Resume Tips 101
Welcome to the first CannaCareers Campaign and Q&A session: Resume Tips 101.
With the help of Vocational Counselor Amber McDonald, we cover tips, tricks, and answers to your questions on all things resume.
If you've ever considered a job in Cannabis and need to know how to make your resume as attractive as possible, this is for you! There's never been a better time to get your resume ready for the Cannabis Industry's busy season.
CannaCareers Resume Tip 1: Resumes convey the information that an HR professional or a hiring manager will use to decide whether we even get to interview for a job or not. Some recruiters are reading hundreds of resumes in a regular work period. Which means they’re probably skimming a lot of the time.
Many times, computer software is used to narrow the search before a recruiter even gets to see the applicants.
What does that mean for your resume? It needs to be easy to read - it needs to be simple, short, and sweet.
How can you make your resume easier to read? Let’s talk about margins. When we’re crafting our resumes, margins can be a key to success or a part of our downfall.
CannaCareers Resume Tip 2: We may want to extend our margins to make them wider because we want to fit more information on our professional backgrounds. However, extending margins can make the content of your resume hard to read because it makes the format too text-heavy.
In the visual, you see two examples of a resume. In the image on the left, the words extend near the end of the page. In the right image, the margins are standard and leave plenty of room before and at the end of each line break.
Visually, the resume on the right looks better and is easier to read through at a glance.
CannaCareers Resume Tip 3: Resume spacing is important. We understand you want to provide as much information to a recruiter as possible, however, all of it may not be necessary. Don’t alter spacing in order to fit your content.
Make sure sections are spaced far enough apart so your resume is easy to navigate and that all related information is grouped together. Spacing makes it easier for recruiters to locate specific information in your resume.
Additionally, labeling is important. Make sure you are using standard conventions like “Education” “Work Experience” etc. so content is divided clearly and logically.
So your margins are set and you’ve sectioned off your resume. But what about your actual content?
CannaCareers Resume Tip 4: Once again, you want your resume to be easily understood by recruiters. When explaining your day-to-day responsibilities or job roles, relay the information using concise bullet points, not paragraphs.
You don’t want a recruiter having to read through a lot of information and taking too much time to review your resume because (let’s be honest) recruiters aren’t spending a lot of time reviewing every single one of the hundreds of resumes they receive per job post.
By displaying information using bullet points instead of paragraphs, your resume is easier to navigate and skills are highlighted so they stand out even at a glance.
There are times to be whimsical in written work and its representation, but your resume is not one of those times.
CannaCareers Resume Tip 5: Keep your resume format standard. Don’t align text to the center or right.
As you can see in the visual, centered text can be tough on the eyes and makes it hard for recruiters to review.
The standard tip is to keep your resume left-aligned.
CannaCareers Resume Tip 6: A resume is not the place to use “fun fonts”.
Remember, we’re keeping the thought in mind that we want our resume to be easy to read. Sometimes “fun fonts” can make everyday letters that much harder to read.
Refer to the image: the text on the right is unique but definitely hard to read. The font on the left is a standard font whereas the font on the right is decorative.
Decorative fonts are too difficult to read, especially in long-format documents.
Find a font that, no matter the size and spacing, the letters are clear and easy to read.
CareerBuilder did a survey of recruiters where they were asked to indicate reasons they did not move a candidate forward through the hiring process. Specific questions were asked about how they reviewed and judged resumes.
One overwhelming piece of feedback was a majority of reviewers disqualified resumes with bad grammar, typos, and incorrect verb tense usage.
Check out this video for more details on making sure your verb tenses are right on your resume and cover letter!
CannaCareers Resume Tip 7: Use a spell check service to finalize resume content. You can use free services like Grammarly or extensions available for Microsoft Word or Google Docs to ensure you’ve spelled all words correctly and sentences are logical and grammatically correct. By using a spell check service you can avoid one major pitfall most resume writers fall into.
Additionally, make sure your verb tenses are correct. Talking about a past job? Use the past tense “-ed” to show you have previously done that. Talking about your current position? Use “-ing” if you are currently doing that job role/responsibility.
Here are more donts to avoid when putting your Cannabis resume together to give yourself the best chance of getting that callback:
Don’t forget our honorable mention: If you include a mission statement or objective in your resume make sure the statement is clear and distinct, NOT abstract.
CannaCareers Resume Tip 8: Shorter is better.
As we can see from the resume example, there is too much info on this resume, so this person has had to make the font so small it’s not even legible anymore!
Edit down your resume content to the absolutely essential details; the things in your experience which will make you the most attractive candidate possible specific to the position for which you are applying.
Remember, most HR professionals/recruiters already spend a bunch of time reading resumes. They're not looking for a novel, nor do they have the time for one.
So how do you know which skills and experiences to share and which ones to leave out?
Check out this video from our Q&A session for advice on transferrable skills including what they are and how to figure out which ones to use!
CannaCareers Resume Tip 9: Don't share less-than-flattering information unless you have to!
Some information we’d like to include on our resumes and cover letters might make us seem like a bad candidate for a position. For example: Should you list your GPA? If you did really well in school, good for you! Share that GPA! If not, don't include your GPA unless you have to.
Some of the worst resumes are the ones that highlight a candidate's potential weaknesses! We never want to give a recruiter information they don’t need and, more importantly, information that could paint us in a negative light or be used against us.
What else can you put on your resume to make it as attractive as possible to an HR professional? Check out our video advice below!
Add cannabis-related personal experience and volunteer work to your resume:
Use NUMBERS and metrics to show how good you are at what you do:
Use keywords and buzzwords to get noticed:
Certifications to get to spice up your resume:
