I received a 10 page resume today. While not unprecedented, it is unusual. I get 6+ page resumes at least once a week, but pushing into the double-digits is something that happens only once or twice every three months. The worst offender in my 15 year recruiting career was a 26 page resume complete with a Table of Contents.
I have to review dozens of resumes a day. Without getting into the finer points of how to get my attention, I will tell you a 10 page resume gets enough attention to deserve a post. I won't read it, but I will give you some pointers.
One: A resume is not going to get you a job so you don't need to regurgitate every experience you've had since you were in junior high school.
Two: A resume is designed to spark interest. Figure out how to get my attention, build some curiosity about finding out more about you, and leave it at that.
Three: LinkedIn & a Blog are excellent places to put additional content that can build interest in your background.
Four: If you're a fresh college grad your resume will have a different "voice" than if you have 20 years of experience.
Five: Most resumes are a recitation of tasks. I'm more interested in what you can do for us.
Six: Ditch the objective. They all sound like "Desire to use (talent / skills / background) to (add value / advance at / benefit) my next employer."
Seven: If you can't say what you need to say in 2 pages or less I'm out.
Eight: Ditch the business speak and use some of your creative writing ability. Read every sentence aloud - if it sounds off in the natural course of speech re-visit how you're expressing your thought on paper.
Nine: Spell check doesn't catch they're / their / there type grammar issues. Proof read it, have someone else proof read it, then proof read it again.
Ten: Challenge yourself to get a job without using a traditional resume. There's no rule that says you must have a Word document at the ready or there is no job for you.
Send a well thought-out and written one to two page resume targeted to the specific job and employer and you'll be amazed at the results.
