Recruitment & Advice
General Information About the Resume
Before getting into the writing guidelines, it’s important to understand what a resume is really for and who you’re writing it for. That’s the purpose of this article: it lays out the principles from which the article “Writing a Resume” will derive practical guidelines.
Part I: Understanding What a Resume Is
1. The Validity of a Resume: There’s No Such Thing as a Perfect One
There is no such thing as a perfect resume.
The first question to ask yourself when writing one isn’t about form, but rather a two-part question about its purpose:
What is your goal? Who is your target audience?
The practical implications are significant. Since a resume depends on your objective and target audience, there is no single resume that works everywhere. The same career path can legitimately result in two different resumes for two different positions: this isn’t dishonesty—it’s relevance.
2. The resume is a sales pitch
The purpose of the resume is to spark the reader’s desire to learn more about you by meeting you.
It therefore doesn’t need to be exhaustive. Its purpose is to secure an interview.
| What a Resume Is Not | What a resume is |
|---|---|
| A comprehensive record of your professional life | A pitch designed to spark interest |
| An exhaustive administrative document | A tool whose sole purpose is to secure an interview |
| A list of everything you’ve done | A selection of what serves this purpose |
What this changes when you’re writing. With every line, the question isn’t “Is this true?” but “Does this serve the purpose?” True but useless information takes the place of useful information.
3. The reader: a stranger you need to convince
As you write your resume, you know nothing about your future reader, and they know nothing about you.
So it’s up to you to spark their desire to meet you. How? By presenting a compelling case that showcases your strengths.
The consequence of this mutual ignorance: You cannot count on any shared context, any leniency, or any understood implications. All the reader will know about you is what the page tells them—and nothing more.
4. Distribution Has Expanded
The distribution of a resume is no longer limited to “hand-to-hand” delivery or “postmark as proof of mailing”:
- paper;
- USB drive;
- the internet;
- multimedia technologies, combining text, sound, and images.
Part II: The Three Main Rules
Rule 1: Comply with the standards of your profession and industry
You must familiarize yourself with the current standards in your profession and industry so that you can adhere to them.
The more you try to be creative and fussy, the more you risk missing the mark or turning off your reader.
Why Creativity Can Backfire on the Candidate. An original resume draws attention to the document itself. But the document isn’t the focus—you are. Every second spent deciphering an unusual layout is a second that doesn’t serve your application.
Rule 2: Stick to industry standards, regardless of the format
Regardless of the format or medium used, stick to industry standards.
A telling example of what “industry standards” means: CD-ROMs and floppy disks are rare today. A medium that was once modern becomes one that confuses the reader, because they can no longer read it.
The connection between the first two rules: the medium may change, but industry expectations remain the benchmark. What changes is the medium; what doesn’t change is that it must be the one the reader expects.
Rule 3: Pay attention to style, because the way something is said matters just as much as what is said
“The way something is said influences as much, if not more, than what is said.”
The main component of a resume is the description of your career path. But a description alone is not enough: it must include a hook and develop a compelling case.
The case makes consists of two parts:
| Part | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| What I can do | What are my skills, as demonstrated by my experience? |
| What I’m aiming for | Where am I headed, and how does this position fit into that path? |
A resume that only addresses the first part describes the past. A resume that addresses both parts outlines a trajectory—and a trajectory leads somewhere.
Part III: Section Content
What sections should a resume include, and how much weight should be given to each?
The order of presentation is arbitrary, but charity begins at home: so we’ll start with identity.
1. Personal Information
| Element | What You Need to Know |
|---|---|
| Last Name and First Names | |
| Age | Provide the date of birth rather than the age: this makes it easier to update the information |
| Marital status | |
| Gender |
A note on age credibility. If you’re applying for an executive position, avoid listing a very young age: an experienced executive needs to have “been around the block” to be credible. Age here isn’t just an administrative detail; it’s part of your sales pitch and should be treated as such.
The rule that governs this entire section. If you play on ambiguity, the reader will tend to see deception or ambiguity throughout your resume.
This is the most costly effect of all: a single ambiguity doesn’t stop at the line where it appears—it taints the reader’s interpretation of the rest of the document.
2. Education
Distinguish between formal education and continuing education, and limit yourself to a brief and precise description:
- School/Program: preferably the acronym, if it’s widely recognized;
- Degree / date.
