If you haven’t noticed from the various LinkedIn postings and also the Jobs page on our website, SSP is hiring.  A lot of new people have come on board over the last year, and we expect many more over the next few years as well.  Examples of a few positions we’ve been filling include Project Managers, Account Executives, Utility Network Consultants and Software Engineers.

As I’m definitely not a resume expert, after a while of reviewing many of them some are obviously “better” than others.  Better simply means that it gets to the point and doesn’t waste anybody’s time who is reading it.  Better also means it’s well formatted with no spelling or grammatical errors.  The rest of the article gets into more detail on what I see is wrong with resumes, and what I see is makes resumes stand out.

What else makes a bad resume?  Quite a few things.  Here’s a brief list for your reading enjoyment:

• Adding a list of operating systems you’ve used. I don’t care about any of the following operating systems you have experience in; Windows 7, 8, 10, ME, XP, 2000, 98, 95, 3.1.  I’m at the point now where if I see Windows 95 I immediately rule you out.  Same goes for 3.1 and 98.  ME is OK as I have a soft spot for Windows ME (just kidding).
• Adding a list of MS Office programs you’re proficient in. Again, don’t care if you’ve used Word, Access, Excel or Outlook.  Anybody with a pulse has used these programs and if you haven’t, you definitely wouldn’t have any programming experience to go along with your Software Engineering resume.  If you’ve never used MS Office you’re likely not from this planet.
• Inconsistent formatting is bad. Examples are if you bold a header in one section header and not the other, or have different fonts, or sections aren’t aligned.  All those things tell me you don’t care about quality.
• Don’t misspell anything. This includes words that should be hyphenated that you’re not hyphenating.  If you question it, look it up and learn the right way to spell it.    
• QR Codes on a resume are weird. Just give me a link I can click on.
• Listing irrelevant technologies. If you have a master list of technology you’re claiming to be proficient at, don’t list anything you’re not proficient at, or you don’t want to work with anymore.  Please do not list Flash, VB 6, Silverlight or anything else you don’t currently work with and will never work with again.
• Don’t talk in the 3^rd person. Sally can type 128 word a minute.  Sally is a Scrum Manager.  Not cool
• Don’t use 107 different acronyms and buzzwords. If a resume is splattered with acronyms and buzzwords it comes off as salesy and fake.  “Interacted with an SOE hosted via SAAS and exposed REST through MVC while pivoting across hybrid cloud ETLs” J.

Now that we know what not do, here’s a few tips on what you could do to make that resume a winner.

• Keep it precise. I’m not going to spend a lot of time reading the resume so give me the good stuff in a precise and easy to find manner.
• Let me know your career goals. It’s much better to know what kind of role you’re after and what you enjoying doing than trying to piece it out from bullet points of task you accomplished at various jobs.
• Make it personal. Let me know what you enjoy doing outside of work and you’re not a robot.
• Stand out. Make your resume your own personality and don’t be just another list of bullet points.  You’re more than that!

The next time you look at updating your resume take a hard look at it and put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager or HR screener.  Would my resume stand out?  Would it be easy to read?  Do I have Windows 95 listed as a skill?  All good questions to ask yourself the next time you apply to a job whether it be with SSP or some other company anywhere else in the world.