Resume committee helps job-seekers find the right words

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MCT) - Larry Petralia didn't sugarcoat it. "You," he advised Pamela Crader, "have a formatting problem."

Crader took the criticism in stride. In terms of negativity, the appraisal of her resume was hardly the worst thing she's heard recently. That would be the day the college business instructor learned she was losing her job.

Which, in a roundabout way, is how her resume wound up in the hands of Petralia and the committee anointed by Businesspersons Between Jobs to review and improve the summation of members' educational and employment histories.

The networking organization has seen its membership increase fourfold since the start of the year. And BBJ members view an appointment to its resume committee as a ticket out of unemployment.

Tenure on the committee, according to BBJ lore passed on to Petralia, is normally measured in months if not weeks. That's a good thing. It means people are getting hired.

"Every time someone leaves they pass the torch to someone else," said Petralia.

Truth is, Petralia didn't have much expertise in the art of the resume until he volunteered for the committee after taking an early retirement from Anheuser-Busch.

Now, along with others on the committee, he scrutinizes 10 or more resumes a week for their authors. He still doesn't consider himself an expert. But he now has a pretty good idea about what works, what doesn't and what's worth borrowing for his own resume.

Make that resumes.

"You have to adapt," said Petralia, who has several variations of his resume, each tailored to job specifications, stored on his computer. "I've changed my resume seven times since the beginning of the year."

Like tastes in music or art, the preferences of each committee member are brought to the discussion. Warren Clarke, a laid-off architect hoping to move into teaching, is invigorated (to name just one) by "those power verbs."

Petralia is big on clean copy.

"Too much bold, too many lines, forget about it," he said.

Whenever possible, the resume committee turns to Carol Tilley for advice.

Tilley owns a leadership and organizational development firm, C.J. Tilley and Associates of Chesterfield, Mo. She brings a wealth of senior management experience to her volunteer work with the committee.

In the past, she's read hundreds and hundreds of resumes. But now, she says, the eyes no longer have it.

Instead, resumes in the 21st century are generally fed into scanners programmed to identify the key words _ EXCEL, for example if you're seeking a job in the software field _ that can automatically match an applicant with a job.

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She studied Crader's resume, complimenting its length at a single page. Two pages, Tilley said, is still acceptable. Three pages, not so much.

Crader lost points because a faulty printer streaked the resume with ink.

Beyond that, Tilley advised, "You need more white space; it has to be appealing to the eye."

Finally, Crader said, the resume should be a place to brag.

"It should not be a list of activities, it should be a summary of results or achievements," she said. "Make a nice paragraph explaining who you are and what you've done."

In the bottom third of the resume, Tilley spotted another red flag.

Under the boldface title "Additional Education," Crader noted the diploma she received from Jennings High School in 1969.

It may be a St. Louis thing, but _ unless your mortarboard tassel still dangles from the rearview mirror _ it's a biographical detail that doesn't belong on a resume.

"Fifteen, 20 years is about as far back as you need to go," Tilley suggested.

Critiqued and tweaked, Crader headed home to Fenton to shape up her resume.

But not before some parting advice: "I think you're a lot better than what this says," Tilley told her.

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© 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.