Resumes

10 Common Private Sector Resume Myths

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Many people who haven’t looked for a job in a long time are still carrying around a number of myths about what a private sector resume should look like. Here are the 10 most common myths:

Myth #1: Private Sector Resumes Should Be Kept to a Single Page

Wrong! Depending on the number of years’ experience you have, a 2-page format is quite acceptable. Generally, anyone with 5 or more years’ experience should use a 2-page format.

Myth #2: Education Should be Listed First

Wrong! At this age and stage, you are most likely “selling” your experience, not your education. Most employers value your experience most of all. The exception to this “rule” is for people who are new to the workplace and academics.

Myth #3: Unique/Unusual Resumes Attract Attention and Are Better Read

Wrong! Please, do yourself and your readers a favor; stay away from “gimmick” resumes. You do not want to be seen as nonconformist, oddball, loner, etc. Exception: Creative jobs requiring these traits

Myth #4: Exaggerate Accomplishments — Nobody Will Check

Wrong! Skillful interviewers generally ask probing questions and will not accept surface answers to interview questions. Exaggeration (and out-right lies) will likely be uncovered (if not during the interview, then during the reference check) and you will lose the job.

Myth #5: References Should Be Listed on the Resume

Wrong! Listing references is on your resume is considered old fashioned. If a potential employer wants references, they will ask for them. All job seekers should have a separate reference page available.

Myth #6: Resume Content is More Important Than Layout

Wrong! The layout of your resume needs to be attractive and visually appealing. White space is important. And you want your resume to stand out from the pile. Regardless of content, a poorly organized or sloppy resume will likely go unread.

Myth #7: Personal Photos Enhance Resume Appearance/ Effectiveness

Wrong! Regardless of how attractive you may be, use of personal photos are a major no-no (unless you’re looking for an acting or similar job). Many employers may discard a resume with a photo automatically so they cannot be accused of discrimination.

Myth #8 The Cover Letter is Often More Important Than the Resume

Wrong! The advent of Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and online applications has changed thinking about cover letters. Many veteran employment professionals will only read the cover letter after they have read the resume—if at all. And, they know that cover letters often repeat the same information that is in the resume. Of course, if a job posting specifically requires a cover letter, be sure to include one. You want to demonstrate that you know how to follow directions!

Myth #9: Functional Resumes Have Greater Marketing Impact Than Chronological Resumes

Wrong! Generally, a chronological resume is more common, easier to follow, and typically more effective, especially when you have had a positive work history and career progression. Some reviewers of functional resumes may think you are trying to hide something—that’s never good. Stick with a chronological resume.

Myth #10: Objectives are Important

Wrong! Objectives are only about what YOU want (and besides, who doesn’t want a job that will allow them to grow, use their skills, etc.) Instead of an objective, you should use a Summary or Profile to show what you bring to the table.

Get Professional Endorsements Before you Need Them

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We have talked about the importance of documenting your experience on your resume and through your cover letter. In addition to documenting your experience through achievements and metrics, another way to demonstrate your expertise and effectiveness is through third party endorsements. There are several ways to approach this:

  • Consider featuring a quotation from a recent performance evaluation or award recommendation on your resume. On a USAJOBS resume, you could call it a Supervisory Endorsement and put it in the Additional Information Section of USAJOBS. Be sure to identify where the quote came from (e.g., Recent Performance Evaluation) and identify the source, either by name or title. Here’s an example:

“Branch Chief Smith is keenly versed on all laws, regulations and policies relevant to the program. He is working diligently to transform the operational paradigm from solely security to a frontline/investigative methodology…and to retool training…He is an expert on the science that distinguishes DHS’s program from all others, particularly in the area of guarding against cross contamination.” 2016 Performance Review.

This concept also works on private sector resumes; if you are creating a private sector resume, you may want to feature the quotation in a text box or something similar.

