Following are a number of resume suggestions we have found to be helpful to our candidates.
Resume Length
Keeping your resume to one-page is the misconception we hear most often. It does not apply. The length of your resume is not important. What is important is the quality of the content. We’ve seen awful one-page resumes and stellar three page-resumes. Keep the content relevant, succinct, and impactful.
White Space
White space on your resume is essential. As stated above, don’t try to cram all your information onto one page. Suggested page margins:
- Top: .75”
- Sides: 1.00″-1.25” (no less than 1.00″)
- Bottom: .50”
Font Treatment
Use one or two font styles only. Times and Arial are the most common business fonts. Too much bolding of text, using more than two font styles, colored text, “fancy” bullet points, or adding graphical elements will typically render your resume looking unprofessional.
Objective/Overview Section
If you have less than five years work experience, it can be helpful to have an Objective section at the top of your resume. After five years, it best to utilize an Overview section instead. The Overview section should summarize your work history, and should never be longer than seven-to eight lines.
Education Section
If you have less than five years work experience, it can be helpful to have the Education section at the top of your resume. After five years, it’s best to place the Education section at the end of your resume.
Work History Section
For Each Employer, in paragraph format, 3-4 sentences (only) outlining the following:
- The product category you sold/managed, such as Cosmeceuticals, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Device… if it is pharmaceutical, also list the disease state(s) the products are indicated for
- The targets (Dermatologists, Plastic Surgeons, Medi-Spas, Salons…) you call on/market to
- The territory (geography) you cover or are responsible for
- If you are a manger, also list the size of your team (headcount) and scope of revenue responsibility (or other measurement of your success)
Then, list in bullet point format:
- List in chronological order (most recent first) tangible, quantifiable accomplishments and achievements
- Keep the each bullet-point to 1-line if possible (2-lines max, 1-line is better)
- If you are in Sales, list sales accomplishments, such as percentage to goal, number of new accounts opened, awards, revenue/marketshare growth
- If you are in Marketing, list key Marketing programs you orchestrated and some measure of success if possible; (Ship a product on time and under budget? List that on your resume)
Page Numbers
Page numbers are helpful if you have more than two pages. Use the Page Number feature in your word processor to insert page numbers. (Do not manually insert or list page numbers as formatting/page flow can change.)