The HR 101 - A 10 Question Quiz on Your Resume Know-How

We recently sent a newsletter with a 10-question quiz on Resume Know-How. Check out the answers below!

1. You have a resume. (You’ve gotta have one in the first place!)
   True - If this isn’t true, spend 15 minutes and create a draft today! If you want someone else to make your resume, contact us at dawn@sipleythebest.com.
   
   

2. Your resume should include your street address (1234 Anytown Blvd).  (T/F)
   False - You don’t know who will have a copy of your resume, so they don’t need your home location. Including your ZIP code is enough.
   
   

3. Your resume must not be longer than one page. (T/F)
   False - This is a major misconception we see. If your resume is full of valuable descriptions of the processes you created, actions you took, and results you achieved, exceeding 1 page is fine.
   
   

4. Your resume should use “I” to describe what you did. “I was tasked with marketing company products in innovative ways through B2B and B2C campaigns.” (T/F) 
   False - Best practice is to not use first-person but to describe your outcomes with action verbs.
   
   

5. You should include graphics to make your resume stand out from the crowd. (T/F) 
   False, in general - Graphics may make your resume unreadable by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that processes resumes before human eyes reach it.
   
   

6. You should write an amazing resume, get it perfect and edited by as many people as possible, so you can use it for all your applications. (T/F) 
   False (the last part) - Yes, you should edit and review your resume. But no, don’t use the same one for all positions; each version should be tailored to the company and position they need filled.
   
   

7. You should not include your references’ names, positions, and contact info on your resume (T/F).
   True - The employer will request references from you should they need it.
   
   

8. You can copy-paste the same description for multiple roles, if the roles involved the same tasks. (T/F) 
   False - In addition to making you look lazy, this shows that you didn’t take the time to think about nuances of difference between the roles you’ve held.
   
   

9. It’s best to avoid metrics that include money (such as, “reduced company costs by $1,500 per quarter”) because these will make you seem overly-concerned with money and thus, salary. (T/F)  
   False - Metrics add evidence to the skills you claim to have. You can include metrics aside from only money based ones, such as increasing employee engagement in your department, creating a program that X clients enrolled in, or reducing customer dissatisfaction by a percentage.
   
   

10. You shouldn’t use fun or creative fonts on your resume. (T/F)  
    True, with an exception - These may be hard to read by an ATS or even by a human. If, in your industry (a creative or design field) it’s common to use interesting fonts for the sake of art, follow what is the industry standard!

Want to talk one-on-one about your resume? Schedule a resume review or resume rewrite with Dawn by emailing a copy of your resume to Dawn@sipleythebest.com.