  • Ask your LinkedIn Connections to prepare a Recommendation for you so when prospective employers look at your LinkedIn Profile, they will see your endorsements. Authentic, genuine Recommendations are powerful. Instead of sending out those presumptuous LinkedIn “Can You Endorse Me?” emails, select a handful of people in your network and write Recommendations for them, without asking for one in return. You will be surprised at how many people will reciprocate. You can also ask people if they would be willing to Recommend you and, if so, whether it would be helpful for you to do the first draft to get them started. If they take you up on your offer to do the first draft, make sure you let them know that they should feel free to edit what you have drafted. When drafting for someone, be specific and detailed. The reader should be able to tell exactly who it was written about. Quantify accomplishments (with percentages, numbers, and dollar amounts) as much as possible.
  • Select and prepare your references. References should be professional, not personal. You will want to select 3-5 individuals to be your preferred references. These individuals may be current or former managers or supervisors, co-workers, peers, or team members, current or former customers of the company, vendors or suppliers, and people you have supervised. The best references can talk about your day-to-day job performance — so choose someone who supervised you or someone who worked with you closely. Select someone who knows your work well. You want someone who has seen you in action and can speak to your abilities. It’s better to have someone who can speak to your skills and accomplishments than a “big name” on your list of professional references. If someone seems hesitant to serve as your reference, ask someone else.

Once you’ve decided who you would like to be your references, always contact these individuals and ask their permission to use them as a reference. Call your references directly (don’t just email them). Not all potential references will be able to provide this kind of stellar recommendation. But some of your references may be hesitant to say no to you directly if you ask.

So you can give them a way to let themselves off the hook, without turning you down directly. Instead of asking, “Will you be a reference for me?” Ask them, “Do you feel you know me well enough to serve as a reference for me?” Or ask, “Will you be a great reference for me? (If the answer is anything less than enthusiastic, you can collect their information, but not list them on your reference list. It’s perfectly fine to ask a reference to support you, but then not use them when applying to certain jobs, or not at all.) Verify each reference’s contact information, including the preferred phone numbers (cell, home, work) to list.

Do NOT ask your references to pre-prepare written recommendations for you; most employers do not value these. Instead, let your references know that they may be contacted over the phone or via email. Immediately send a letter or email thanking them for serving as a reference, and provide a current copy of your resume (or let them know you will be sending them a copy of your resume soon, if it is not yet completed).

Once someone has agreed to be a reference for you, prepare a references page that you can provide to a prospective when asked. Do not put a section on your resume that says, “References Available Upon Request.” This is old fashioned and considered self-evident. Instead, you should have a reference page in the same format, font style, and font size of your resume. If you are using USAJOBS, it is not necessary to fill out the reference section unless the job posting requires that you provide references. Your Reference Page will work for both private sector and federal resume searches.

Using third party endorsements is a great way to differentiate you from other applicants. Each of these approaches add value to your job search.

Validating Your Experience—Third Party Endorsements

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We have talked about the importance of documenting your experience on your resume and through your cover letter. In addition to documenting your experience through achievements and metrics, another way to demonstrate your expertise and effectiveness is through third party endorsements. There are several ways to approach this:

  • Consider featuring a quotation from a recent performance evaluation or award recommendation on your resume. On a USAJOBS resume, you could call it a Supervisory Endorsement and put it in the Additional Information Section of USAJOBS. Be sure to identify where the quote came from (e.g., Recent Performance Evaluation) and identify the source, either by name or title. Here’s an example:

“Branch Chief Smith is keenly versed on all laws, regulations and policies relevant to the program. He is working diligently to transform the operational paradigm from solely security to a frontline/investigative methodology…and to retool training…He is an expert on the science that distinguishes DHS’s program from all others, particularly in the area of guarding against cross contamination.” 2016 Performance Review.

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Be Sure To Document Temporary Federal Assignments

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It is not uncommon for federal employees to be detailed to a higher grade or different position and then want to use that detail or temporary assignment as creditable experience when applying for a new position or a promotion, but you must document it properly in order to include in your application.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) assumes that employees gain experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate to their official position description, occupational series, and grade. If you want to be credited for experience outside your official position description, whether at a higher grade or in a different job series, your temporary work must be appropriately documented.

Such documentation could include a SF-52 or SF-50 that documents an official detail or assignment. It could also include a signed letter from the employee’s supervisor.

That letter must state the nature and length of the temporary assignment / detail, whether the duties performed were full- or part-time, and the percentage of time other duties were performed. The documentation should be included in an employee’s Official Personnel Folder (OPF).

