A historical resume is arranged in reverse chronological order. Let us examine each of the seven individual items in the historical resume in the order they normally appear in:
Name, Address, and Phone Numbers
Obviously, your name and address are extremely important items to include on your resume. I have actually received resumes that omitted this fundamental information perhaps in an attempt to create suspense in the reader or on the assumption that the reader has the cover letter at hand. Avoid such poor judgment and tell potential employers your name. Begin each new page with your name in case the pages become separated during review.
Unlike the other items, you do not need to give a heading to this item, but simply use the same highlighting technique used to mark the other six items. In our sample, the candidate has used boldface and uppercase letters to emphasize each separate section. Note also the judicious use of underlining to further focus the reader's attention.
If you have a nickname by which you are better known, you may wish to place it in parentheses after your given name. Also, if you have a doctoral degree, professional certification, or a distinguished fellowship, by all means, place the appropriate initials (for example, CPA, Ph.D., or FACHE) after your name. However, if you have an M.B.A. or B.S., save that information for the education section of your resume.
Always place your home address on the resume, unless you are working out of your office in an outplacement situation a rare occurrence. Generally, you would not want information related to your job search arriving at your office. However, since most contacts with candidates are made over the telephone at their place of business during normal working hours, it is very important for people to be able to reach you during business hours. If you are concerned about the confidentiality of your own search within your office, include the phrase "(to be used with discretion)" immediately below the business phone number. In addition, include your residence phone number. Be sure to use an answering service or have an answering machine to take your calls at home. The job search process is so difficult that you cannot risk being unavailable to someone who is trying to reach you.
Personal Information
Your resume can contain some personal information, if it is brief. In the sample resume of the hypothetical Richard J. Overachiever, the candidate has chosen not to include any personal information. An employer cannot legally discriminate against an individual on the basis of age, race, sex, color, national origin, or marital status. However, if you are married, you might want to go ahead and mention it, if you believe it will help convey a sense of stability. If you have children, give the number, but not their names or ages. Once I received a resume that not only gave the name and age of the applicant's child, but also little Johnny's most recent accomplishment potty training. That resume is a prize exhibit in my informal "Ripley's Believe It or Not of Resumes" a collection of negative examples I have gathered over the years. Don't let your resume become part of my collection!
Job Objectives
Your resume should not include a job objective. Job objectives are either so broad as to be meaningless, or so narrow as to keep you out of the running for a position that you might like to explore. Look at these four job objectives commonly seen on resumes. What do you think that they tell us?
- A meaningful position in hospital administration that allows me to exhibit my skills in strategic planning and marketing
- A position as chief nursing officer in a hospital
- A growth position in a managed care company
- An executive position in a health care environment
Education
The next item on the resume, in most cases, is "education." Someone in senior level management might place this section at the end of the resume, depending upon the individual's professional level. Because a historical resume chronicles your life in reverse order, begin with the highest degree earned; do not indicate the dates that school was attended, only the year in which the degree was conferred. If you have not yet completed your degree, however, show the dates attended and perhaps how far along you are. If you have no intentions of completing your degree, you can say something such as "studies in economics." If you have earned your CPA or passed the bar exam, note this fact in the educational section of your resume. Fellowships, such those sponsored by the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) or the Healthcare Financial Management Association (FHFMA), are usually indicated by placing the initials after your name and describing the fellowship in the "other" section of your resume. If you graduated with honors, include this information in the description of the degree. If you graduated with an M.H.A. and completed a residency, note the location of the residency in the work experience section of the resume. Omit your grade point average.
