Operations Management

Rsum Benchmarking Survey:

Rsum Structure and
Organization

by Gary Capone, president,

Palladian International LLC.,
in partnership with
APICS The Association for
president,
Operations Management

by Gary Capone,
Palladian International LLC.,
in collaboration with
APICS The Association for
Operations Management

Rsum Structure
and Organization

Contents
About the Author 2
Executive Summary 3
Methodology 4
Rsum Structure 5
Format 5
Length 7
Number of Sections

Rsum Section Titles

11

Rsum Structure Recommendations

12

Summary Section 13
Objectives 15
Length of the Summary Section

17

Skills 18
Summary Section Recommendations

20

First Line 21
First Word 23
First Line Recommendations

24

Mistakes to Avoid 25
Best Practices 27

Palladian | APICS

About the author

About the author

Gary W. Capone, president of Palladian International, LLC, a career coaching
firm in Waynesboro, Virginia that offers rsum assessment, rsum writing, and
interview coaching services. He has authored two books:

Rsum Writing for Manufacturing Careers

Power Up Your Job Search: A Modern Approach to Interview Preparation

Mr. Capone is a graduate of the Management and Technology Program at the

University of Pennsylvania, where he concurrently earned a Bachelor of Science
in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the
Wharton School of Business. Mr. Capone has experience in manufacturing,
distribution, accounting, finance, recruiting, and human resources, gained from
positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Newell Rubbermaid, Kforce, Raymond
James, and Target Corporation.
In 2006, he joined the board of directors of the Blue Ridge Chapter of APICS
and in 2009 was elected Chapter President. Mr. Capone spoke at the 2009 and
2010 APICS International Conferences. In 2010, he became the career coach for
APICSs Ask the Coach in the APICS Career Center at apicscareercenter.org.

Palladian | APICS

Executive Summary

The Operations Management Rsum Benchmarking Survey was conducted to

provide a detailed analysis of rsums used in operations management careers. The
survey is intended to help operations management job seekers understand their
competition and avoid common mistakes. The benchmarking survey will also present
best practices on how to design an effective rsum for the operations management
field.
This whitepaper is the first in a series that will present the benchmarking findings.
It deals with issues related to rsum structure. This includes the type of structure,
the sections the job seeker uses to organize their rsum, and how job seekers
should start their rsum. Later whitepapers will focus on specific sections and other
aspects of the rsum.

Palladian | APICS

Methodology

To conduct the Operations Management Rsum Benchmarking Survey, four hundred

rsum documents from active Operations Management job seekers were obtained.
Each document was assessed in detail, and the results of the assessments were
compiled.
In reviewing the four hundred documents, it was found that eleven were not rsums.
These documents contained supporting information a job seeker might submit for
a job, but could not be considered rsums on their own. For example, several job
seekers submitted references letters instead of a rsum. Because these documents
were not rsums, they were discarded from the analysis, and the remaining 389
rsums were benchmarked.
The benchmarking process focused on objective, quantitative measures, where
possible. Quantifying the attributes of rsums is a challenge. The style and content
of rsums vary significantly. There are no hard and fast rules job seekers must abide
by in rsum writing. Ultimately, a rsum is a personal document of each job seeker.
This makes it challenging to categorize rsums.
One example of the challenge of categorizing rsums was in determining the
structure. The three most common structures for a rsum are chronological,
functional, and a hybrid of the two styles. Determining which category a rsum falls
into is usually easy. Most rsums have chronological formats and clearly fit this
category. There were a number of rsums that fell in between the categories and
were not easily categorized. To ensure a consistent approach to categorizing the
rsums, the same reviewer assessed each rsum.

Palladian | APICS

Rsum Structure

When examining the structure of the resumes, there are several factors that
influence the overall effectiveness of the rsum. The choice of format type, length
of the rsum, number of sections in the rsum and the use of a summary section,
are all important details. Each of these was examined and is detailed in this report.

Format
There are a number of format types for rsums. In operations management, there
are three primary format types: chronological, functional and a hybrid of the two.
Industries outside of operations management utilize other formats. For example,
rsums for government opportunities have a vastly different style and require
significantly different information to be included. Rsums for academic roles
are typically in a curriculum vitae (CV) format that also differs from operations
management rsums.
Each format offers advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right format will
influence the overall effectiveness of your rsum. In operations management, a
chronological format is the most common and usually the most effective.
Chronological: Organized around the work experience section. This section
presents jobs in reverse chronological order, with the most recent job first.
Each listing in the work experience section will include the company name, job
title, dates of employment, a description of the scope of responsibility, and
noteworthy accomplishments and experiences.
Functional: Organized around the skills of the job seeker. Skills are presented
with a description of the job seekers experience and accomplishments with
each skill. The work experience of the job seeker is presented throughout
the various functional sections. This breaks the experience up, rather than
grouping it by job. The functional resume then has a career history section
providing a list of employers, job titles and dates, with little to no additional
information in this section.
Hybrid: A hybrid rsum will have a large functional section detailing the
job seekers experience with key skills, and a work experience section that
includes details of each position. This format combines attributes of both the
chronological and functional rsum.
In the benchmarking survey, we expected most rsums to have a chronological
format. This was found to be the case, with 89.5 percent of rsums in a
chronological format. Hybrid rsums accounted for 6.2 percent of the rsums,
and functional rsums accounted for 3.3 percent. There were three rsums in the
sample that had a CV format, and one rsum that defied classification and could
only be listed as non-standard.
Palladian | APICS

Rsum Structure
percent. There were three rsums in the sample that had a CV format, and one rsum that
defied classification and could only be listed as non-standard.