Where should you stop? At the high school diploma, if possible. This cutoff point is not arbitrary: the high school diploma serves a dual purpose—it marks the end of secondary education and is the first university-level degree. It is therefore the natural turning point in one’s educational journey.
3. Languages
List each language you speak, along with your actual proficiency level: read, written, spoken, or fluent, good level, basic knowledge.
The pitfall of this section. This is where exaggeration is most easily exposed: the recruiter need only continue the interview in the language you claimed to speak. A proficiency level claimed to be higher than it actually is will therefore only hold up until the first meeting—and it undermines the credibility of the rest of the resume.
4. Miscellaneous
This section covers anything that doesn’t fall under education, experience, or languages: hobbies, community involvement, volunteer roles, driver’s license, and software skills.
The selection criterion remains the same. An activity belongs here only if it says something useful about you in relation to this position: a leadership role you’ve held, a demonstrated commitment, or a transferable skill. A list of hobbies unrelated to the application takes up space without proving anything.
This rule applies to all sections. Do not lie. In any case, the recruiter has every means to catch you out.
Part IV: Professional Experience
Also known as work experience or professional history.
In what order should you list them?
List your experiences from most recent to oldest, or vice versa. Chronological order—whether forward or backward—is a matter of personal choice; there’s no hard-and-fast rule.
| The deciding factor | |
|---|---|
| The general rule | Do whatever feels right to you, keeping in mind what showcases your strengths best |
| Special cases | You can do the opposite when a specific experience is the deciding factor in whether a resume is rejected or accepted |
This second point is worth understanding. It’s not about hiding anything: it’s about realizing that a decisive piece of experience isn’t placed randomly. Depending on whether it works for or against you, its position on the page changes how the reader interprets it.
How should you describe each stage?
The duration of work experience should be expressed in months and years.
And a rule of proportion applies:
| The experience is… | Its description should be… |
|---|---|
| Long-term | Short |
| Close | Thorough and well-reasoned |
The reasoning: the age of an experience diminishes its relevance to who you are today. Devoting as many lines to it as to your most recent experience would misdirect the reader’s attention.
Part V: Standard Precautions
Should you include a photo?
Yes, if it’s well done. Why not? It will help make your resume less impersonal.
This isn’t just for show: a sloppy photo has exactly the opposite effect of what you’re aiming for.
Should you include attachments with your resume?
No, unless the attached document provides additional context, such as a copy of an article.
The rule is simple: the attachment should add something, not just extend the resume.
Should you mention your internships?
Yes, provided both of the following conditions are met:
- if you’re just starting out;
- if the internship is relevant to the position you’re applying for.
It’s up to you.
Part VI: Be Careful!
The Old, Updated Resume
Updating an old resume by simply adding your most recent work experience: the result is a document where nothing really fits, leaving the impression of a slapdash resume.
Why this is always obvious. New experience isn’t just added—it shifts the balance of the entire document. The most recent entry becomes the most detailed; older ones need to be shortened; and education loses prominence. Adding without readjusting leaves these imbalances apparent.
Technical Profiles
A typical example is that of IT professionals, who think they’ve covered everything by listing terms that add nothing to the application: some are common knowledge, while others are just filler.
The list proves nothing on its own, and it obscures what really matters.
Part VII: Salary
The issue of salary is better addressed in the cover letter than in the resume.
Why? The resume outlines your professional value; including a figure there is like giving an answer before the question has even been asked. The cover letter, on the other hand, is addressed to a specific recipient for a specific position: this is where a salary expectation makes sense, and where it can be articulated with the necessary nuance.
The Essentials in 8 Points
- There is no such thing as a perfect resume: it all depends on your objective and your target audience.
- A resume is a sales pitch; it doesn’t have to be exhaustive—its purpose is to secure an interview.
- You know nothing about your reader, and they know nothing about you: all they’ll know is what the page says.
- Adhere to the standards of your profession and industry: creativity is more likely to turn people off than to win them over.
- Style matters just as much as substance: a hook, followed by a two-part pitch—what I can do and what I’m aiming for.
- Ambiguity is contagious: a single vague point casts doubt on the entire document.
- The more recent an experience is, the more detail you should provide; the further back it is, the more you should condense it.
- Don’t lie: the recruiter has every means to expose you.
Source: Le Figaro Économie Collection.