The Resume Help

When it comes to writing a resume (or even writing about writing a resume!), it’s tough to be intriguing. It just is. If you show too much personality, you come across as inappropriately informal. If you don’t show any personality, you look dull. What to do…

Mention that you’re “fun and full of personality”? No. If you have to say you’re fun and full of personality, that’s like conceding that your resume makes you look dull as dirt.

Include a joke in your resume? Something like “I learn real good cuz I studiez lotz”? No. Oh dear, no.

It’s all about choosing the right details. In addition to the serious parts, include a fun tidbit about yourself every now and then. In other words, strive to seem more human. There are zillions of ways to do this, but here are three ideas to get you thinking:

Try to illustrate what you’ve done using descriptive words. Don’t stop at listing the 4 responsibilities you had in your last job. Mention which one made you the proudest, and why. Or which one you spent the most time on. Or list something you learned from that job.

Use numbers whenever you can. People love statistics, and if you can use numbers to illustrate your awesomeness, do it! Something like “One of two hired from hundreds of applicants” or “Solely responsible for payroll management” or “Worked as part of a collaborative team of 12 fraud investigators” can go a long way to help your reader visualize your experience.

Include a line about what you like to do outside of work. Even mention hobbies that you’re not good at, and that you’re not good at them. If you’re applying to be a project manager, you won’t be overlooked because you’re a slow swimmer or a terrible golfer. But loving something you’re not good at could make you look like a more interesting (and humble and likable!) person.

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