What 3,129 Hiring Managers Like To See In A Resume

If you are a leader looking for a new job, pick up a copy of Tony Beshara's new book, The Job Search Solution, and pay particular attention to what Beshara discovered when 3,129 hiring managers and interviewing authorities answered his survey about resumes (pages 67 and 68 of the book).

What these hiring authorities who ranged from first-line hiring managers to CEO's told him was this:

What they like in a resume:

Reverse chronological order.
Names of companies that the person has worked for and a clear indication of what the companies do.
Clear, concise articulation of skills and experience.
Direct evidence of success.
Written by the candidate (not professionally written)
Easy-to-read format
Pertinent information that relates to the job being filled.
Clearly stated experience that relates to the opening.
Stability.
No more than two pages.

And what they don't like in a resume are the following:

Functional resumes.
Objectives and Summaries at the beginning of a resume.
Longer than a page and a half, or at most two pages.
Long, unclear descriptions of the present or previous job.
Grammar, Spelling, or punctuation mistakes.
No factual achievements.
Mention of anything before college.
Written by a resume service.
Written by copying the published job description.
Fluff, generic competencies like "dynamic leader," "excellent communications skills," "effective listener," etc.

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