One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Word Choice. The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that the choice of words in your resume should be changed. Word choice is important in several ways. Do the words you have chosen really mean what you intend? Are some words so esoteric that few people will know what they mean?

For example, what is “ideation”? Will that word in your resume help or hurt you?

Most importantly, do your chosen words reflect terminology of your particular industry that suggest you are sufficiently experienced and qualified for the job you are seeking? Every industry has its own language; let’s work together to make sure that you use the code words necessary to get that interview.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Amount of Detail.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that your resume has significantly too much or too little detail…or both.  Too long a resume or section of a resume hurts your interview chances.  Too short a resume or section of a resume can be just as damaging.  Your resume must give enough detail to clearly and simply state your objectives and your qualifications.  Any more or less fails that test.

For example, should a candidate for a senior management position have a one page resume?  Probably not.  Should a recent college graduate seeking an internship have a 3 page resume?  Probably not.

As with many things, the length of the resume and the detail that it gives must be just right.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Precision of Objective.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that your resume fails to tell the reader your specific job goal.  It may fail to state obvious matters such as the position for which you are applying.  It may state qualifications that make no sense in the context of the job opening.  An unclear objective suggests a canned resume that is being forwarded to all job openings with few, if any, changes to match the job that is being offered.

For example, should a job seeker state that his objective is to “Find a job in office management, registered nursing, or daycare”?  Only if the job for which he is applying is for an Office Managing Registered Nurse in an Infant Care Center.

We will help you write a resume that works extraordinarily well but that can be tailored by you to fit each specific position for which you are applying.  Send out the same resume for 50 different job openings, and you are likely to get no response from 50 employers.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Grammar and Spelling.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that your resume contains multiple grammatical and spelling errors.  Such errors are the easiest way to get kicked out of a job pool.  Software spell and grammar checks help, but do not solve the problem.  Some errors are difficult to find.

For example, is the following sentence grammatically correct?  Are there any spelling errors in the sentence?

“The combination of today’s difficult job market, the use of resume management software by HR Departments, and human nature dictates that your resume must focus on your accomplishments, contains the correct density and placement of key words and phrases, and avoid disqualifers that unfairly preclude you from getting that crucial job interview.”  There are two errors in the preceding sentence…did you spot them?

We correct these job killing errors.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Clarity.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that a number of elements in your resume should be made clearer.  Do sections and paragraphs confuse the reader?  Is it unclear what you really did in a job?  Are your sentences and phrases so long and rambling that even experts in your field must diagram those sentences and phrases to arrive at their meanings?

Here’s an example.  What does the following sentence really say?

“Providing unique, valuable tactical and strategic legal expertise and business advice, while generating hundreds of millions of dollars of fees and other revenues, as a result of closing billions of dollars of complex commercial finance transactions are activities which reflect my years of extensive experience in the corporate and public finance legal arena.”

Read “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser, and you will appreciate the importance of clarity.  People like simple writing.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Format.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that you should consider changing the format of your resume.  Format includes the way your resume is laid out, what it emphasizes first, and whether it is reverse chronological, functional, or a combination of both.  Format of a resume can have a huge impact on your job chances, particularly if you have unusual career situations.

By way of example, should you include a 2 year traveling sabbatical on your resume?  Answer:  it depends on a number of factors, including your target job.

The key is to put your most impressive and relevant qualifications front and center.  They should be the first thing that catches the reader’s (or the computer’s) eye.  Gaps and unusual situations must be addressed somehow…and without creating difficulties later in the hiring process.  Clever format choice can help

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Appearance and Presentation.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that your resume needs an appearance change.  Overall appearance and presentation are crucial in a resume that is fortunate enough to actually get reviewed by a real person.  The design must be clean and simple, with visual clues directing the reader to key elements of your skills and background.  Margins, fonts, headings, and a myriad of other design elements should work together to do one thing:  Sell You!

For example, is it useful to have a section entitled “Skills” at the top of resume for a CEO candidate?  Or should that heading be “Qualifications”?  Or should there be such a section but with no heading?  Or should there be no such section at all?  It makes a real difference depending on your target job and industry.

Also, did you know that many employers now use resume management software that will not detect key information included in certain portions of your resume?  If the computer cannot read it, that information might as well be invisible.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Avoidance of Hidden Disqualifiers.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that your resume contains information that likely disqualifies you from jobs before you will even be considered for an interview.

As examples, are you older, have you been out of the workforce for a couple of years, do you have gaps in your experience, or are you changing careers?  These are few of the red flags that may result in HR personnel and computers unfairly removing you from job consideration.  It happens all the time.

We work with you to address these issues so that you have the best chance at getting the interview and proving in person how valuable you will be to that employer.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Emphasis on Accomplishments.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that, while your resume may list your past job responsibilities in great detail, your current resume does not sufficiently market your accomplishments - in other words, the ways that you made or saved money for your previous employers.  Accomplishments are difficult to write.  They require the proper action verbs and, wherever possible, quantification.

For example, a properly phrased accomplishment would be “Increased market share by 25% as a result of focusing on transit finance opportunities in excess of $100 million each.”  A bad example would be “Marketed transit agencies for new deal opportunities.”

Our Background Analyzer helps you dig deeply into your professional background to allow us to work together to sell your valuable accomplishments.  Accomplishments set you apart from the hundreds of other applicants.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Keywords and Phrases.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that the resume needs to be rewritten to include crucial keywords and phrases that will greatly improve the chances that the resume will be selected by HR resume selection software.  Those keywords and phrases will also attract the attention of HR personnel.  The keywords and phrases relate to the job seeker’s industry and the specific job responsibilities.  They must be placed with sufficient density and in the optimal places in the resume.

As a simple example, does an attorney seeking a General Counsel position with a corporation need to use both the phrase “In-house Counsel” and the phrase “General Counsel” in his resume?  Yes.  Where should those words be concentrated in that resume?  Near the top of the first page of the resume.

Improper use of keywords and phrases means no interview in today’s world.  Identification of those words and phrases is a difficult key first step, and AlphaDogResumes.com works with clients to define that list in a personal telephone consultation when working through the client’s extensive AlphaDog Background Analyzer.