Rsumformat
format type
type
Rsums
Chronological
Chronological

0.3%

Hybrid
Hybrid

0.8%
3.3%
6.2%

Functional
Functional
89.5%

CV
CV
Non-standard
Non-Standard

The chronological format is very effective in an operations management career. This

is a good a choice. The hybrid format can also be effective, and there were several
examples of very well-designed and effective hybrid rsums. The functional format
poses some challenges in operations management.

The chronological format is very effective in an operations management career. This is a good a
choice. The hybrid
format
can also be
effective,will
andtypically
there were
examples
of very wellOperations
management
professionals
rely onseveral
experience
and
designed and accomplishments
effective hybridasrsums.
Thejustification
functionalfor
format
some
their primary
being poses
hired. The
skillschallenges
a job seekerin
possesses are important, but are usually secondary to the experience of the job
operations management.
seeker. Hiring managers need to know where you used your skills, how you used them
and what results
you achieved.will
By typically
separatingrely
the on
discussion
of skills
from
the job
Operations management
professionals
experience
and
accomplishments
as
where the skills were used, it becomes very difficult to provide a context for the skills.

their primary justification for being hired. The skills a job seeker possesses are important, but
are usually secondary
to thewhere
experience
of the
job seeker.
Hiring managers
needarise
to know where
There are cases
a functional
rsum
can be effective.
These situations
you used yourwhen
skills,
you used
them
and what
results
achieved.
By
separating
thehow
job seekers
skills
are more
significant
thanyou
their
experience.
This
typically the
occursfrom
with recent
graduates
who
dontused,
have much
experience
with to provide a
discussion of skills
the jobcollege
where
the skills
were
it becomes
veryand
difficult
individuals
making
a
complete
career
change
where
their
experience
provides
little
context for the skills.
value to the new career. There are also times when very senior executives can utilize
a functional
effectively.
There are cases
where arsum
functional
rsum can be effective. These situations arise when the

job seekers skills are more significant than their experience. This typically occurs with recent
The chronological format is by far the most common. Hiring managers will recognize
college graduates
who dont
have
experience
andtowith
individuals
making
a complete
the structure
easily
and much
it is a very
effective way
organize
a rsum.
This should
be
career changethe
where
experience
provides
little value
to the newAscareer.
There the
are also
choicetheir
of almost
all operations
management
professionals.
an alternative,
hybrid
format
can also becan
effective
operations
management
professional.
times when very
senior
executives
utilizefora an
functional
rsum
effectively.
The chronological format is by far the most common. Hiring managers will recognize the
structure easily and it is a very effective way to organize a rsum. This should be the choice of
almost all operations management professionals. As an alternative, the hybrid format can also
be effective for an operations management professional.
Palladian | APICS

Rsum Structure

Length
In a prior APICS whitepaper, we looked at rsum length and discussed how the
length of a rsum will influence its effectiveness. Rsums that are too short will not
have enough detail to sell the job seeker. Rsums that are too long are unlikely to be
read completely, leading the reader to skip large blocks of text. The best option is to
design a rsum in the middle of the range with 400-900 words.
In this benchmarking survey we revisited rsum length, and the results were similar.
Even though the rsums studied in the previous whitepaper were completely
different than the rsums studied in this survey, the average rsum was almost
identical: 753 words versus 748 words. With a larger sample in this survey, we did see
a higher maximum and lower minimum, but other than that, the results were similar.
Results:
Minimum: 149
Maximum:

3,271

Average: 748
Standard Deviation:

330

60 percent of the rsums fell between 445 and 925 words, with 15 percent
below 445 and 25 percent above 925 words.
Conclusion: An effective length of a rsum is between 400 and 900 words.
Note: Refer to the APICS whitepaper Rsum Formatting Best Practices for more
information on selecting the appropriate rsum length.

Palladian | APICS

Rsum Structure

Number of Sections
Number of Sections
A critical element in the design of a rsum is the divisions and organization of
information. The sections of the rsum provide the organizational structure,
A critical element
in the
of atorsum
is the
divisions
and
organization
information. The
allowing
thedesign
reader
quickly
identify
and
focus
on the of
information
most important
sections of the rsum provide the organizational structure, allowing the reader to quickly
to them. They also provide a signal as what is most important to you. How you
identify and focus on the information most important to them. They also provide a signal as what
organize your rsum into sections will play a significant role in determining the
is most important to you. How you organize your rsum into sections will play a significant role
effectiveness
of your
rsum.
in determining
the effectiveness
of your
rsum.
The typical rsum had three to six sections, although there were rsums with as few as one
The typical rsum had three to six sections, although there were rsums with as
and as high as 14 sections.

few as one and as high as 14 sections.

setup 5/4/11 3:00 PM

Number of rsum sections

Comment: Number of Resumes should be

Number of rsums (with accents, lowercas
"r")

140

Number
Number of
of Resumes
rsums

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
-20

10

12

14

16

The most common rsum sections were work experience and education. Every

The most common rsum sections were work experience and education. Every rsum in the
rsum in the study had at least one section with work experience information.
study had at least one section with work experience information. Almost all of the rsums had
Almost
allbut
of there
the rsums
education
section,
thereiswere
a few that
an education
section,
were a fewhad
thatan
omitted
this. Despite
this, but
education
a
omitted
education
is aarequired
element
every rsum. Its
required element
for this.
everyDespite
rsum. this,
Its difficult
to imagine
hiring manager
who for
is not
imagine background
a hiring manager
who
is not
the educational
concerneddifficult
about theto
educational
of potential
hires,
and concerned
in operationsabout
management,
education background
will be of interest
every job hires,
search.and in operations management, education will be of
of in
potential

interest in every job search.

