SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 22, 2020 - As an Executive Recruiter & Career Coach, I have the opportunity to see and review hundreds, if not thousands of resumes. The ones that tend to get my attention are those that are well thought-out, put together logically, organized, that don't break any of the rules of resume writing.

1. The use of "I"

The use of "I" in resume writing is perhaps one of the biggest pet peeves of anybody who is evaluating a resume. There is a general consensus that a resume should be written in third person. The use of phrases such as "I managed the Western sales region" or "I closed business resulting in" are not acceptable. It's been said that people judge you by the words you use.

2. Present tense versus past tense

I'm sure we've all been guilty of quickly updating our resume for a new job opportunity that we just heard about, and forgetting that the only position on your resume which should be in present tense, is your current position. That means that everything prior to your current position must be written in past tense.

3. Achievements & responsibilities - two different things!

Often we see resumes in which the context does not differentiate between the achievements and responsibilities. It's important to show your responsibilities (duties) at a given position, however it's equally important to show what your achievements were in conjunction with those responsibilities. Employers want how you achieved expectations and accomplishments.

4. Typos and grammatical errors

Next on the list is the improper use of grammar as well as typos throughout a resume. In many cases I've experienced hiring managers passing on good candidates whose resume contained numerous grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Incorrect use of periods, semicolons, colons, lack of proper capitalization, run-on sentences and the improper use of words such as "complementary" versus "complimentary" are a big no-no!

5. Poor description of your current employer

Many hiring managers want to know the similarities of the employer you're currently working for and how that relates to their organization. If you work for a company that's less known, you need to give a description of who and what that company does so that the hiring manager can quickly see the similarities of the work that you have done with that company and how it relates to what they need on their team. Always best to error on the side of creating similarities in your work experience.

6. Poor formatting

Make it easy to read! If your resume is disorganized or the formatting is not appropriate it will be a challenge to read and therefore won't get the attention that it deserves. There's an old rule of thumb: never have a resume longer than one page. That was true in the old days of physically mailing hard copies of resumes.

7. Cyber Friendly

Don't forget that we live in a keyword search environment. For your resume to come up to the surface whether you are submitting it to the candidate tracking system at a large company, a recruiter, or even have it posted on the website, consider the keywords that best describe your background.

I typically advise candidates to consider putting together a "Core Competencies" or "Area of Expertise" consisting of two to three columns at the top of the resume of keywords that describe your unique background and skills.

Dan Counts, Founder of fairwindslogiX a Recruiter/Coach for candidates and clients, specializing in the software and consulting industries. His hands-on positive style as an advisor to candidates and clients provides an environment for redefining the recruitment experience one placement at a time, resulting in better long-term matches. In his free time he enjoys sailing, hiking/walking, woodworking and most recently home coffee roasting. You can check out his website at www.fairwindslogix.com | www.linkedin.com/in/dancounts/

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Dan Counts