Readers often invest 40-120 seconds for reading a person’s resume, evermore so if they are working for a personnel agency or are overburdened at work. Lengthy resumes and CVs demand a greater time investment, and may cause valuable and impressive information to missed by the reader. It may also cause the reader to not read parts of your resume/CV or even worse – their first impression may be a negative or not so favorable one. You know what they say about first impressions…
Thus, conveying all the right messages and information in the least words (space taken up on your resume/CV) and the ability to navigate your resume/CV easily is key to a successful and professional resume/CV. Let’s survey a few ways to achieve all this:
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Option #1:
Utilize the maximal width of the document since you are limited in length. Print your resume/CV to make sure that your content is not outside of printing margins. There are several ways to utilize the maximal width: A) arrange your content in multiple columns, especially if you are using bulleted lists B) widen the pages width to the maximal possible, and utilize it by avoiding short sentences as much as possible, yet within reason C) Avoid redundancy that creates longer sentences
Option #2:
Use “canopy terms” to avoid using more words that could be grouped. Canopy terms are terms that represent greater areas, ideas, etc. For example: “leadership” is usually perceived as including management abilities; “Excellent and extensive organizational skills” would most-likely be interpreted as a person with great management skills and experience.
Options #3:
Use a font size that is agreeable. Font size of 10 - 12 allows to save space while still being able to read it. You may also use different font sizes for different content of your resume/CV. For example: titles will be in a 12 font size, while the other content is in a 10 - 11 font size.
Option #4:
Use well-known abbreviations and acronyms (do not confuse with slang) instead of spelling-out every word. This should be used modestly since too much of it tends to create an impression that your English is not of high quality. In a CV it is better to spell everything out since you are not limited in space/length. For example: using N.A.S.A instead of National Aeronautics and Space Administration or DMV instead of Division of Motor Vehicles.
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Option #5:
Use a legend at the beginning of your resume/CV. This option is especially great for your CV more so than for a resume. By creating links to anchors within your resume/CV, you allow the reader to press on the link at the beginning of the document and reach that specific content within the document. This serves you in several sophisticated ways: A) It serves as a map and summarization of your document B) It saves the reader time by allowing them to go straight to the content they are more interested in C) it shows computer skills and sends a message of being tech-savvy. See example of a CV’s legend below:
Education Leadership Skills & Attributes Personal Development Fundraising Languages Software/Hardware References
Notice that the legend above is divided into three columns to utilize the entire width of the page. Each underlined title leads to a certain section within the resume/CV.
Option #6:
In a similar way to option #5 above, at the end of each page or even section, you may place a link that sends the reader back to the beginning of the document. This way they can easily access the legend without having to scroll the entire document page by page. The lengthier your resume/CV, the more valuable this becomes. See example below:
The link to the beginning of the document is centered to draw the reader’s attention to it.
Utilizing options 5 & 6 sends further sends a message that you care about other’s time and positive experiences.
Option #7:
Another way to save the reader time as well as serve you by drawing their attention to certain parts or content within your resume/CV is to use colors, underline, and bold. Of course, if the reader is color-blind, this will have no effect. Make sure to use friendly colors and with moderation. Too much of anything is not good, it shows a lack of moderation, common-sense, etc. it may also come across as aggressiveness, and underlines maybe mistaken for links. It is commonly perceived as insensitive to people with accessibility needs. Utilizing the colors of the employer’s logo is smart and works on their sub-conscience causing them to affiliate you with them.
Avoid the following as much as possible:
Avoid tables unless they are very common for your field of expertise.
Avoid using multiple colors
Avoid to many links if not functional, especially to internet pages that may have expired
Avoid sharing personal information unless you are sure it works in your favor. Such information may include: Sex/gender, age, ethnicity, marriage status, height, weight, financial status, number of children, debt, disability, military service, other languages spoken, political opinions, and citizenships.
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