After these two sections, the next most common type of section was an introductory section.
These sections included information summarizing the job seekers background, listing key skills
After these
twothesections,
next
most common
type of
section
was329
an introductory
of the job seeker,
providing
objective the
of the
job seeker
or a combination
of these
details.
of the rsums
in theThese
sample,
or 85 percent,
had some
type of introductory
section.
these,
75
section.
sections
included
information
summarizing
theOfjob
seekers
percent focused
on summarizing
or skills
the job providing
seeker, andthe
25 percent
background,
listing the
keyexperience
skills of the
job of
seeker,
objective of the job
focused on the objective of the job seeker.

seeker or a combination of these details. 329 of the rsums in the sample, or 85

percent,
hadsection
someon
type
of introductory
section.
75 percent
The next most
common
the rsums
was a skills
section, Of
withthese,
48 percent
of the focused on
rsums including
this section.
The skills sections
oftenofcomprised
of a list ofand
buzzwords.
summarizing
the experience
or skills
the job seeker,
25 percent focused on the
objective of the job seeker.
10

The next most common section on the rsums was a skills section, with 48 percent
of the rsums including this section. The skills sections often comprised of a list of
buzzwords. Buzzwords can be useful for rsums posted online, as they can help a
rsum show up in database searches. Interestingly, many job seekers placed this

Palladian | APICS

Rsum Structure

section at or near the top of their rsum. For job seekers that qualified their skill
level, this was an effective presentation. For the job seekers who just listed a bunch
of skills, it was not. Anyone can type project management, lean/six sigma, and
budget management on the top of a rsum. Doing so will not set a person apart.
A better tactic would be to provide the list of skills at the end of the resume, where
it doesnt get in the way of the more important details. Even better, qualifying these
skills can make them much more effective. For example, instead of listing Inventory
Management, provide a bullet point such as:
Inventory Management: Implemented a new inventory tracking system that
improved inventory accuracy from 45% to 95% on over $10 million of raw
material and finished goods inventory.
This qualified bullet point drives home an expertise level with inventory management
than can never be conveyed by just listing the keyword.
After the four primary sectionswork experience, education, introduction, and skills
the variability increases dramatically. Job seekers in the survey included sections
with the following information
AffiliationsGroups and organizations where the job seeker is a member
(91 rsums23 percent).
CertificationsList of licenses and certifications the job seeker possesses
(69 rsums18 percent).
TrainingProfessional development activities listed separately from
education (53 rsums14 percent).
AccomplishmentsList of major accomplishments from the job seekers
career (26 rsums7 percent).
ReferencesList of references or a statement of available upon request
(21 rsums5 percent).
AwardsList of awards received (16 rsums4 percent).
ProjectsList of major projects the job seeker completed
(15 rsums4 percent).

Palladian | APICS

Rsum Structure

LanguagesForeign language skills (15 rsums4 percent).

Military Experience or security clearance (7 rsums2 percent).
PublicationsList of publications the job seeker authored
(6 rsums2 percent).
Note that this list of sections is not detailing the total number of rsums including
each type of information, but is showing how many rsums included a dedicated
section for the information. For example, the vast majority of rsums included
projects the job seeker had completed, but only 15 rsums had a dedicated
projects section. Other rsums included projects within other sections.
In addition to this list, there were 117 sections that fell in the miscellaneous
category. These included leadership experience, personal details, hobbies, interests,
community service, teaching experience, public speaking experience, and a wide
range of other topics. Most of the information in these sections was non-careerrelated, and of little value.

Palladian | APICS

10

Rsum Structure

Rsum Section Titles

To help job seekers develop ideas for titles for sections, all of the section titles that
appeared on at least two rsums are listed below. Titles were not changed in any
way, so a singular title such as Certification is listed separately from the plural
Certifications. Also, note that many of these section titles are not recommended
for rsums. Sections such as hobbies are unlikely to be beneficial on a rsum.
Although a number of job seekers list personal details, these details do not help
demonstrate the suitability of the job seeker for an operations management job.
Section titles and number of rsums using this title:
Education 255
Professional experience

147
Experience


95
Objective 71
Summary 56
No title 32
Work experience


32
Summary of qualifications
29
Skills 28
Certifications 24
References


21
Computer skills 19
Profile 18
Technical skills 17
Employment history 16
Career summary 15
Professional affiliations
14
Languages 13
Areas of expertise

12
Professional summary
12
Activities 11
Career objective 10
Core competencies 10
Professional memberships
10
Employment 9
Professional development
9
Additional 8
Certification 8
Education and professional development 8
Professional certifications
8
Professional profile 8
Relevant experience

8
Accomplishments 7
Career history 7
Education and certification
7
Education and certifications
7
Memberships 7
Professional associations
7
Awards 6
Education and professional development 6
Education and training
6
Other 6
Training 6
Affiliations 5
Organizations 5
Professional background
5

Professional organizations
5
Selected accomplishments
5
Skills summary 5
Supply chain management
5
Academic projects 4
Business experience

4
Education and certifications
4
Executive summary

4
Expertise


4
IT skills 4
Membership 4
Other experience

4
Professional skills 4
Professional training 4
Projects 4
Summary of experience

4
Work history 4
Additional experience

3
Additional information
3
Additional training 3
Associations 3
Career experience

3
Career highlights 3
Community service 3
Computer knowledge
3
Education or certifications
3
Education or training
3
Educational background
3
Honors 3
Honors and awards
3
Interests 3
Key qualifications

3
Operations management experience
3
Personal information
3
Professional history 3
Professional qualifications
3
Professional work experience
3
Profile summary 3
Qualification summary
3
Qualifications 3
Security clearance 3
Supply chain professional
3
Academic and professional credentials 2
Achievements 2
Additional professional experience
2
Additional skills 2

Awards and recognitions

2
Background summary

2
Career achievements
2
Career profile 2
Education and professional training
2
Education and affiliations
2
Education and certification
2
Education and credentials
2
Education background
2
Executive profile


