Pernickety \Per*snick”et*y\, a.

1. pernickety adj : Finicky or fussy; demanding excessive attention to petty details or niceties; unduly particular; characterized by excessive precision and attention to trivial details;

Nothing screams ”I am unnaturally obsessed by excessive attention to trivial detail” than the pernickety resume.

In case you haven’t become acquainted with this particular type of resume, this document is all about numbers and headings.

For instance, a sub-heading “Name” is thoughtfully provided to help readers who may struggle with the concept. Can’t you hear recruiters all over the world ponder: “John Smith… hmm. Could that be an occupation or a skill?… has me stumped!”

Just this week, a resume arrived on my desk that took me on a journey of numbers, all formatted in a precise table a little like this:

… and, so it went on. And on.

And, er, on.

I’m sure the author had good intentions. He thought it was neat and tidy. I saw clinical, regimented, and yes, pernickety. Would a world of angst and turmoil await a resume without numbers? What were employers to do in such a chaotic world? Would they read the fourth page first? Or maybe the second? Anarchy in the office!

Or maybe, just maybe, without numbers and tables, people would start at the top, read down, turn the page and repeat. Easy peasy.

A resume is not a government report, a legal document or an instruction manual. It is, quite simply, a marketing document that sells your accomplishments and provides a value proposition.

It tells a story of what you’re like and who you are.

Do you want your resume to exude warmth, drive, energy and excellence, or do you want to define yourself as uptight, fussy and pernickety?

Scrap the tables, scrap the numbers, find resume samples that feel like you and then get started in earnest.