The devil is in the detail for effective résumés, or is it?

Is the tiny detail in résumé important?

I will get to the answer quickly. Yes and No. On the whole I would stress that detail does matter, but detail, or rather perfection can get in the way of the more important areas that you need to focus on. Let me explain further:

Yes, detail matters:

• It matters that your résumé is free from spelling and grammatical errors.
• It matters that your résumé is presented in a highly professional fashion with consideration paid to details such as headings, formatting and layout.
• It matters that detailed content is focussed on exactly what you offer employers, or the personal brand that you are trying to convey.
• It really matters that you make those detailed and exacting changes to mirror the needs of each and every employer (or job) that you apply for.

As they say, the ‘devil is in the detail’.

BUT, don’t ever use this need for detail to procrastinate, put off applying for jobs as you have not quite perfected your document, or dance around in circles, as you place too much emphasis on the ‘small stuff’.

No, detail does not matter:

• When it comes to font, unless using some unreadable font such as Apple Chancery, Bernard MT Condensed, or Herculanum, or the employer has mandated a font to use, this detail does not matter. So long as the font is readable, (the important factor) and does not look like it comes out of a middle age script book, then you will fine. This sort of detail is not going to help you. Focus instead on the detail that is going to help you, such as focussing on your achievements and putting your experience into context for the employer. If a recruiter, or employer eliminates you on the basis that you used Georgia and they prefer Arial, even though you are a perfect fit for the job (which by the way is unlikely to happen if you are a strong and compelling candidate), well they deserve to employ idiots and do you really want to work for this type of employer?

• Detail does not matter when it comes to sweating over each and every word in your résumé. Power words do count, (don’t get me wrong), but so long as the general content and overall story conveyed is strong, does it really matter whether you use the word, facilitated, spearheaded or drove to describe an action? If you are constantly tinkling and changing words on what is fundamentally a strong résumé, then this attention to detail is a distraction and removing you from the tasks that are going to have a bigger impact on your job search success (such as networking or researching opportunities).

• If you find yourself getting in a pickle over résumé length and spending hours refining and honing your résumé to meet some ‘gold standard length’ for your résumé – then stop worrying about this detail. Unless the employer has a mandated length – if your résumé happens to spill over to a 3^rd, or even 4^th page, don’t sweat this detail.

As I constantly say to clients in Australia, there is no right or wrong length, just the right or wrong content.

Yes detail does matter, but don’t use the excuse of detail (or rather perfection) stop you from the key job search tasks that make the most impact. Sometimes perfection is just another word for procrastination, or fear of rejection. Instead of sweating over the font, or each and every word, just make sure you get a compelling résumé together and more importantly get that résumé in front of the right decision maker.