Have you ever heard the declaration “Resumes should never be longer than one page”? Countless job-seekers spend valuable time sitting at the computer screen decreasing margins, minimizing font sizes, and cutting out valuable information in the attempt to not violate this cardinal rule of resume writing. The end product is a jumbled, unclean-looking document that is most likely missing information that would be useful to the recruiter and/or hiring manager.

This resume myth has been communicated for as long as I can remember from college and university career counselors, professors, and even those in the workforce. While there is some relevance to the one page resume argument, which I will discuss in a moment, I am here to tell you that for most resume purposes, this myth is FALSE!

Some individuals coming out of college are attempting to stretch out their resume information simply to fill one page; others are struggling to cut as much as possible without losing the relevancy of information to cram it on a single page. This is not the desire of most recruiters. A good recruiter wants to determine who is the best match for the position given the job candidates’ education, background, and experience. To determine the above criteria, the recruiter and supervisor need specific and accurate information that is relevant to the position.

In preparing your resume, pick the information that is most relevant to the position you are applying for and the company and provide the most information in those areas. For example, if you are applying to a public relations position and have previously worked a PR internship, use several bullet points under that job to give the recruiter a very accurate picture of what you did on that job. At the same time, detailed statements of job requirements when you worked at the local coffee shop are not necessary; a brief, general picture will suffice.

My point here is that you know what aspects of your work and activities are relevant to the position. Do not sacrifice developing these areas for the sake on a one page resume. Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes. If you were looking to hire yourself for this position, what information would you want and need to know? If providing that information requires a second page, then that is perfectly okay.

The only occasion in which a two-page resume is not appropriate is when it is full of “fluff.” There is no need to carry a resume on to two pages when it is packed with irrelevant information. Only go to a second page when it is completely necessary due to a large amount of important information.

Tips for Your Resume:

• Never go below font size 10 or above font size 12
• Use a simple, professional font (Times New Roman or Arial)
• Do not make your margins less that ½ inch (Many people drastically decrease margins to have more space. Running your words close to the edge of the page leaves a very unprofessional look to your resume and makes it difficult to read. One inch margins are best, but ½ inch in acceptable as well.)
• Your name should be bolded and centered at the top
• Make it easy for the recruiter to get in contact with you…contact information
• School names should be in bold
• Company Names should be in bold
• Put your name and page number as the header on each page AFTER PAGE 1

These are simply basic suggestion for the style of your resume. If you have any specific questions about resume styles or content, you may submit your question here.

Basically submit a neat, professional-looking resume, without sacrificing important information. As long as your resume information is relevant…forget the resume myth. Finally, remember that ever recruiter is different and their aesthetic preferences are different for the appearance of the resume. However, the necessary information remains constant. Stick with the information that matches your skills, talents, experiences, and activities to the job at hand.

*Do not carry your resume beyond two pages unless it is curriculum vitae, which probably does not apply to any of you.

Share This: Email or bookmark the post

Here we are, a few days in, and we already have a few investors!

And great big thank you to Kami Huyse, APR, of the Communications Overtones blog, who took the time to point out a major problem in subscribing to the site. (I was able to fix it rather quickly and really appreciated the heads-up.) She has also written about Forward here and here AND commented on our blog. What more could we ask for? Well, some say money. (Haha) But nah, we’re more than satisfied with input and the invaluable wisdom and perspective our investors can offer. Seriously, we don’t want your money. Just your mind.

Another thank you goes to Robert French who graciously answered my never-ending stream of questions as I navigated through the wonders of Wordpress and RSS. He also wrote about Forward at Marcom Blog. His generosity never ends!

Jeremy Pepper, another one who is always very willing to mentor and help students, included Forward in his Blog Run post for Bulldog Reporter.

Tara Smith, a contributor to Marcom Blog, wrote a very positive post about Forward at Marqui’s World. She also took the time back in the fall to do an interview with me, which I will soon be posting to the Interviews section of the Forward Blog. We certainly appreciate her ongoing support of PR students.

We hope to see interaction with even more investors. As it says on our investor relations page, “It is vital to our success!”

Again, a warm thank you to those of you already investing.

Share This: Email or bookmark the post

I recently attended Real World PR 2006 in Atlanta, Ga. The conference definitely exceeded my expectations. I learned valuable information that is sure to help me in the upcoming months as I search for entry-level jobs in public relations.One of the break-sessions that I found particularly useful was Agency vs. Corporate. The presenters included Ellen Hartmen, APR, Weber Shandwick Worldwide; Karen Kaplan, Fleishman-Hillard; Kent Landers, APR, Delta Air Lines; and Nancy Schubert, APR, IBM.

Since the majority of the speakers had a background in both agency and corporate PR, they weren’t biased to one over the other. They gave honest advice based on their experiences in both areas as PR practitioners. They all suggested that soon-to-be graduates like me get agency experience first because an agency provides variety by allowing you to work in several industries.

They said it is the age of the generalist in corporate PR rather than the age of the specialist as it had been in the past. It is rare for corporations to hire PR practitioners straight out of college because they lack the experience necessary to succeed as a generalist. It is difficult to get a job in corporate PR without at least five years of experience.

Additional advice/insight/information that I got from the session:

• Skills at an agency include writing releases and putting together press kits
• Strategic planning develops over time. Experience will develop your strategic planning skills
• In Corporate America, it is important to be familiar with economics and accounting. By understanding the jargon of an accountant (eg. ROI means Return On Investment), budgets will be approved faster
• Stay current - read a newspaper every day
• If you’ve had an internship, but not at an agency, you can be an extern. This is a trial period that determines if the agency wants to keep you and if you want to continue working at the agency
• When writing your resume, always look at the big picture rather than simply list the tasks you completed at your internships
• When calling about a job, give a 60-second commercial about yourself (Internships, skills, what you can bring to the agency rather than what you want to get)
• After calling, follow-up with an e-mail (attach resume), make another follow-up phone call, and thank the person for his or her time
• Spend a day in an ad agency to understand how it operates
• There are no 9-5 jobs when starting at an agency; do the grunt work and don’t complain- it will pay off

And last but not least…

• Experience is more valuable than further studies

(Originally posted at Sarah’s Blog.)

Share This: Email or bookmark the post