2
Experience and achievements
2
Formal education 2
Global supply chain executive
2
Highlights of qualifications
2
Honors and activities
2
Honors and awards
2
Job history


2
Job objective


2
Military service 2
Other skills 2
Patents 2
Personal details 2
Personal interests 2
Previous experience

2
Professional 2
Professional affiliations and certifications 2
Professional association
2
Professional certification
2
Professional competencies
2
Professional membership
2
Professional overview
2
Publications 2
Related experience

2
Relevant coursework

2
Relevant experience and skills
2
Skills and abilities
2
Software skills 2
Specialized skills 2
Strengths 2
Summary experience

2
Supply chain executive

2
Technology analyst 2
Training and certifications
2

Palladian | APICS

11

Rsum Structure

Rsum Structure Recommendations

Use a chronological or hybrid structure. This is the most common and most
effective in operations management.
Start with an introductory section, and make sure you list work experience
and education sections. After those, include sections for skills, certifications,
accomplishments, or projects. You can also include dedicated sections for
key skills that you want to highlight, such as languages.
When prioritizing your sections, lead with your best selling points. For most
job seekers in operations management, this means starting with a summary
section, followed by work experience, with education and other skills later.
Dont go overboard with sections. Most rsums should have four to six
sections.

Palladian | APICS

12

summary section

A summary section is a great way to start a resume, and most job seekers in
operations management include a summary section. 85% of the resumes surveyed
included an introductory section. Of these, 75% were a summary of the job seekers
background, and 25% were an objective statement.
A summary section gives the reader a quick snapshot of who you are, and it allows
you to make the first impression you want. Without a summary section, the reader
will work to categorize you based on a quick scan of your resume. This categorization
is essential for the hiring manager to determine which job the resume matches. By
leading off with a summary statement that brands the job seeker, you can help the
reader conclude you are a fit for the job you are seeking, and move them to the next
step in the evaluationensuring you are a strong enough candidate.
A summary section can do something else important for you. It will allow you to
highlight your most noteworthy and impressive skills and accomplishments. This is
very important if you want to create a strong sales pitch. The average rsum is 750
words, and most rsums are read for only 30 seconds before being rejected. In 30
seconds, the average person can read around 100 words. Thats less than 15 percent
of the rsum. Hiring managers tend to skip around when reading a rsum, and
look for the information that is most important. If you do not help them find the most
important information, they are likely to read lower priority details, and may focus
on details from your background that are not particularly important. This can cause
the reader to skip the most important details. If this happens, your odds of moving on
drop dramatically.
By creating a summary section, you can tailor the message you want to get across
and put all the most important details in one place. This is an excellent strategy.
Although many of the rsums had a summary section, most had little information
that was valuable and impressive. Instead, the rsum provided a list of past
experience and background information in the summary section. Little was
presented to qualify these experiences or to show any past successes. One of the
most important and impressive elements you can include in your rsum is past
achievement. Accomplishments show how you contributed in your past roles. Without
accomplishments, a job seeker appears to be a bottom performer; someone who did
the minimum needed to get by but never added any real value. This obviously does
not make a strong case for hiring the job seeker.

Palladian | APICS

13

summary section

setup 5/4/11 3:00 PM

Rsums with accomplishments in the

summary section

Comment: Number of Resumes sh

Number of rsums (with accents, lo
"r")

Number
Resumes
Number
of of
rsums

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1

Number of accomplishments

the rsums
surveyed,
only nine
percent
included
at least
one quantified
In theInrsums
surveyed,
only nine percent
included
at least
one quantified
accomplishment
in
accomplishment
in
the
summary
section.
To
be
considered
a
quantified
the summary section. To be considered a quantified accomplishment, the accomplishment
accomplishment,
the accomplishment
needed
to include
description
of what the
needed
to include a description
of what the job seeker
improved
and howamuch
they improved
it. Below
a fewimproved
examples of
accomplishments
fromimproved
the rsums
job are
seeker
and
how much they
it.surveyed:
Below are a few examples of

accomplishments
from the rsums surveyed:
Drove a continuous improvement program, increasing efficiencies by 35 percent over a
two-year period.
Droveaanew
continuous
improvement
program,
increasing
efficiencies
Implemented
material requirements
planning
(MRP) system
leading
to over $1.5by 35
million in
inventory
reduction.
percent
over
a two-year period.
Improved process yields, reducing material usage by 25 percent.
Designed
and implemented
a process
for rejected
material planning
processing,(MRP)
leadingsystem
to lowerleading to
Implemented
a new
material
requirements
scrap write-offs and a 95 percent reduction in inventory variances.
over $1.5 million in inventory reduction.
Improved delivery performance from 65 percent to 100 percent using value stream
mapping.

Improved process yields, reducing material usage by 25 percent.

These accomplishments are a good start, but most of them could be more specific and
impressive. Each tells only part of the story. To maximize the effectiveness, the
Designed and implemented a process for rejected material processing,
accomplishments need to show your role, what you did, the results you achieved, and the time
leading to lower scrap write-offs and a 95 percent reduction in inventory
frame over which the results occurred. Most of the accomplishments found in the survey did not
variances.
do this. For example,
one job seeker included a statement that they had delivered over $100
million in cost reductions. This accomplishment was likely a lifetime total generated over the job
seekers career.
It was interesting,
difficult to assess.
How
the job seeker
this
Improved
deliverybutperformance
from
65did
percent
to 100achieve
percent
using value
and how did hestream
arrive atmapping.
this figure? Although its a huge number, its not specific enough.

