Written by James Koh, Area Manager, Aquent

It’s Saturday morning and John is going through the Recruit Section of The Straits Times. He is not actively looking for a job, but just wants to keep his options open and is always keen to “see what is out there”. John has been working in an advertising agency for the past 6 years but he enjoys being in control, and feels that a marketing or marketing communications role on the client side is his idea of achieving ‘work nirvana’. In between sips of coffee, John spots a compelling ad for a Marketing Communications Manager position with a leading sports brand. It is everything that he wanted in a role, and on top of that he is an avid sports enthusiast. He knows that he is the right person for the role. Now, all he needs to do is convince his prospective employer that he is the one.

Many of us have done this over the weekend. We send in our résumés and cover letter and wait for a call—but instead receive a “Thank you very much” letter in the mail a couple of weeks later. What went wrong? Was my cover letter sloppy or uninteresting? Was my experience not relevant? What could I have done to get at least get a call for an interview?

After having looked at thousands of résumés over the years, I have learned to spot mistakes that can sap even the most robust résumés of all its persuasive power. These must be avoided at all costs.

When writing your résumé, make sure that you write with a specific position or type of position in mind. Remember the goal of a résumé is to win you that interview! Worry about securing the job once you get in front of the employer. But for now, the right résumé style and approach is key to even getting you “through the door”. The most common mistake is the ‘one-size fits all’ type of résumé. You must stay relevant. If you have been in account management but want to switch to marketing roles, then you must write a marketing résumé and not an advertising résumé. Understand the role that you are applying for and try and identify commonalities in your current role and the role that you are applying for. Do not expect your prospective employer to decipher what you are doing in your present role. This is a very basic mistake, but one that candidates regularly make.

You have only a few seconds to impress the reader, so make sure that you highlight your accomplishments well. Remember that no-one hires on potential but on proven track record. Make sure that you categorise your role and responsibilities and achievements separately. When you elaborate on your achievements—make it quantifiable.

Keep your résumé short and sweet, (2 or 3 pages should do it). But the cardinal rule is, make sure that what you put into your résumé is relevant, concise and recent. It is great that you worked your way through college as a bank teller. But that was 10 years ago and probably has nothing to do with the web design position that you are applying for today. Remember that every piece of information in your résumé should demonstrate why you are the most qualified person for this specific position. If it doesn’t do that, leave it out.

When writing your résumé do not over inflate your experience or vice versa as you will be found out eventually—maybe destroying your chances completely. Avoid big, bombastic words. Write succinctly, in a business style and resist the temptation to be overly familiar or humorous. When describing your accomplishments, use action words: “Co-ordinated all Web projects; served as Webmaster” for example. Stay away from “I”, “me”, “my”, “mine”, “our” as anyone reading your résumé will assume that the job experience described is yours.

Make sure that you run for spell check and grammar. Remember your résumé will create the first impression—and that must be good. To the reader, poor grammar and spelling just means you are sloppy and do not pay attention to detail. If you are cutting and pasting various résumés together, make sure that you use just one format for all headers and positions. Stay away from fancy fonts, or variety of fonts. Moral of the story, keep it clean, clear and simple.

Include the dates for each position you’ve held, even if the time frame strikes you as short. If you leave out dates, it gives the impression that you are trying to hide something. List your work history in chronological order—with the most recent role first.

Last but not least, keep your cover letter to the point, personalised and have the right contact information on your résumé.

After a week of sending your résumé in, give your prospective employer a follow-up call to express interest.

Happy (job) hunting!

James Koh is the Singapore Area Manager for Aquent (www.aquent.com/mcs), a global firm that delivers total staffing, consulting and outsourcing solutions for Marketing, Communications and Creative. Through a network of nearly seventy offices in fifteen countries, Aquent services in the areas of print and Web design and production; advertising and media, marketing, public relations and business support. James also speaks and trains on career and recruitment issues and can be contacted on (65) 6336 7444 or e-mailed via jkoh@aquent.com.