When a 1-page Resume or CV does not make any sense

I know I’ve written countless of posts on this (check out: FB Shopaholic: All about the job), and we all know that the basic rule of job hunting and resume writing has always been:

Well, I am here to break that rule in half.

I don’t have a 1 page resume, my CV has actually been carefully edited and chopped down to be a lovely 4-pager.

Sure, I could whip one up in about 2 minutes by chopping it down, but I literally cannot serve a 1 page resume or else I’d be passed over like a hot joint.

Why?

Because I am in IT and I do projects.

If I were just to put “IT CONSULTANT” and list my skills, they’re going (and have!!!) to throw it back at me and tell me: I need more information.

Sure, they don’t need a LOT of information, but they need to know what you did on each project, for how long you were there, how big the team was, what the system was.. and so on.

Every project I have done tells them that I have the proof of experience in consulting and in IT, and each project showcases different parts of my skills — as a project manager, team lead, specialized IT skill set and so on.

I don’t do the same thing every time on every single project, and I cannot give them the Cole’s Notes version because every IT hiring manager wants to always know the details. (I know, crazy…!)

So for a lot of IT people, I’d almost want to suggest a 5 page maximum and here is my format:

1. Contact info at the top

Name, address, email & contact number with MBA, PhD or any official designation is sufficient.

2. List all of your IT-specific & general skill sets in its entirety

This is because they put your resume in the database and search by keywords).

This includes any languages you speak, or programming languages you know.

I’d call it moot to throw Microsoft Office on there, but you’d be surprised how often that question comes up in interviews for me about whether or not I know how to use MS Office.

3. Post-secondary education and any official certifications

Just need a one-liner with the date of where you attended college and what you are certified in.

4. Short write ups on each project you’ve been on

3 projects per page and tell them whether you were a lead, how long you were there for, the size of your team, and what you did on the project.

If you have done 50 projects, then pick your best 12 projects to be showcased, or write less about each to squeeze in 16 projects.

Alternatively, you could write about your best 10 projects or your 10 most recent ones, and leave the last 2 pages just typing out 2-liners about the rest of the projects you’ve done.

That’s it.

I’m dying to show you examples of BAD resumes, but they are not my property to distribute.