You have finished writing your resume and you plan to send applications shortly.
What are the things to check before sending your resume ?
1. Personal information
Contact
All necessary information to contact me is included and correct. My e-mail address is not fanciful. If my first name can lead to sex confusion (Ashley, Kyle…), I do add Mr or Ms to avoid any ambiguity.
Photo
Not mandatory unless requested. In any case, this has to be a quality photo, simple and recent. Good posture and appropriate clothes for the situation.
Hobbies
Avoid mentioning these, keep it for your friends, not for your potential employers.
2. Text content
Content
All information on my resume is up to date, all elements are true and can be verified.
Acronyms
If my resume uses some, I make sure they are explained if too specific.
No, no, no
Avoid anything that can appear negative. If there is something you do not like, it should not be included in your resume.
Proofreading
Have more than one person proofread your resume (look for typos, misspelling, grammatical errors…).
Rewriting or modifying
I receive comments positively, even more so after proofreading. I think about those remarks and take them into consideration.
3. Layout
Presentation
My resume is clear, well laid out and easy to read. It is properly structured, there are many different sections, separated by white lines. For paragraphs, not too many words in bold, underlined, in color or in italic. No over usage of several fonts.
Dates
Homogeneity in the formats. I use the same format for all resume.
One or two pages only
Recruiters or HR managers do receive a large amount of resumes. You must synthetise the information wherever it is possible.
Packaging
No two face printing, good quality paper, white paper. Originals whenever possible.