These accomplishments are a good start, but most of them could be more specific
and impressive. Each tells only part of the story. To maximize the effectiveness, the
accomplishments need to show your role, what you did, the results you achieved, and
the time frame over which the results occurred. Most of the accomplishments found
in the survey did not do this. For example, one job seeker included a statement that
16 was
they had delivered over $100 million in cost reductions. This accomplishment
likely a lifetime total generated over the job seekers career. It was interesting, but
difficult to assess. How did the job seeker achieve this and how did he arrive at this
figure? Although its a huge number, its not specific enough.

Palladian | APICS

14

summary section

Objectives
An objective statement is designed to convey to the hiring manager the job seekers
goals. It is essential to convey the job you are seeking. A hiring manager needs to
know what position to consider you for. Their interests in your goals, at least during
the rsum screening process, end there. Other details of the job seekers goals are
of little value to the reader. Later in the hiring process, the hiring manager is likely
to want to understand the goals of the job seeker in detail, but this is after they have
determined that the job seeker is a fit for the role.
Nearly a quarter of the rsums provided an objective statement. The typical
objective statement was 23 words long, although some were much longer. The
longest was 168 words and provided in great detail the type of job, working
conditions, career potential, and corporate culture the job seeker wanted. Nothing in
the 168-word section gave a reason to hire the job seeker. This is typical of objective
statements. They focus on what the job seeker wants, not what the hiring manager wants.
A rsum is essentially an advertisement for a job seeker. Imagine if advertising
companies included objective statements in their commercials: Seeking car buyers
who want to pay the sticker price, with good credit, a high sense of urgency to buy
now, and a desire to be a repeat customer every two years. Is that going to get you
to head into the showroom? Of course not, and an objective statement is no different.
If you are not sure, read a few of the objective statements from the rsums.
Remember, these statements were the first thing listed on the rsum. After reading
each, which candidates do you want to learn more about? Below are examples of
objective statements from operations management rsums:
A senior-level position directing transportation and distribution
operations, reducing costs, integrating operations, and improving
customer service.
Actively seeking the position of master scheduler, which would help
utilize my experience of planning and control skills in improving the
productivity and supply chain of the company.
Advance a global organization in meeting goals and shareholder
expectations in an increasingly complex and volatile economic
environment.
Ambitious, dedicated senior engineering manager with technical and
managerial expertise seeks director position requiring these attributes to
lead optimization of company processes and systems through continuous
improvement and innovative problem solving.

Palladian | APICS

15

summary section

An active role in operations using my business skills.

An entry-level career position in engineering, engineering sales,
manufacturing, or similar.
Assist in streamlining business processes by working in supply chain.
Team player who functions well with minimal supervision. Effective
communicator, initiator, self-motivated, and action oriented.
Be reliable to receive growing responsibilities by performing effectively
and efficiently, challenging and valuable assignments related to supply or
materials management.
Career advancement opportunity that will utilize my knowledge
and experience in the fields of logistics, warehouse and inventory
management, production planning, purchasing, and customer service.
Career position with a company where I can make a difference. Out-ofthe-box type thinking. Open to new avenues.
I have extensive experience in manufacturing management, purchasing
management, inventory management, material planning, and sales and
product development.
Continued growth for a supply chain professional with more than 15 years
on-the-job experience, along with APICS CPIM or CSCP designation.
Enhance the companys operations through cost reduction, process
optimization, shortening product introduction time, and improving
internal and external customer satisfaction by utilizing process
improvement, project management, team leadership, and customer
support skills.
Expand my knowledge and experience of supply chain management in a
constant learning environment while working for a stable company with a
good reputation.
Highly driven, dedicated, and well-rounded professional looking to obtain
a position in supply chain management that offers opportunity for career
advancement.
I am seeking a job to improve my personal skills, put me in a good
position to acquire more experience, have challenging career opportunity
in a good corporation, and prove myself in logistics and supply chain
management with new methodology in this field.

Palladian | APICS

16

summary section

I am seeking a position with potential for growth in a team-friendly

environment where I have the opportunity to connect people together
from all over the world.
I am seeking a supply chain management role within a best practice
organization.
I would like to obtain the opportunity for challenge, professional growth,
leadership and career advancement.
I hope it is clear that the typical objective statement does little to nothing to sell the
job seekers. Despite this, the objectives do have an important goal. They attempt to
convey quickly, at the start of the rsum, the career field the job seeker is pursuing.
This is important to convey. The first reader of your rsum will first try to figure out
how to assess you. Most rsums go to a person in HR first, and this person is likely
recruiting for numerous positions in different fields. Their first task is to figure out
what job to assess your rsum for.
There is an easier and more effective way of conveying your career field goal. You
can provide a title to your rsum. 18 percent of the rsums in the survey did just
this. The first section of the rsum had a title that was a keyword indicating the
career field of the job seeker. For example, five of the rsums titled the summary
section of their rsum Supply Chain Management. This technique is very effective.

Length of the Summary Section

The length of the summary section varied widely. Some people put a short sentence
providing a summary of their experience. Others included incredible detail in their
summary including skills, experience and accomplishments.
Average summary section

94 words

Minimum summary section

6 words

Maximum summary section

552 words

Standard deviation

70 words

In addition to word count, the summary sections varied from less than 1 percent of
the words in the rsum to nearly 50 percent:
Average summary section

12.7 percent

Palladian | APICS

17

summary section

Minimum summary section

0.7 percent

Maximum summary section

49.7 percent

The averages, in both words and percentages, are a good guideline to follow. A
summary section that is 10 percent to 20 percent of a typical rsum can contain
enough information to make a strong sales pitch for the job seeker, without being so
long that it gets skipped over.

