing, specifically emails. As I was listening, I found myself nodding in agreement to most of what she was saying, and also thinking about how often I receive disjointed, unclear and error-prone emails from various contacts.

While these communiqués aren’t to be considered as ‘job applications’ per se, you never know where your correspondence might land. Especially when you are sending an email to a prospective employer and enclosing your résumé. If you don’t spell-check or proofread your writing, even in an email, consider what your writing might be communicating about you as a person. Think about it: Do you really want to convey to a potential business contact that you don’t have attention to detail and are sloppy in your writing? This doesn’t exactly project a professional image, and can impact your job prospects negatively.

Take a minute to do a business correspondence check-up, and review some basics about writing emails:

Do:
1) Make sure your subject line clearly communicates what you are contacting the person about
2) Have a salutation, body and closing line- by maintaining good form in your correspondence, you are not only conveying to the reader that you have organized your thoughts, you are also adhering to professional writing standards and care about how you project yourself to others
3) Proofread your email! Gen Y members are particularly horrible about spelling and grammar; my own personal theory is that text messaging to a certain degree is corrupting the written language. Re-read what you write and analyze it: is it clear and typo-free? Spell check is a wonderful invention to help eliminate many common spelling errors

Don’t:
1) Forget to include your contact information at the bottom of your email as a way for the person to reach you
2) Write a five-page essay – keep your communication concise and to the point. Most people skim their emails and get back to the messages that clearly and effectively get the message across first
3) Write in all capital letters, which makes it look like you are SCREAMING!!!
4) Forget that anything you write can be forwarded to others, and this is especially true in the workplace. Assume that everything you write could end up in the hands of someone else, so keep this in mind at all times

By keeping these pointers in mind, you can help build and enhance your professional reputation.

What to Look for in Hiring a Professional Résumé Writer

Prospective clients come from all paths of professions and walks of life, and it never ceases to amaze me the different styles people have when approaching a business transaction.

When it comes down to hiring someone to write the most intimate and revealing document about their lives, I truly fear for the people who don’t take the time to research a professional résumé writer thoroughly before booking their services. Before hiring a résumé writer, it is important to do your due diligence, because just like there are differing levels of honesty in any other profession, the same goes for this business as well.

Some résumé writers are members of professional associations while others are just fly-by-night operations that churn out limited to low-quality documents to make a quick buck. You do get what you pay for, so it is especially important that you research who you are investing your money in for this career document.

Here are some basic questions you should ask before hiring a résumé writer:

1. Know who your writer is.
Ask: Will you be writing my résumé, or is it someone who works for you? Are you sub-contracting it out?

2. Know what you are paying for.
Find out what the fee structure is for the particular résumé you need developed. Ask questions about any other additional services that you are considering. Oftentimes, there are package prices available. Make sure it is stated in writing what is being delivered.

3. Find out the turn-around time.
What kind of time schedule is the writer offering to you? Are they willing to put it in writing? Does that include edits? This can make a difference if you are in a hurry!

4. Know whether this is original work.
Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions like: Will the résumé you produce for me be template-based or an original? Templates can work for very simple résumés but often come across stale and canned. Having an original document truly makes this YOUR résumé.

5. Know what the client satisfaction guarantee is.
What happens if you don’t like what has been produced? What kind of refund or satisfaction guarantee are you offered? Protect your investment. Reputable résumé writers will state this policy up front, and are driven by customer satisfaction. After all, many writers thrive on referrals from previous clients, so they are highly motivated to make sure you are happy with the end result. But be aware that if you don’t like the result, there will usually be some kind of refund (not complete) – there will be a small fee to compensate the writer for the time already spent on this document.

6. Find out which format your document will be delivered in.
The writer should state which document type you’ll be receiving… usually a Microsoft Word or PDF document

7. How does the writer gather information about you to write the document?
There are many different styles of writers and company operations. Some large résumé writing companies conduct all of their résumé transactions via the Web or email – clients simply fill out intake forms and a new résumé is produced from that information. Most other companies perform some kind of consultation either over the phone or in-person. Generally, a good writer wants to find out as much information about you as possible, and will request information in advance of such an interview to be able to prepare for that meeting.

