Include Lines Layman Won’t Understand
You are very careful about crafting your resume and want to make sure the reader understands the message you are conveying. So, while creating a resume you include technical terms regarding your career path. This includes the job title, what your job requirements were and what you did on the job. The problem with using technical terms is the average layman might now know what you’re talking about.
You don’t want to dumb down the document, but you still need to make sure it is easily understandable by those who read over it. For starters, your current job may use rather odd titles for jobs. If the title is not universally understood, you need to simply alter the title to something that is understandable. The title of your job should not hold you back because others are not able to understand what you did. This is important because not only humans read your resume but scanning software. If your job title doesn’t include the specific keywords a company is looking for, your resume ends up in the trash.
Now, you should not lie about your job title. Instead, you can include an alternative title. This way, you can include the title that the layman will understand and a secondary title of what your job goes by. So, if they call your current (or previous) employer with questions, they know what job title to ask about.
Non Explanation Gaps
Ideally, your resume lists all your positions without any real extensive gaps. Maybe you took a month off or it took you a year to find work. That is fine and most who check over your resume are able to understand this. However, it becomes suspect if you have multiple gaps in the resume or long term singular gaps. You don’t want to leave these gaps blank and yet you don’t want to make up time you worked at a particular company to fill in these blanks. After all, if the potential new employer calls about this, they will find out you padded your resume and lying about your resume right off the bat is a bad look and will likely prevent you from receiving a call back.
So what should you do about these gaps of employment? The best way around this is to simply tell the truth. You can note the gaps at the top of your resume or at the base with a footnote. Perhaps you relocated with your spouse, so with the course of moving and leaving your previous job, you didn’t land a new job for six months or a year. Finding a job cold turkey in a new market is often tricky and most who look over your resume will understand. If you took a year off traveling, include this as well. Some jobs may actually find this desirable as travel gains you experience in other cultures you can’t obtain on the job. So, stay honest and include the reasoning behind these extended gaps. It will fill in why you were not working and potentially make you more desirable.
Remember the Bullets
Your resume, no matter how amazing, needs to be easily scannable. This means you need to include bullet points and short lines. It makes it easier for the basics of your resume to be absorbed by the person who is reading it.
Poor Location
There is nothing wrong with applying for a dream job or a job in a different city. However, this can cause some problems. If you live in Gary, Indiana and start applying for jobs in San Diego, Maui or other spots, those reading through your resume might assume you want the company to pay for travel expenses, which can add up. Outside of upper-tier management positions or executive spots, the company will likely not want to pay for your moving fees. And unless your resume is off the charts better than everyone else, they probably will look past your resume, all because of your poor location address. You don’t want the company you apply to instantly have all sorts of concerns about you. The resume is about ironing out concerns and making you look attractive, not a potential issue waiting to happen. So, what in the world are you suppose to do? You have a job you know you are qualified for in a different market, but nobody is calling you back because of your address?
The first step is to indicate why you are looking at the position and the destination. You should also include that the move to the current location is already in the works (even if it isn’t). This way, they know you are not looking for moving fees to be covered and they will not have the worry of you moving across the country, only to possibly hate the job and quit. There are a few different ways you can discuss this sort of information, with one of the best as including it in your cover letter. Your cover letter is all about introducing you, so you might as well point out why you are applying for this long distance job. It can help clear up concerns your possible employer might have. If you are still worried about the address listed on your resume, consider asking a friend in the area (if you have one in the desired location) if you can use their address.
That One Glaring Error
You have read something so many times it makes your head numb. However, this is the problem. You wrote the document and know what it says. So you actually skim over it while you read it. This means you can miss some glaring errors that need correcting. Take a break, then go back and re-read your resume or better yet give it a friend to read.