Less is more when it comes to writing a resume, says Ozana Castellano, a West Windsor resident and business communications specialist whose own resume includes, yes, writing resumes and getting paid to do it. “Your resume has a 10-second lifespan. That’s the time it takes for someone to look at it and decide if it goes in the yes pile or the no pile,” she explains. In those few seconds the job seeker must show the interviewer that he or she is worth bring in for an interview.
Castellano, who teaches a class titled, “Essential Tools for Landing That Job” Thursday, October 20, at Mercer County Community College, notes that the resume is just one of three “tools” for landing a job. In her class she will also discuss how to write a cover letter and a thank you note as well as mastering interview techniques.
Castellano, a senior assistant professor and corporate trainer at Mercer with an MBA from St. John’s, became an expert at writing resumes after doing some for friends, then for friends of friends, and suddenly finding herself in an 11-year career in which she wrote over 1,”500 resumes.
Although many resumes are now sent via E-mail and the internet, the basic rules have not changed, says Castellano. “Keep it brief and concise.”
Resume writers should use action words that focus on what was accomplished in each prior job. They should not focus on “job titles and descriptions,” says Castellano. “Instead of writing, ‘Responsible for training staff,’ skip the word responsible and just write, ‘Trained staff’.” Other key action words, she suggests, are managed, streamlined, and achieved. Under each job that the writer has held, Castellano suggests using three to four bullet points that explain duties and responsibilities. A final bullet point can identify “key accomplishments” in that job. “Interviewers want to see that the person has gone above and beyond their duties in accomplishing something,” she explains.
Resumes should be written in reverse chronological order, with the most recent jobs and accomplishments first, says Castellano. “A resume should be one page at best and no more than two pages.”
But what about someone who has been in the workforce for 20 or 30 years? “Divorce yourself from your past,” advises Castellano. “No one else cares to the same extent as you do about what you did in 1975, 1985 or even 1995. At best you look too verbose, at worst, you look too old,” she says. Instead, she recommends summing up the previous work history in a sentence or two such as, “Prior to 1990 held a variety of positions in customer service.”
The “keep it short” rule applies just as much or more to executives as it does to first-time job hunters, says Castellano. “I see a lot of professional people with three, four and five-page resumes. But the higher up the position you are applying for the shorter the resume needs to be. It’s irrelevant what you did 25 years ago. They are interested in what you can do now.”
Castellano also recommends that resume writers skip the “career objective” statement recommended by so many resume guides. “The career objective is too general.” Instead, she suggests substituting a professional profile — a three or four-sentence statement about the person’s professional background.
Castellano’s personal resume includes her husband, Michael, who commutes to New York, daughter Kristen, a senior at Loyola in Maryland, and Megan, Class of 2005 at North, now a freshman at Boston University. With both kids off to school, the parents are moving to a “bigger house but a smaller yard” at the Washington Town Center in Robbinsville.
When it comes time to rewrite any resume, Castellano notes that “it should look pretty on the page,” with minimal formatting: “No italics, no underlining” and just enough boldface section titles to separate categories.
If the resume is sent by E-mail, she recommends attaching it as a Word document. And once the resume is in and the interview has been gained, another piece of writing is required: A thank you note. Castellano’s advice remains: Keep it simple.
— Karen Miller
Essential Tools For Landing That Job, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor. $31. 609-586-9446. Thursday, October 20. 6 to 9:30 p.m.