Skills
Almost every summary section included some statement of the skills of the job
seeker. Including key skills at the top of your rsum is a great tactic. In operations
management, as with most careers, there will be a few skills that are essential,
nonnegotiable requirements for the position. There are likely to be a few other skills
that are highly preferred by the hiring manager. Together, these skills will be used to
differentiate candidates and weed out weaker rsums.
To be effective, you need to demonstrate your skill with all of the requirements and
most, if not all, of the highly preferred skills. A good first step is letting the reader
know at the top of the rsum that you possess the skills.
The number of skills included in the first line of the rsum and in the summary
section, were examined. Below are the results:
Skills in the first line Skills in the summary section
Average

4.5

19.1

Minimum

Maximum

26

62

There are three ways to list skills at the top of the rsum.
Incorporated naturally: You can include a few skills that you want to
highlight, and incorporate these into the text of your summary statement.
Example:
Successful supply chain manager with twenty years of experience
leading logistics operations.
Qualified list: You can provide a few keywords in a bulleted list with each
keyword qualified with your experience.

Palladian | APICS

18

summary section

Example:
Leadership: Twenty years of experience leading supply chain
operations. Holds the APICS CSCP designation.
Logistics: Experienced logistics manager with a track record of
cutting costs. Reduced transportation costs in 2010 by $400,000
by implementing an improved backhaul strategy.
Keyword dump: You can list, in sentences or in a bulleted list, as many keywords
as you can.
Example:
Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Lean/Six Sigma,
Supplier Relationship Management, Capital Equipment
Acquisition, Inventory Control, Strategic Sourcing ,
Contract Negotiations, Quality Assurance, Vendor
Performance, International Trade , ISO 9000, Contract
Management, Budget Development, Variance Analysis,
Process Management, Inventory Optimization, Training
and Presentations
Of the three options, the qualified list provides the strongest presentation. It lists
the skills and backs them up with an example of the job seekers experience with the
skills. The keyword dump tactic is unlikely to be effective. Try to imagine the hiring
manager that is going to get excited because there are thirty or forty industry terms
at the top of a rsum. Its just not going to happen.
The top of the rsum is extremely valuable real estate. It is the place where hiring
managers start reading. If you provide information of little value, they will quickly
skip the top and jump to other sections. As they skip around, they may skip over your
most impressive attributes.
You want to make it clear what you bring to the table and emphasize a few key skills.
The averages are a good guideline to follow. Include four or five terms in the first line
of your rsum. Then provide another line or two summarizing your background and
a few bullet points listing key skills, and qualifying your skill level. This is likely to lead
to a total number of skills in the 15-25 range, and should be effective.
With this presentation, make sure you emphasize a few key skills, typically three to
five major skills. The rest of the skills in the section are supporting these key skills.
For example, in the qualified list example, Logistics is provided as a key skill, and
within the qualification statement, it discusses backhaul strategies as a supporting
skill. This additional skill helps reinforce the overall goal of demonstrating that the job
seeker is a logistics and supply chain expert.
Palladian | APICS

19

summary section

Does this mean a mass dump of keywords isnt valuable? No, there are times when
a keyword list can be helpful. If you post your rsum to a database, it is important
to have the right keywords so you appear in searches. To do this, consider adding
a keyword list (typically called a skills section) to the bottom of your rsum. This
information is designed for the database to read, not the hiring manager. It should
not be at the top of the rsum.

Summary Section Recommendations

1. A summary section should start your rsum. Although this is not a required
element of a rsum, it makes a strong presentation.
2. A summary section should be a small summary of the rsum, totaling 10-20
percent of the total length (75-150 words).
3. Include specific accomplishments in your summary section demonstrating
your past successes.
4. Minimize your objective and focus on details important to the hiring
manager, not you. Often, using a job title as the title of a rsum can be a
good way to brand yourself while conveying your objective.
5. When listing skills in the summary section, qualify your skill level. This can be
done by showing your years of experience with the skill, projects where you
have used the skill, or with accomplishments where the skill allowed you to
succeed.

Palladian | APICS

20

First Line

How do you start your rsum? If you have ever struggled to find the right words to kick
off the first line of your summary section, you are not alone. The first line is likely to be
one of the first and most read elements of the rsum. It is important to make the right
impression. The first line of your rsum starts to create a brand for who you are and why
you should be hired.
It is impossible to write a single line that will cause you to be hired. Your goal with the first
line, as well as with the summary section and rsum as a whole, is to generate interest
in you and create a positive impression of how you can do the job. There are numerous
ways to do this. The first line of the rsum can focus on any aspect of the job seeker.
Most people focus on their skills. Others focus on their experience level. Some provide
their objective. In operations management, emphasizing an APICS Certified in Production
and Inventory Management (CPIM) or APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)
designation is common.
To get an idea of how job seekers start their rsums, fifteen examples from the rsums
in the survey are listed below. Each example is the first sentence from a rsum.
Diverse experience in business strategy, operations and project management.
15+ years of experience of leadership, in diverse operational environments
including production control, procurement, transportation, logistics,
manufacturing, and maintenance.
Supply chain professional with numerous years of global experience with
companies in chemical, container, packaging, and steel industries.
Accomplished, goal-oriented supply chain management professional with over 25
years of proven success in roles of increasing responsibility.
APICS certified professional with more than 25 years experience in the areas
of supply chain management, purchasing, planning, sourcing, forecasting, and
operation.
Dedicated management professional eager to contribute extensive supply
chain, logistics, and procurement expertise toward supporting the employer in
optimizing bottom-line performance.
Distribution manager with extraordinary achievements in operations, cost
reduction, and project management.
Highly accomplished manager with over 20 years of experience leading all
aspects of manufacturing and operations.