Employees should submit the official documentation, along with their resume, when applying for positions where the temporary experience may be needed to support their application.

Start a Career Portfolio to Track your Achievements

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What is a Career Portfolio? In essence, a career portfolio is your personal record of achievements—specific examples of when you have demonstrated your knowledge, skills, and abilities; these can include work samples, copies of your annual self-assessments or accomplishment reports, your resume, professional bio, and references you may have with up-to-date contact information, and copies of your performance evaluations. Other things you may want to keep in your portfolio might be copies of certifications / licenses you have received, publications, award write-ups, a professional headshot, and assessments you have taken (Myers-Briggs Type Instrument, DiSC, etc.). And, if you are involved in volunteer or related activities, don’t forget to keep relevant information about those as well.

Why Should I Create a Career Portfolio?

Getting in the habit of collecting this information is important; this way, when updating your resume or preparing for an interview, you’ll have everything you need in one place. And, it will keep you from forgetting some of the important contributions you have made. Finally, your portfolio provides that actual proof of your achievements.

How Should I Maintain My Career Portfolio?

Depending upon your job, you may want to keep your portfolio in hard-copy and offer to share it in person. You may also want to consider whether you want to create a personal website; obviously, if you do this, many people will have access to your information so be sure to remove Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and of course, nothing proprietary or classified should be posted. Another idea is to maintain your portfolio using Dropbox or Google Drive. Using these tools will allow you to control access to your information.

LinkedIn is another way to share carefully curated parts of your portfolio. The more you use LinkedIn, the more likely you are to come up in the site’s algorithms. And if you are pursuing private sector opportunities, LinkedIn is essential. It is a professional way to establish an online presence, create your brand, and establish yourself as an expert. Again, be sure scrub your documents of any PII or other inappropriate information before posting.

Updating Your Career Portfolio

Your career portfolio should not be a “one and done;” instead, you want to keep your portfolio up-to-date, weed out the old and no longer relevant, and focus on those items that will help you further your career. Only publicly share that information that is relevant and supports your career goals.

When applying for a federal job, think like a hiring manager

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Federal government hiring is based on hiring the best qualified, which makes it difficult to justify hiring people without all of the qualifications required and/or those whose experience is quite dated. For a successful job search, you need to be strategic about what you apply for. Do not waste your time applying for “everything;” instead, focus your efforts on those opportunities where you are a perfect (or nearly perfect) match for the stated criteria.

I wish I had a dollar for every time a client who complained: “If only they gave me a chance, I could prove I can do the job!” While I have no doubt that the comment is true, we are currently in a buyer’s market—where hiring managers have lots of choices to make among candidates. While it is certainly possible for a hiring manager to pick someone based on their potential (especially for jobs above the entry level), in my view, it is unrealistic to expect hiring managers to do this. Let’s think about this for a moment…

Most job postings specify the criteria the hiring organization is looking for—whether through specialized experience and the occupational questionnaires in the federal government, or in a section in a private section posting that says something along the lines of, “The ideal candidate will have…” All applicants should carefully review the qualifications required. If the posting asks for 10 years of experience and you have 6, you are not likely well qualified. Or, if your experience is in a different area all together, while again, you may the basic qualifications (like a degree), you are not likely to have the specialized experience required.

In most job sectors, organizations receive hundreds, if not thousands of applications. The first screen is of those who do not meet even most the basic qualifications (like the 10 years’ experience mentioned above). The next screen is for those who are a match for all of the criteria. While you may match half the criteria desired, from a hiring manager’s perspective, why should they pick YOU, when they can have someone who (at least on paper) is a 100% match? And from a fairness perspective, if they considered your application with only half the qualifications, they should also consider everyone else who has only half the qualifications…

A related question I receive is along the lines of, “I did exactly what they’re looking for 15 [or 20 or more] years ago, how come I’m not been called for an interview?” While in this circumstance you may have all of the qualifications, your experience is dated. And again, from a hiring manager’s perspective, would you want to talk to someone who is doing the job now, or someone who hasn’t done it in 15 or more years? Think like a hiring manager next time you apply for a federal job and increase your chances for an interview!