For Employer Resume Preferences, Go Straight to the Source

Resumes are subjective documents to be sure. Even if you follow the best advice from career experts, your resume is subject to the individual tastes of employers — which may differ from the experts’ advice. What’s the best way to tailor a resume to a hiring manager’s preferences? Call up and ask how he or she likes resumes. The advice career expert Dale Dauten offered some years back remains valid today. He tells the story of calling a human resources office to ask what kind of resume the person who screens resumes likes to see. “Really short. No baloney. Crisp,” is what the HR person told him. Anyone making such a call will be armed with the perfect information for targeting that particular employer. If you’re not comfortable talking to the hiring manager, ask an assistant or secretary — who will likely have a good handle on the boss’s preferences.