By Brian Marcus
In our offices we see thousands of resumes; everything from the good to the bad to the ugly! So, what makes a good resume, is a cover letter important, does the font actually matter? Yes, it all does; not just to your resume but to the numerous resumes you read as a hiring manager.
Something that we don’t think of all the time, especially when we are reading resumes. We all know you can lose an employment opportunity from poor grammar or misspelled words, but you can as easily lose based on font use. The most popular and easily read font is Ariel followed by Calibri and Cambria. Not only are they easy to read, but they open neat and clean on any browser.
A resume is the candidates advertisement…this goes beyond work history, educational background and the three-sentence introduction summary. Does the resume you are reading (or writing) have a Core Values and Personal Mission Statement and yes, a Mission Statement. Remember it is the advertisement. What is this person about, what is important to them, and what do they stand for? Not only will the words convey a message, the mere fact that they have gone through the exercise shows a lot about the candidate…or you!
Yes, a cover letter is still a great thing…even if it doesn’t get read. Keep it short, on point and above all do not repeat what is on your resume. When reading a cover letter; which you should do, look for consistencies with your Club or organization, is the letter well written and are assertions backed by facts?
A final tip for both resume readers and writers, in this day and age check LinkedIn and other social media platforms for resumes. Make sure the resume you have on your desk matches the online counterpart. I myself just received a resume that didn’t match LinkedIn which shows lack of detail. Crumbs, we live in a digital age.
So, does it make a difference? You bet you it does, just ask your HR Director next time you have lunch with them.
Brian Marcus is one of our executive recruiters specializing in private clubs and hospitality. Brian has over 10 years of club experience and 25 years of hotel, restaurant and F&B experience in numerous countries. For more information contact Brian at 626-836-1222 or brian@globalhospitality.com