By Sally McIntosh, NCRW, NCOPE
Over the years, I have noticed that many people make the same mistakes when submitting sample resumes as part of the certification process.
Whether you are working on attaining the NCRW certification or simply want to improve your resume writing skills, I strongly suggest reading the NCRW Study Guide. All writing is not the same. For example, resume writing is different from general writing. There are many best practices for resumes that are not part of general writing.
Here are some of the more common mistakes we see on sample submissions.
1. Not Using Parallel Structure (SG, Appendix A-a or Gregg Reference Manual, 1018).
When two or more things are parallel, they have a similar function, role, or structure. This can occur in a list, a sentence, or bulleted items.
INCORRECT:
Inventory Control
Team Supervision
Managing Relationships
Customer Retention
Maintaining ERP System
Why: This is incorrect because three begin with a noun, and two start with a verb.
CORRECT:
Inventory Control
Team Supervision
Relationship Management
Customer Retention
ERP System Maintenance
Why: This is correct because they all start with a noun.
2. Target the Resume (SG, Writing Excellence Overview).
Picture a bullseye. When a resume is targeted well, you have hit the bullseye. The farther away you get from the center, the less important the information is, and the target has been muddled.
- Include industry/occupation-targeted information and keywords.
- Prioritize qualifying data and information.
- Focus on information that is pertinent to the job target or industry (exclude or de-emphasize nonrelevant information.)
3. Unnecessary Verbiage (SG, Writing Excellence Overview).
A resume is a summary, not a biography.
- Compose sentences with the first person implied, omitting personal pronouns (I, me, my).
- Write telegraphically with limited use of articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (of, by).
- Avoid overwriting and verbose or pretentious language.
- Exclude extraneous verbiage or information that impairs sentence flow and readability (various, such as, in order to).
Some examples are:
Increased revenues by 32%. Incorrect
Increased revenues 32%. Correct
If the reader must look up the definition of words in the resume, it is overwritten. Instead, write in the voice of the client. Listen to your client. Are they using ten-cent or 50-cent words?
Eliminate, cut, chop, delete, and get rid of adjectives.
4. Gather Information (SG, Section I, b)
Some writers have trouble getting the information they need to target the resume.
Make a question of everything the client says. If they say they “increased revenue,” ask by how much? Then ask how they did it. If they say they “saved money,” ask how much they saved and how they did it.
The terms “significantly” and “drastically” need a number with them. The reader has no idea how much significantly is and how much drastically is. Ask the client these questions.
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? How Much?
5. Include the Right Numbers (SG, Section III, e).
- All numbers are not fair game in a resume. If the client works for a privately held company, be careful. Unless published somewhere, the numbers are confidential. Use a percentage rather than dollar amounts to protect your client and the organization.
- Percentages work better anyway. To say: Saved $18 million is meaningless. The reader needs another number to go with it. If the company is worth billions, $18 million is probably not that impressive.
6. Consistent Formatting (SG, Section VI).
- Make sure your bullets line up through the document.
- Check for periods. If there is a period at the end of a bulleted item, there should be a period at the end of every bulleted item.
- Use no more than five lines for each job description/job scope paragraph.
- Make sure there are no more than five bulleted items under each job description/job scope paragraph.
Download the current NCRW Study Guide. You must be a member and logged in to access this guide.
If you don’t understand what you are reading in the Study Guide, send Kathy Keshemberg (certchair@thenrwa.org) an email asking for clarification. Either Kathy or someone on the Certification Commission will respond to you.
When you learn the best practices outlined in the Study Guide and get these six concepts down pat, you will be well on your way to having your sample submission marked “ready” to take the NCRW exam.
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Sally McIntosh was an original member of NRWA and volunteered as a Certification Commission grader before serving as Chair for 16 years. For more than 30 years, she has operated Advantage Resumes in St. Louis, MO. Find her online at LinkedIn.com/in/reswritersally.