Palladian | APICS

21

First Line

Highly accomplished supply chain management professional with a successful

track record of contract negotiations, organizational needs assessment, strategy
execution, new supplier implementation, and supply chain improvements.
Results-driven operations leader and APICS Certified in Production and Inventory
Management (CPIM) with extensive experience developing and implementing
strategic supply chain solutions.
Seeking a challenging position in the field of supply chain, logistics, or operations
management.
Senior leader with an MBA, APICS CPIM and CSCP designations, and 20 years
of materials management experience in start-up and high growth biotech and
pharmaceutical manufacturing environments.
Supply chain professional with 20 years experience with companies ranging from
Fortune 500s to start-ups in procurement or materials management.
To find a strategic position improving functional processes through an end-toend supply chain utilizing my hands-on experience and ability to analyze and
summarize large data sets.
Visionary leader and manager with more than 20 years of hands-on experience
contributing to better corporate performance by building effective teams, solving
complex problems, improving processes and skillfully aligning resources with
corporate objectives.
Of these fifteen examples, which grab your attention? This question cannot be answered
with a single right answer. Any of these lines could be effective, or ineffective. For example,
the third line lists the industries chemical, container, packaging, and steel. If the hiring
manager is looking for someone with a chemical and packaging industry background, this
will grab their attention. If the hiring manager is looking for someone out of the medical
device industry, the candidate is likely to be rejected because the candidate does not have
the proper industry background.
The same thing can be said for virtually every word in the statements above. If your
rsum reflects the profile the hiring manager is looking for, you will be successful. If it
does not, you wont be successful. This profile will combine your experience, skills, and
education.
Your goal with the first line of your rsum is to start aligning your background to the
goals of the hiring manager. You need to choose the elements to emphasize that will
resonate with the hiring manager. This requires researching the position as much as
possible. The more you can learn about the position and the hiring manager, the better
your odds of making a strong impression.

Palladian | APICS

22

First Line

First Word
Each person will bring a different combination of skills, abilities, and talents to a job.
This combination will include dozens, if not hundreds of qualities. Your choice of what
to emphasize will influence the overall impression you want to create. Do you focus
on your analytical or leaderships skills? Your technical or communications skills?
Your lean experience or your negotiation skills? Your cost improvement experience
or your work ethic? The choices are too numerous to list.
You do need to focus and specialize. You cannot claim to be exceptional in everything
or you wont be credible.
The first word or two of a rsum gives some insight into the qualities that job
seekers believe are important. Below is a list of some of the words used to start
rsums. Use this to help brainstorm about what you want to emphasize in your
rsum. There is no right answer. It is your choice as to the brand you want to create.
Just remember, the brand you create will be effective when it matches the image the
hiring manager has for the ideal candidate for the position.

Accomplished
Achievement-Oriented
Active
Actively
Adept
Advance
Advancing
Ambitious
Analytical
Assist
Bilingual
Consummate
Continued
Continuous
Corporate
Currently
Dedicated
Demonstrated
Detail
Detail-oriented
Distribution
Diverse
Driven
Dynamic
Electrical
Energetic
Enhance
Enthusiastic
Entry level
Envision

Excellent
Expand
Experience
Experienced
Expert
Extensive
Fast
Financial
Focused
Fortune 500
Forward-thinking
Full-time
Global
Hands-on
High-Impact
Highly
Industrial
Innovative
Knowledgeable
Leading
Logistics/supply chain
Managed
Master
Member
Motivated
MRP/ERP
Organized
Outstanding
Polished
Principle

Professional
Progressive
Proven
Recognized
Respected
Responsible
Results
Results-driven
Results-oriented
S&OP
Savvy
Seasoned
Self-motivated
Self-starter
Senior
Solid
Solutions
Solutions-focused
Spirited
Strategic
Strengths
Strong
Successful
Successfully
Talented
Versatile
Veteran
Vibrant
Visionary

Palladian | APICS

23

First Line

First Line Recommendations

1. Design the first line of your rsum to provide an overall brand for you.
It should summarize the most important elements of your background.
2. Focus on skills and experiences that are most important to
the hiring manager.
3. Emphasize qualities that relate to the core of the position you are seeking.

Palladian | APICS

24

mistakes to avoid

Many of the rsums in the survey contained mistakes. This is typical. Few job
seekers devote significant time and energy to developing their rsum writing skills
over their careers. They write a rsum when they need a job and forget about it the
rest of the time. A consequence of this is that rsums typically contain mistakes that
hurt the effectiveness of the rsum.
Some of the mistakes should be obvious after reading this survey report. The
major focal points of the benchmarking survey identified common mistakes and
recommendations. These have already been covered throughout the report. There
are other mistakes that were noticed during the survey. These related to details that
were not surveyed across all rsums. Instead, when a mistake was identified that fell
outside the scope of the survey, it was noted. Some of these are listed below.
Pontificating: Several of the rsums included statements in the summary
section detailing how the job seeker thinks a business should be run. For
example, one rsum detailed the priorities the hiring manager should use
to make a hiring decision. The rsum explained the proper prioritization
of experience, education, and skills for the position. It is never a good idea to
start your sales pitch by telling the hiring manager how do their job. Focus on
what you bring to the table.
Hiding dates: Some job seekers omitted critical information such as dates
of employment. These omissions tended to highlight the information that
was missing. If the job seekers were trying to hide a gap in employment, they
ended up doing the opposite by drawing attention to the omitted information.
Objective too detailed: If you choose to include an objective, do not make a
lot of demands. Some of the rsums provided a long list of requirements the
job seeker wants in a position. Its okay to describe a career field, but you do
not want to appear demanding or unreasonable.
Accomplishments without results: A number of rsums started
with an accomplishments section. This can be very effective, since the
accomplishments show specific contributions and successes. Some of these
sections failed to include results. For example, one rsum starting with an
accomplishment section had seventeen separate bullet points. None showed
a tangible, quantified result. All of them were of the form proven ability to
lead projects on time and under budget. This may imply past success, but it
doesnt specifically show past success.
Colored text: A few of the rsums used colored text or highlighting. In every
case, the formatting was very distracting. Stick with black text and a white
background.

