How to Explain Redundancy in Your Resume

The story behind this post is pretty straightforward - while twittering, I came across the following tweet (the username of the poster has been withheld to protect their privacy):

“I was told not to put “Made redundant” on my CV. Recent interview said I was a job hopper (7 jobs, 5 redundancies). What should I do?”

Great question - so why don’t we explore that, considering that, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you were let go by your employer when the recession started.

First of all, it’s important to differentiate between being made redundant and getting fired. While a lot of people use these terms interchangeably, getting fired means losing your job for whatever reason, including poor company performance, bad relationship with your boss or spending too much time surfing the Internet instead of getting work done. In short, you can get fired for a whole bunch of reasons - and, very often, this terms carries fairly negative connotations.

Now, let’s contrast that with redundancy. A person is said to be made redundant when the company decides that the job this person is currently doing is no longer necessary. For example, if a business has a cell phone division which they decide to shut down, employees in this division could be made redundant.

The difference between the two terms is that redundancy occurs due to factors outside your control. If you were made redundant, then, by definition, you’re not responsible - with the economy in recession, companies are looking to concentrate on their core businesses and sell off or shut down the rest. In contrast, getting fired could happen due to many reasons - including poor work performance.

This means that you should neverbe embarrassed to mention redundancy on your CV! It’s a fact of life and it has happened to everyone - including the recruiter (in fact, I once read that the average employee has been made redundant 2.7 times during their professional career).

However, when you do mention redundancy on your CV, it is very important that you also specify the context in which it has occurred, and be prepared to talk about it during the interview. Were you part of an under-performing business unit that the company decided to pull the plug on, despite your best efforts? Or were you hired purely on a temporary basis to participate in the implementation of a project? To be sure, you may have some explaining to do - but it’s certainly nothing as major as you might expect.

In the end, keep in mind that being made redundant is not your fault - and that, in today’s economy, recruiters are used to dealing with candidates just like you. This doesn’t reflect badly on your resume - so long as you were actually made redundant, and not fired.

How Long Should Your Resume Be?

As a job hunter, you probably have quite a few things to say about yourself. You’ve worked here and there; you’ve done this and that; you’ve initiated that process and implemented that initiatve. The story of your professional life is a fascinating read detailing your incredible skills, abilities, knowledge and intelligence.

What a shame that the HR doesn’t care one bit for it…

The purpose of a resume is to give the employer a good idea of your relevant skills and qualifications. Note that I underlined the word “relevant” there. Not all characteristics will have bearing on whether or not you get hired - which is why, the longer your career history is, the more trimming and cutting you will have to do.

The reason is simple - with 16.4% Americans unemployed, HR departments are flooded with job applications. Your CV is just one of the hundreds - if not thousands - that the recruiters will have to screen before you even get to the interview phase.

And, painful though this may sound, this means that no one has time to read a 10-page CV describing your experience as a shop assistant 25 years ago.

When you customize your CV for a vacancy - and you must always do so, remember? - try to leave out any irrelevant bits of pieces. For example, if this is an HR position, no one cares that you once worked as an Accounting Assistant with a local bank. To be sure, it’s something you need to mention - but there’s certainly no need for you to go into detail about it, unless your accomplishments were truly exceptional.

Conversely, if you worked as an HR Intern at some point in your career, this is something that not only bears mentioning, but should also be discussed at length - including your specific job responsibilities, achievements and just about everything else.

Put simply, when the HR picks up your CV, you want to give them something that immediately grabs their attention and demonstrates that you’re a good candidate. And, since most recruiters will not look past Page 2 of your CV, this is exactly how long your resume should be.

Don’t waste precious space going on and on about irrelevant jobs and achievements - focus on what matters, and on what can get you hired.

How to Write a Good CV in 5 Simple Steps

It’s 3 in the afternoon, and after a grueling day of surfing job search engines, you’ve finally come across your dream vacancy. It matches your skills and experiences perfectly, and the salary is just slightly beyond your wildest dreams. In short, your dream job is there for the taking - if it wasn’t for your resume getting in the way.

A winning CV is really a work of art. It’s not something you can throw together in a manner of minutes and fire off to an unsuspecting employer. Good CVs take time, effort, and, most importantly skill. “You want your CV to look good and leave a fine impression with potential employers,” advises Martin Haworth, the author of “How to Land Your Dream Job“.

Which is why in this guide,  you’re going to discover how to write a good CV - in just 5 simple steps. Does it get any easier?

Step 1: Research the Vacancy
The worst thing you can ever do is send a generic CV. Always tailor your resume to the specific job requirements. If the job calls for exceptional leadership skills, highlight your leadership experience. “Stay with relevant terms appropriate for the position you’re applying for,” advises Martin. “Be wise with your words.”

Step 2: Brevity Beats Bloat
Your CV should not exceed two pages, unless you’re applying for a senior-level position where the HR actually has a good reason to thoroughly research your resume. Most resumes that are over one page long don’t get read past the first page - so be consise whenever you can. Rule of the thumb is to put your work experience on the first page, and education and hobbies on the second.

Step 3: Expensive Paper
If you can afford to, invest into expensive paper, whether glossy or extra-thick. It looks impressive and immediately separates your CV from the rest of the pile.

Step 4: Be Positive
Do not downrate your achievements. If you had 5 people reporting to you at your previous job, don’t state that you “only” had 5 direct subordinates; instead, write that you successfully managed a diverse team of 5 people and led them towards demonstrated results. HR is always on the lookout for things that can sink your application - so why give them extra ammo?

Step 5: Use Buzz Words in Moderation
Buzz words are great because they indicate insider knowledge of the industry and make you look like an expert. But go too heavy on them, and you end up confusing the recruiter. Always keep in mind that the person who first reads  your CV may be an intern with the HR office and doesn’t know the first thing about industry buzz words and technical lingo. So keep your CV readable for all audiences - even interns.