Resumes are complicated—at least that’s what many people think. But in reality, they are one of the simplest documents to write. Despite being simple, a lot of resumes from qualified people end up in the trash.
Why?
Sometimes it’s a single item, at other times it’s a cumulative effect. But there is one component on every resume that is misused, overused, irritating…and yet most people fill their resumes with this nonsense.
What nonsense, you ask?
Responsibilities. And I’ve got news for you…
No One Cares What You’re Responsible For
I know what you’re thinking, that a resume has to have responsibilities.
But it doesn’t.
I don’t mean you have to purge every one of them from your document as if they were infected cells, but you should do a thorough review and get rid of most of them.
I received a resume the other day that was five pages long. After I removed the responsibilities, and a few other items, it was only one and a half pages. Not only did we cut it down to a readable size, it greatly improved the resume, letting the accomplishments take their proper place and be the focus of the document.
How do you expect a gatekeeper to figure out what you can do if you fill the page with responsibilities? That tells them nothing.
So why do people fill the resume with responsibilities?
People Believe That They (Themselves) Are Important
That sounds callous, but it’s true. People think that because their name is at the top of the page that the resume is about them.
It’s not.
A resume’s job is to get you an interview. That’s it. Period. End of story.
And citing page after page of responsibilities is not the way to earn an interview. I want you to take a minute and think about the following:
My teenage son was responsible for cleaning his room.
Richard Nixon was responsible for running the country.
Steve Ballmer was responsible for making a tablet and phone to compete with Apple and Android.
General George Armstrong Custer was responsible for 700 soldiers and charged with winning the Battle of Little Bighorn.
“Hollywood” is responsible for producing good movies.
I think most of us can relate to at least some of these. Now let’s look at some real responsibilities and the analysis that follows.
Responsible for implementing quality systems throughout the company to ensure compliance.
The problem with this statement is we don’t know if those quality systems worked, or if they actually ensured compliance. They could have failed miserably.
Responsible for worldwide quality, production, materials management, and facilities.
We have no idea if this person did any good.
Responsible for managing high-performing development teams of up to 25 full-time employees.
Did this team do anything good? Who said they were high performing? Did this person need 25 people or did they overstaff? Lots of questions, no answers.
Responsible for coordinating product development activities between European and US divisions.
And how did this turn out?
As you can see, responsibilities tell us nothing. All they do is fill up space on your resume and, as we all know, the last thing you want is something unnecessary taking up resume space.
What Do You Do?
If you feel an urgent need to list a responsibility, do it in a manner that is effective. If the company needs someone to expand their new mobile phones into the European market, don’t list all of your responsibilities; instead, create one responsibility that captures the heart of that need.
Responsible for building an international team of six sales reps to introduce new smartphone into the European and Russian markets.
After that, go straight into your accomplishments. And make sure you quantify them.
Bottom Line
I’m not saying it’s impossible to get called for an interview with all those unnecessary responsibilities, but if the gatekeeper has a long list of strong candidates, you probably won’t make the cut. A week or two after you
Resumes are complicated—at least that’s what many people think. But in reality, they are one of the simplest documents to write. Despite being simple, a lot of resumes from qualified people end up in the trash.
Why?
Sometimes it’s a single item, at other times it’s a cumulative effect. But there is one component on every resume that is misused, overused, irritating…and yet most people fill their resumes with this nonsense.
What nonsense, you ask?
Responsibilities. And I’ve got news for you…
No One Cares What You’re Responsible For
I know what you’re thinking, that a resume has to have responsibilities.
But it doesn’t.
I don’t mean you have to purge every one of them from your document as if they were infected cells, but you should do a thorough review and get rid of most of them.
I received a resume the other day that was five pages long. After I removed the responsibilities, and a few other items, it was only one and a half pages. Not only did we cut it down to a readable size, it greatly improved the resume, letting the accomplishments take their proper place and be the focus of the document.
How do you expect a gatekeeper to figure out what you can do if you fill the page with responsibilities? That tells them nothing.
So why do people fill the resume with responsibilities?
People Believe That They (Themselves) Are Important
That sounds callous, but it’s true. People think that because their name is at the top of the page that the resume is about them.
It’s not.
A resume’s job is to get you an interview. That’s it. Period. End of story.
And citing page after page of responsibilities is not the way to earn an interview. I want you to take a minute and think about the following:
My teenage son was responsible for cleaning his room.
Richard Nixon was responsible for running the country.
Steve Ballmer was responsible for making a tablet and phone to compete with Apple and Android.
General George Armstrong Custer was responsible for 700 soldiers and charged with winning the Battle of Little Bighorn.
“Hollywood” is responsible for producing good movies.
I think most of us can relate to at least some of these. Now let’s look at some real responsibilities and the analysis that follows.
Responsible for implementing quality systems throughout the company to ensure compliance.
The problem with this statement is we don’t know if those quality systems worked, or if they actually ensured compliance. They could have failed miserably.
