The Little Things are NOT so Little on a Resume

The Little Things are NOT so Little on a Resume Recently, I was coaching someone on his resume, advising him to move several sections, change some verbiage, and ensure columns were lined up correctly. His comment, “Oh, these are just little things.” My thought: these are NOT little things. I proceeded to say something like the following: “You know, if the hiring manager has 100 or even 50 resumes to sort through, how do you think the person is going to start weeding out applicants? It’s the little things that count.” Hopefully, he got my message. Lining up columns, ensuring appropriate punctuation is utilized, being consistent with fonts and spacing are all very important things to consider when writing a resume. In fact, these so-called little things can be the items that encourage or discourage someone from reading through your resume. Why not just do it correctly from the beginning? For example, if you use square bullet points to describe one job’s tasks, then don’t switch to circular bullet points for the next listing. If you italicize your job title, then italicize all of your job titles. I am a big proponent of revising, revising, and revising again. So, proof your resume on the computer screen, and then print it out for another visual look-through. You may be surprised at the differences you find on the printed version that you didn’t notice on the screen. In today’s competitive job environment, these ‘little things’ can add up to big mistakes or big rewards. Take the time to review, revise, and revisit items that can be improved. Showing a sharp first impression is the first step to gaining an interview slot.