Experience
Now we reach the most important section of the resume "experience." Here you describe the jobs that you have held. Two errors are often made by many candidates in this section. The first common error is failing to describe specific responsibilities and accomplishments. Responsibilities and accomplishments are both important, so you should include them in your description of each job. Responsibilities tell the reader about the scope and breadth of the job. Examples of responsibilities you want to note include the number of FTEs supervised, the number of departments reporting to you, the total amount of the budget, and the names of committees on which you served. Accomplishments, on the other hand, demonstrate the scope and breadth of your abilities. Try to offer accomplishments more meaningful than "manning," and "coordinating," and "orchestrating." One concrete way to do so is by quantifying your accomplishments:
- Established a purchasing program that saved $50 million in the first three years
- Reduced accounts receivable from 95 to 75 days
- Processed successful CONs for $5 million in equipment
- Reduced FTEs from 5.4 to 4.5 per adjusted occupied bed
The second most common mistake is failing to clearly format employment history within a single organization. Indicate the dates of continuous employment with one organization on the left side and note the dates corresponding to each position within the organization immediately after the job description. You see that Richard J. Overachiever has been with Methodist Health Management since 1978, during which time he has held two different jobs. Listing the dates of different positions within one organization separately on the left hand side of the resume confuses the reader. If Richard places both sets of dates over on the left side, he gives the impression that he had two different employers within this one period, when really he moved up within the organization.
To save space and the reviewer's time, try to abbreviate the responsibilities and accomplishments for earlier positions. The further you go back in time, the more important it is to condense your responsibilities and accomplishments. The general rule: Condense heavily the descriptions of jobs held prior to the 10 year mark. People simply do not place as much emphasis on those responsibilities and accomplishments as they do on your current ones. Focus on the truly exceptional projects and tasks you have successfully handled.
Professional Affiliations
The next section, "professional affiliations," rounds out your resume's description of you. Professional affiliations demonstrate your active involvement in the health care profession. Do not, however, overload this section; proliferation of professional affiliations may cause the reader to conclude that the candidate spends more time attending meetings and dealing with outside entities than he or she does at work. The goal of this section is to show that you are active professionally, without causing the reader to question your credibility or your priorities.
First, list the national organizations, designating those in which you are a fellow or in which you have held a leadership position. Then, list any local community and civic organizations in which you participate, particularly if you are a hospital CEO. Be sure to indicate the leadership positions you have held.
Outside Interests
As a complement to your education, work experience, and professional affiliations, the next section, "outside interests," gives the reviewer additional information about your personality. I recommend listing active sports as outside interests. Hospital administrators and health care professionals commonly golf, fish, or play tennis recreationally; by listing these hobbies you provide an opportunity for breaking the ice during your interview. Also, active hobbies, such as sports, will be looked at more favorably than passive hobbies, such as reading or watching films. You should be careful if your outside interests might be considered outside the norm; you can't predict how a reviewer will react to them. For example, say a candidate indicates that he or she is a lepidopterist. How would a reader react to this information? I would predict that most people would not know what "lepidopterist" means, and upon being told that it refers to butterfly collecting, they would look at the candidate askance. Therefore, refrain from listing really offbeat outside interests. Also omit mentioning membership in organizations whose agendas are primarily religious or political.
References
The final section, "references," requires little space on your resume. Although you do want to line up your references in advance, by simply stating on your resume "References furnished upon request," you indicate that you are prepared to provide them. Your actual list of references should be supplied only after the potential employer asks for it, so do not submit the reference list with your resume but have it ready and current for the reviewer's request. Chapter 3 gives further instructions on how to choose references, how to compose the reference list, and how to check your own references.
Why, if you expend all the time and trouble to establish a strong reference list, do I discourage you from submitting the reference list with your resume? First, being a reference can be a time consuming inconvenience. You don't want potential employers to call your references unless you have a strong and serious interest in the job. Second, if you have supplied the person's name on your resume, some potential employers will ignore protocol and call the reference before ever contacting you. The procedure as I outline it allows you to exercise some control.
The resume and the reference list alike should be printed on good quality paper. Ideally, you should print your cover letter, resume, and reference list on the same kind of paper, using the same typeface. Use white, ivory, or light beige paper, although recently beige has fallen somewhat out of favor.
