I feel like I should go to some “Resume PTSD” meetings.. are there such things?  LOL.  I can imagine a dark room like they have in the movies for 12 step meetings.  Some podium up in the front where everyone has to tell their story.  The lead nods to me that it is my turn and I go up to the podium….

“Hello, my name is Fish, and I have Resume PTSD….

It all started for me one evening when I was 16 years old. I remember was in the family room of our house in Princeton, New Jersey… it was deep winter out so we had the fire in the fireplace going.  Dad walked across the room to sit by the fire… he put before him 2 stacks of resumes – one stack for people applying to be a Vice President and another stack for people applying to be a Lobby Ambassador and Admin.  I watched in appropriate 16 year old horror as he glanced at each piece of paper and within 5-10 seconds he decided if it went in the pile for definitely interview, or the pile for review resume again, or… yup, you guessed it…. the fire. 

I remember being absolutely horrified.  The fact that my Dad is such a nice, kind, and gentle man just scared the crap out of me even more.  I had so many questions.  Looking back now I think I pretty much interrogated him on every resume he tossed into the fire and asked him why for each one.  I don’t think I have ever looked at a resume since without thinking about that day.”

My Resulting View on Resumes

As a direct result, of course, to say I have “feelings” about resumes being more than 1 page would be an understatement.  To say my feelings are “strong” that they shouldn’t be more than 1 1/2 pages would also be an understatement.  You can disagree with me all you like.  I really don’t mind, honestly. There are many varying views on this.  Mine is just one of many.  And while you can argue the reasons for more than 1 page….  the truth still remains that there are other people with similar “hang ups”/”views” on resumes…. and they are looking at your resume to decide if they want to interview you.  And yes.. the inverse is true.  There are potentially some super awesome people I will end up not interviewing because their resume was > 2 pages.  Both facts are true.

“Begin with the End in Mind”

“Begin with the End in Mind” ….. What are you trying to accomplish with the resume?  What do you want your resume to “do” for you?

For many people the answers tend to be along these lines

• You want the resume to make it to the “interview this person” stack.  Which means you want the resume to “make an impact” and “help get you to that pile“.  You ideally want this resume to make a great first impression on your behalf without you being around.  🙂

So you want this resume to do all of this for you… without you.… AND your resume might only have seconds to accomplish this. Many studies show the first impressions and the first seconds count, unfortunately, so very much.  Apparently my Dad’s 5-10 seconds per resume on the first pass is more the norm rather than the exception.

Forbes has an article I really like on 20 Basic Resume Writing Rules That’ll Put You Ahead Of The Competition.

While I agree with all of them…. the ones that resonate the most with me are

• Keep It To One Page – #1
• Format In a Logical Structure – #7
• Make Sure It’s Easy to Read – #8
• Keep It Organized And Visually Appealing – #9
• Don’t List Everything You’ve Ever Done – #16
• Think About The Person Reading Your Resume – #17

My Current Resume

Below is a sample of my resume.  Feel free to download a non marked up one here – Fish_Resume_Sample.pdf.  Just keep in mind that I am not looking so when i updated my resume I paid more attention to the over all format and what I wanted to “pop” in the first 5-10 seconds.  I am sure I have grammar errors, tense errors, and a bunch of other things like the fact that my current job isn’t even on there. 🙂  It is the format of this way of writing a resume that I just loved the moment I saw it.

What About the Format?

What did I love so much about the format when I chose to use this one?

I noticed how the resume seemed to almost “direct” where it wanted me to look next.

For me…. if I only have 5-10 seconds to grab your attention to read more.  I want certain things to “pop”.  I’m not there to play tour guide for my resume… so I need the resume to pull you into what I want to have “pop”.   I need to “guide” you to where I want your eyes to look.

Where Do I Want to Guide the Reader’s Eyes?

The parts I want to have “pop” in the first 5-10 seconds are the 3 sections I have highlighted on the right hand side.

The section I want the eye to go to first is the upper right hand corner.  Under here I want 3 things to pop –

• 3 CCxE certs,
• CiscoLive Distinguished Speaker Hall of Fame and speaker since 2006
• Cisco Press technical reviewer on 3 technical books.

If I have gotten past the first 5 seconds they are likely still over on the right hand side.  Their eyes can then see “Skills and Competencies”  as well as “Technical Experience”…. they can easily decide which one is more important to them and read that next.  Ultimately I’m trying to get them to be interested enough in me to then spend the time and energy to look at the left side.  Or… 🙂   Just put me in the pile to pull me in for an interview.  🙂