Originally posted by J. Patrick + Associates
In this two-part series, you will learn the six most effective ways to customize your executive resume and get the attention of any hiring manager. Be sure to check out Part 1 here. The last three steps are reviewed below.
4. Spelling and Grammar Error-Free
Often times when you are customizing your resume for various positions, items get moved around, abbreviated or changed – and new spelling errors and grammar errors appear. When you customize your resume be sure to thoroughly review your resume for these errors before submitting it for application.
Check all of your tenses, particularly in the employment sections. Your current position should be in present tense and your previous positions should be
in past tense. Think of it like this: you want to show the recruiter what you are currently doing in your current role (even if the project happened in the past); and you want to show them what you did in your previous roles (which all happened in the past).
Be careful about how you conjugate your adjectives as well – words like deliver, manage, create. You should use the same conjugation within a bullet/sentence structure. For example:
- Incorrect: “Delivered various skills including X, Y and Z.”
- Correct: “Delivered various skills which included X, Y, and Z.”
And for your cover letter – spell the company’s name and the position title correctly! Spelling errors are one of the quickest ways to get your resume thrown into the “no” pile.
5. Remove Internal Specific Acronyms and Activities
Each company has their own acronyms and abbreviations for various activities, geographies and projects. They become such a part of who we are in our everyday working lives that our resume tends to include “insider” speak that makes no sense to the recruiter you are trying to entice.
To view this post in its entirety, visit the J Patrick + Associates blog at http://www.jpatrick.com/our-blog/bid/206750/6-Most-Effective-Ways-to-Customize-Your-Executive-Resume-Part-2