8. Check out the writer’s credentials.
Professional résumé writers are dedicated to their craft, and work hard to build their professional credentials. Make sure that they belong to industry associations, and are engaged in their work. Do they have a website? What kind of information do they supply on that website- anything about their memberships or affiliations? Have they been published or spoken to any business groups? Make sure that they are legitimate.

These tips will help you protect yourself and the investment you are making into your most important career document.

What will deliver the knock-out punch? A chronological or functional format?

With so many people avoiding the proverbial career pigeon-holing, managing vocational shifts, gaps in employment, and irrelevant employment durations all while trying to leverage their skills, there is a new movement afoot to more closely examine the ‘pluses’ of functional (or skills-based) résumé formats. In fact, I recently met with a top-notch human resources professional who bluntly told me, “If applicants are over 35 years old, I’d much rather receive a functional layout so I can see what you can do and what you’ve done.” Now that's pretty revolutionary!

There are pros and cons of utilizing both formats, which will be detailed in a moment. On top of that, consider this: the format you choose which fits your needs best might actually be the complete opposite of what the hiring manager prefers.

So, now what to do? Which format will ultimately provide you with the ‘best foot forward’ and deliver the knock-out punch to a prospective employer?

The best rule of thumb to use when determining which layout to use is to decide the following:

Am I trying to showcase my skills and abilities?

-or-

Am I trying to provide a chronology of progressive advancement and stability in a particular field?

A better way to understand this is to look at the formats and how they communicate your background:

Chronological:
Shows where you worked, what title you held and when you worked… and oh, by the way, here’s what you did

Functional:
Shows your skills and accomplishments under those skills… and oh, by the way, here’s where you worked, what title you held and when you worked

The Pros and Cons of Chronological Résumés
Chronological formats, for the longest time, have enjoyed status as the ‘industry standard’, particularly when people had long-term employment stints… as in back in the days when our parents worked at the same company or two for decades until retirement. Gone are those days! Mobility is vital to keeping one's career vibrant and well-armed with new skill sets.

However, chronological résumés do have a loyal following. Many human resource managers were trained in this format and therefore have a preference in seeing this style. They are often suspicious of different styles as a result, but that mindset is slowly getting broken down. The downside of chronological formats is that it literally pigeon-holes a person- the natural inclination of the reader is to search for the employer, job title and employment dates, then review accomplishments and skills. This automatically typecasts an applicant for a particular field and employment level in the mind of the hiring manager. For applicants who might want to catapult themselves into a different industry or rise to a new career level, this can be very frustrating, and stymie those very efforts.

The Pros and Cons of Functional (Skills-based)Résumés
As mentioned before, functional formats are newer, and many human resource/hiring managers are somewhat suspect of this style. "What is this person hiding?" is often a question asked by hiring managers when presented with a functional résumé. However, many professionals are learning that this format can actually be more helpful in more clearly conveying an applicant's expertise areas with bulleted accomplishments under those umbrella skills. The employment experience is listed later in the document, rather than presented front-and-center, thereby emphasizing the applicant's skills rather simply listing the employer first.

The advantage of this overall format is that allows you to showcase your career specialization, reduce repetition of similar job descriptions and leverage your skills into new career pathways. Many baby boomers seeking 'encore' careers that shift their direction from their 'vocation' to their 'avocation' are utilizing this format to capitalize on their strengths and expertise.

For those who are a bit faint-hearted, there are 'combination formats' which can include accomplishments-oriented and creative formats (i.e. for visual arts and graphic design-types of jobs), and can accomplish a clear communication of both skills and stability of employment simultaneously.

Determining which format to use truly requires understanding which style best suits your background, while at the same time, you should research who might be reading it and what is exactly they prefer as a résumé style!