If that CV/resume went out to a few consultancies, then you have just set up your old boss/nice referee for a few weeks/months of cold calls from those same recruitment companies.

I would only give them out when they want to use them for the right reasons, and they are less likely to want to annoy them!

1. One (or even two) page resumes go straight in the bin. How can I determine if someone is right for a job based on a single page?

2. The “Career Objective” is more a professional summary which highlights what the key info in the resume. It’s always been used for this purpose.

3. Leave out the reference contact details but include the names and positions of your references. This actually does carry a faior amount of weight.

4. Most labour hire companys ONLY accept resumes in Word format. A PDF will either get dumped or, if it looks like it’s worth the effort, you will be asked for a copy in Word format. (Word is close to the only import format common across many of these companies’ databases.)

5. Tailoring a resume to highligh skills for the particular position you’re applying for is a good idea. But for a general resume, list only the last seven or so years of experience with a one-liner for jobs before then if you feel the need.

digital format: Most agencies only accept DOC or TXT files, so it’s you may be required to stick with that, but send a PDF when you’re doing a direct HR dept application. I always make sure all fonts are embedded, whatever you use — it’s surprisingly common to find files that are unreadable by the recipient because you didn’t do this — one way to guarantee you DON’T get the job!

résumé design: Keep it simple — The rule is clearly “no images or graphics”, unless you work in a design-related profession. Using one or two conservative typefaces or subtle highlights is fine, but keep it all minimal and clean. Remember also, most résumés are printed in monochrome (B&W) so ensure they read well on screen and printed.

content: Most people forget that most articles such as this are penned by American authors — Unfortunately the rest of the world varies wildly in terms of standard résumé requirements. Make sure the content you provide is locally relevant. Local employment agencies are usually a good resource to provide this information.

You should review your résumé annually or thereabouts, and if it’s not hitting the mark, compare it with your industry peers/colleagues. Also, you will commonly find a tailored cover letter is even more important than the résumé. Although with one-click-apply job sites this need will inevitably change in the next few years.