Responsible for worldwide quality, production, materials management, and facilities.
We have no idea if this person did any good.
Responsible for managing high-performing development teams of up to 25 full-time employees.
Did this team do anything good? Who said they were high performing? Did this person need 25 people or did they overstaff? Lots of questions, no answers.
Responsible for coordinating product development activities between European and US divisions.
And how did this turn out?
As you can see, responsibilities tell us nothing. All they do is fill up space on your resume and, as we all know, the last thing you want is something unnecessary taking up resume space.
What Do You Do?
If you feel an urgent need to list a responsibility, do it in a manner that is effective. If the company needs someone to expand their new mobile phones into the European market, don’t list all of your responsibilities; instead, create one responsibility that captures the heart of that need.
Responsible for building an international team of six sales reps to introduce new smartphone into the European and Russian markets.
After that, go straight into your accomplishments. And make sure you quantify them.
Bottom Line
I’m not saying it’s impossible to get called for an interview with all those unnecessary responsibilities, but if the gatekeeper has a long list of strong candidates, you probably won’t make the cut. A week or two after you
Resumes are complicated—at least that’s what many people think. But in reality, they are one of the simplest documents to write. Despite being simple, a lot of resumes from qualified people end up in the trash.
Why?
Sometimes it’s a single item, at other times it’s a cumulative effect. But there is one component on every resume that is misused, overused, irritating…and yet most people fill their resumes with this nonsense.
What nonsense, you ask?
Responsibilities. And I’ve got news for you…
No One Cares What You’re Responsible For
I know what you’re thinking, that a resume has to have responsibilities.
But it doesn’t.
I don’t mean you have to purge every one of them from your document as if they were infected cells, but you should do a thorough review and get rid of most of them.
I received a resume the other day that was five pages long. After I removed the responsibilities, and a few other items, it was only one and a half pages. Not only did we cut it down to a readable size, it greatly improved the resume, letting the accomplishments take their proper place and be the focus of the document.
How do you expect a gatekeeper to figure out what you can do if you fill the page with responsibilities? That tells them nothing.
So why do people fill the resume with responsibilities?
People Believe That They (Themselves) Are Important
That sounds callous, but it’s true. People think that because their name is at the top of the page that the resume is about them.
It’s not.
A resume’s job is to get you an interview. That’s it. Period. End of story.
And citing page after page of responsibilities is not the way to earn an interview. I want you to take a minute and think about the following:
My teenage son was responsible for cleaning his room.
Richard Nixon was responsible for running the country.
Steve Ballmer was responsible for making a tablet and phone to compete with Apple and Android.
General George Armstrong Custer was responsible for 700 soldiers and charged with winning the Battle of Little Bighorn.
“Hollywood” is responsible for producing good movies.
I think most of us can relate to at least some of these. Now let’s look at some real responsibilities and the analysis that follows.
Responsible for implementing quality systems throughout the company to ensure compliance.
The problem with this statement is we don’t know if those quality systems worked, or if they actually ensured compliance. They could have failed miserably.
Responsible for worldwide quality, production, materials management, and facilities.
We have no idea if this person did any good.
Responsible for managing high-performing development teams of up to 25 full-time employees.
Did this team do anything good? Who said they were high performing? Did this person need 25 people or did they overstaff? Lots of questions, no answers.
Responsible for coordinating product development activities between European and US divisions.
And how did this turn out?
As you can see, responsibilities tell us nothing. All they do is fill up space on your resume and, as we all know, the last thing you want is something unnecessary taking up resume space.
What Do You Do?
If you feel an urgent need to list a responsibility, do it in a manner that is effective. If the company needs someone to expand their new mobile phones into the European market, don’t list all of your responsibilities; instead, create one responsibility that captures the heart of that need.
Responsible for building an international team of six sales reps to introduce new smartphone into the European and Russian markets.
After that, go straight into your accomplishments. And make sure you quantify them.
Bottom Line
I’m not saying it’s impossible to get called for an interview with all those unnecessary responsibilities, but if the gatekeeper has a long list of strong candidates, you probably won’t make the cut. A week or two after you
Responsibilities are misused,
overused, irritating...and yet most
people fill their resumes with this
nonsense.
I've got news for you...
No One Cares What
You're Responsible ForCiting page after page of responsibilities is not
the way to earn an interview. Take a minute and
think about the following:
My teenage son
was responsible
for cleaning his e
room. x
Need I say more
about
responsibilities? |
How many people do you think have
been responsible for designing anew
phone to capture market share from
Apple and Samsung?
And how
wy many have
PS successtutInstead of filling your resume
with responsibilities, cite your
accomplishments—and make sure
you quantify them.
What you include in your resume is important, but how
you present it is also important. Pay attention to
formatting, white space, and fonts.
No Mistake coo
Getting things done the No Mistakes way
And if you really want to build a great resume, check
out my book, or let us do it for you.
tere
No Mistakes
photo credit: WarzauWynn via
photopin cc