In the course of reviewing lots of resumes, here's a mistake I see many job seekers make: They put their names and contact information in the header function of the resume document.
Yes, your name and contact info should be at the top of your resume, but not in the header function of the document. Why? When the recruiter or employer reads your resume on a computer screen, the header is greyed out. Your reader can see the header text but it's de-emphasized compared to the easy-to-read black text in the body of the page. Your name is very important, and should not be diminished by being a lighter color text.
The solution? Don't use the header function at all on a resume. Instead, place your name and contact info in the body of the resume where it will have high contrast (black against the white background) when viewed electronically. Make your name bold and a few font-points higher than the rest of the text on the page, which will make it the most dominant piece of information on your resume.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
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8 comments:
It is however, useful to put your name in the running footer, as well as the number of pages (n of nn format), because often the resumé is printed out for the hiring manager, and pages in a stack can get mixed up.
Susan-
I see that advantage for visibility, but many of us have two page resumes and make changes constantly. The header format keeps our name and contact info in place on the second page when other items shift.
What should we do for two page resumes?
Hello Jennifer,
Yes, you can put your name in the footer of your document. However, if you type your name at the top of page 2, you won't need to put it in the footer.
Shouldn't one transmit a resume in .pdf format anyway?
Progressive Audio,
Most employers prefer to get resumes in MS Word. Word is an easier format to search for keywords and enter into databases.
This is just one person's opinion. She is not the know-it-all of Resume's. I personally don't put anything in the header/footer of my Resume, but if you do, that's your way of doing it. Who is Susan to tell you what to do.
I place my name in the header, not contact info. When I convert the resume to PDF (which you should do given mac users and number of Microsoft office formats, eg doc vs docx) the header is not 'grayed out'. If an employer is reading my 2nd page I don't want them to have to go back to page 1 to find my name.
@Simply_Complex , doc and docx aren't even an issue in OpenOffice (often used on Linux) anymore, and hasn't been an issue since Office 2003. Almost any Mac user will have Office on their computer, again, doc and docx will work just fine. Further, most postings and online applications specifically state what filetypes are acceptable. I agree that pdf is fine, but have heard that doc or docx are preferred.
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