Palladian | APICS

25

mistakes to avoid

Too many short phrases: One rsum used short phrases exclusively. There
wasnt a line on the entire rsum that was more eight words. Being concise
is essential in a rsum, but carrying this too far will lead to a rsum that
doesnt say anything. There are experiences and accomplishments that
cannot be fully explained with a five to eight word phrase. For these, adding
more text is essential.
Class listings: For recent college graduates, it can be difficult to provide
reasons why you are better than other recent graduates. Without work
experience, there just isnt a lot to put on a rsum. Many of the recent
graduates listed noteworthy classes. This can be very effective, but it
requires adding why the class is noteworthy. One rsum listed a dozen class
numbers. MGT540 doesnt mean anything without an explanation of what
this class is. If you list classes, provide some detail as to why the class is
important starting with the class title. Listing class numbers by themselves is
a waste of time.
Check spelling for text in all caps: In Microsoft Word, the spell-checker
function does not work when the text is typed in all capital letters. If you use
all caps, make sure you check the spelling of the words. Some rsums with
all caps contained numerous spelling mistakes.
Acronyms: One rsum included 19 different acronyms in a list at the top of
the rsum. A few of these were recognizable, but many were not. Even for
the acronyms that were recognizable, there was a chance they could have
meant something else. Virtually every three- or four-letter acronym will
have more than one meaning depending on the industry. Listing acronyms,
especially 19 of them at once, is at best a waste of time. Anyone can list
a bunch of acronyms on their rsum. Doing so will not impress a hiring
manager.
Secure PDF: One rsum in the sample was setup as a secure PDF. The
security made it impossible to print the file or copy the text of the file. This is
a great feature if you want to protect a propriety document, but it is a huge
mistake for rsum. A hiring manager is likely to want to print your rsum
when you go for an interview. Others prefer screening candidates with
hardcopies of the rsums.

Palladian | APICS

26

best practices

Rsum structure
Use a chronological or hybrid structure. These are the most common and
most effective structures in operations management.
Start with an introductory section, and make sure you have a work
experience and education section. After those, include sections for skills,
certifications, accomplishments, or projects. You can also include dedicated
sections for key skills that you want to highlight, such as languages.
When prioritizing your sections, lead with your best selling points. For most
job seekers in operations management, this means starting with a summary
section, followed by work experience, with education and other skills later.
Dont go overboard with sections. Most rsums should have four to six
sections.
Summary section
A summary section should start your rsum. Although this is not a required
element of a rsum, it makes a strong presentation.
A summary section should be a small summary of the rsum, totaling 10-20
percent of the total length (75-150 words).
Include specific accomplishments in your summary section demonstrating
your past successes.
Minimize your objective and focus on details important to the hiring manager,
not you. Often, using a job title as the title of a rsum can be a good way to
brand yourself while conveying your objective.
When listing skills in the summary section, qualify your skill level. This can be
done by showing your years of experience with the skill, projects where you
have used the skill, or with accomplishments where the skill allowed you to
succeed.

Palladian | APICS

27

best practices

First line
Design the first line of your rsum to provide an overall brand for you. It
should summarize the most important elements of your background.
Focus on skills and experiences that are most important to the hiring
manager.
Emphasize qualities that relate to the core of the position you are seeking.
In addition to these best practices, a few other recommendations were identified.
These were elements that stood out because they were very effective.
Temporary job explanation: One rsum of a job seeker who had been laid
off from a supply chain management position listed the most recent job as an
hourly retail position. Many job seekers will try to embellish such a position.
This job seeker provided one bullet point that was very effective. It simply
said that the position was a bridge position until the job seeker could move
into a more challenging supply chain role. It was a very honest and effective
way of explaining the role.
Multiple summary sections: Including a summary section is a very effective
strategy on a rsum. Some job seekers took this to another level. They
included more than one summary section. The effectiveness of this varied.
Some were very effective, while others were confusing and ineffective. The
ones that were effective tended to have two summary sections. The first
provided an overview of the job seekers background. The second focused
on a specific aspect of the background, such as a few related skills. This
presentation was very effective in some cases.
Bulleted lists: Some of the rsums used detailed bulleted lists in the
summary section, with each list element providing a complete idea. Each
bullet was one to two sentences long. This style provided great detail and was
much easier to read than long paragraphs.

Palladian | APICS

28

ABOUT PALLADIAN
and apics

About Palladian
Palladian International is led by individuals experienced with recruiting and hiring,
both within corporations and recruiting agencies. We understand what makes a job
seeker successful and how most job seekers make mistakes to kill opportunities.
We developed a suite of coaching services to help job seekers stand out from the
competition. We also publish instructional guides to help job seekers learn the skills
they need to be successful in a job search.
Contact Us:
105-A Lew Dewitt Blvd.
Suite 197
Waynesboro, VA 22980
P (866) 766-8447
F (703) 651-3072
palladian@palladianinternational.com
www.palladianinternational.com

About APICS
APICS The Association for Operations Management is the global leader and premier
source of the body of knowledge in operations management, including production,
inventory, supply chain, materials management, purchasing, and logistics. Since
1957, individuals and companies have relied on APICS for its superior training,
internationally recognized certifications, comprehensive resources, and worldwide
network of accomplished industry professionals.
Contact Us:
8430 West Bryn Mawr Avenue
Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60631 USA
P (773) 867-1777
TF (800) 444-2742
apics.org
APICS Mission
APICS builds knowledge and skills in operations management professionals to
enhance and validate abilities and accelerate careers. We help our members and
their organizations successfully compete and build a stronger global economy.

Palladian | APICS

29