Personal branding best practices: Can I abbreviate words? Should I use a photo on my resume?

Dear Sam: I wanted to get an expert opinion on 10 quick questions I have when it comes to my resume. I haven’t written a resume in many years and am confused by conflicting advice from friends, colleagues and online resources. For background, I have more than 20 years of experience as an Administrative and Executive Assistant. I hope you can give me black-and-white answers as I get frustrated with differing opinions.

1. Should I put my address on my resume?
2. Do I include my LinkedIn address?
3. Can I use symbols to save space?
4. Can I abbreviate words?
5. Must I spell out numbers?
6. Do I need an objective statement?
7. Does my resume need to be only one page?
8. Where do I list references?
9. Does my entire resume need to be in bullet points?
10. Does my photo go on my resume?

I appreciate your help. I will stop asking for opinions once I get your expert guidance! — Steve

Dear Steve: All great questions, and I thought it would be fun to answer some rapid-fire questions for a change! And yes, stop asking for opinions as, just like you have already found, EVERYONE has an opinion, and they are not always rooted in personal branding best practices. Best to consult an expert.

Here goes …

1. No, only the major metro area and state.
2. Only if there is value in the reader visiting your LinkedIn profile.
3. Yes, if you are consistent in their use. But be sure symbols are not taking the place of potential keywords.
4. You can use acronyms if they are well-known, but typically I will not abbreviate words as I would want to maximize keyword relevance. I often provide the full term and the acronym just to be safe. For example, “Key Performance Indicator (KPI).”
5. The “official” rule is to write numbers between 0 and 9 and use numerical digits for 10 and above. If you have a sentence with a 10 or above, all numbers in that sentence are written as numerical digits. I sometimes break the rule in the resume world as numbers tend to jump off the page, so as long as you are consistent in your approach, you could present all as digits if you prefer.
6. Objective statements are archaic and have been replaced for 15+ years with qualifications summaries. Unfortunately, the old advice is still floating around.
7. Absolutely not! As a professional in the field, I would expect you to need two pages to explore the value you have contributed to past employers.
8. On a separate page formatted similarly to your resume.
9. No! Responsibilities are typically presented in a brief paragraph, and accomplishments are bulleted.
10. No, there is no need for your headshot on your resume. People will visit your LinkedIn profile and expect to see your headshot there.

Hope that helps clear up a few things for you!

Samantha Nolan is an Advanced Personal Branding Strategist and Career Expert, founder and CEO of Nolan Branding. Do you have a resume, career, or job search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha at dearsam@nolanbranding.com. For information on Nolan Branding’s services, visit www.nolanbranding.com or call 888-9-MY-BRAND or 614-570-3442.