I have seen thousands of resumes pass my desk since I started my business 20+ years ago. Some impress me and compel me to pick up the phone and give that person a call. Others depress me, because I know they can do better.
In today’s world, where technology consumes everything we do, texting has become what many people think is a standard and acceptable way of communicating. It is NOT!
Texting is an art in itself and has developed its own language based on abbreviations and acronyms. This platform has a rightful place, but not when managing your career. During a job search, texting should never be used to deliver a message to somebody who could influence your hiring.
Certain abbreviations and acronyms, however, should be sprinkled throughout your resume, along with the long forms of those terms. Including these keywords will elevate your chances of having the human eye or the ATS scanning machinery pick up your story.
I encourage you to use each technical or industry term or acronym at least once within the body of the resume. Always include the long form unless space is an issue. On all counts, steer clear of the acronyms and abbreviations used in texting and social media (e.g., LOL, TTYL, ROFL).
Social media, especially Twitter where each character counts, has also contributed to thinking it is acceptable today to shorten every written word. As a resume writer, I can tell you that if you misuse the English language this way, you will pay a price with limited opportunities to advance your candidacy to the interview stage.
Texting is great for sending a quick message to friends, family or colleagues, but it is not the way to build a new relationship or convey important information about your job search. When you’ve turned your focus to managing your career, that’s your signal to banish texting and its lingo.
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