There are many books and guides devoted to proper resume and cover letter writing. For your assistance we have listed a few ideas for getting started, or revising your resume. For any further help, we suggest your school or public library.
Everything you need to know about
yourself must be packaged and marketed so that the product -- you --
will have as much sales appeal as you can give it. This package is
called a resume. It is a written document revealing work-related
history and qualifications you have to offer.
Some job seekers find the task of
writing a resume so formidable that they turn to professionals or computer
programs to do the job for them. The best advise is: write
it yourself! It is your resume, and it is most important
that the finished product be an expression of yourself. Screeners
are quick to spot a professionally prepared resume, and many times toss
it aside.
Much of the labor of resume writing
never appears in the end product. Without it however, that product
may be nothing more than a poorly organized piece of paper that in among
the first to be discarded by screeners.
Your first task is to reduce
to writing everything job-related you know about yourself. Though
this is no small task, it is absolutely essential.
Nothing is too trivial to be included
in this initial draft. At this point organization consists of categorizing
the mass of information from which you will select what is relevant for
your particular job search. Polished wording is of no importance
on the first drafts, the point is to get it all down on paper. When
the time comes for making choices, you will have all the information before
you.
What should you put in
your resume? Everything that will help the screener select you.
Your resume should make the reader say: "Here is an applicant who
may be a viable candidate for the position."
To help determine what information
will accomplish this, put yourself in the employer's place; think about
the job you want from the view point of the person doing the hiring.
Analyze the requirements for education, training, experience, and personal
traits, as though you were seeking to fill a position. Then, compare
your qualifications with those the job is likely to demand. This
will let your resume tell the employer specifically what your product has
to offer in the terms of the position needing filled.
In all instances, your resume
must include these basics:
1. Identification
(name, address and telephone number).
2. Job Objective
(a brief statement of what you are looking for).
3. Education (colleges
attended, degrees and major, any significant special training courses or
seminars).
4. Work Experience
(duties and most important accomplishments, length of employment, with
special emphasis
on work experience appropriate to your career field).
5. Special Qualifications
(extra curricular activities, honors or awards received, skills, publications,
languages,
travel, military service, professional memberships or licenses).
6. Personal Interests
(at least three - fewer, and you may appear shallow - and not more than
six or
seven
- or you may appear to be spread too thin.)
Omit things that are likely to
cause an interviewer to eliminate your resume from consideration.
The entry "Unemployed"
has no place in a resume.
Do not show grade averages unless
you have at least a 3.2 on a 4.0 scale. As for class standing, you
should list it only if you are in at least the top one-third. A survey
revealed that better than three out of five employers feel grades play
an important role, and as much as 97% consider them of some relevance.
Some information is not needed for
a resume, such as your Social Security Number, where you were born, your
wife's name and your health status. It is debated whether or not
age and marital status belong in a resume, however, if you feel comfortable
having them shown in your resume, by all means include them.
Never mention salary expectations
in a resume. Leave this negotiation for a later time. It is
usually not appropriate to discuss salary until a firm offer has been made.
References are not usually relevant
at the resume stage. They will be important after you have been interviewed
and are a serious candidate for a position.
As for the phrase "References
Furnished Upon Request," of course you'll furnish references if they
ask for them. This statement does not need to be included on your
resume.
Race, religion, politics and personal
finances are not resume material regardless of how you phrase them.
To summarize, your resume should
not give the employer any reason not to interview you. Give yourself
every possible break and include only pertinent, positive data.
With your drafts and lists complete,
you are ready for your next step: the actual writing of your resume.
At this step you must pay close attention to such finer points as careful
selection of facts, a thoughtful choice of words, and a decision as to
format or formats.
Your resume should use short sentences
or phrases with simple positive wording. As an example compare "As
an Inventory Clerk at Morecare Hospital, I was made Assistant Department
Manager of Central Supply" with "Promoted from Inventory Clerk
to Assistant Department Manager of Central Supply at Morecare Hospital."
"Promoted" is much stronger than "I was made" and the
shorter phrasing makes for quicker reading.
Other action-oriented, positive
words include:
| administered | implemented | prepared |
| analyzed | improved | presented |
| budgeted | increased | produced |
| conducted | influenced | reduced |
| coordinated | investigated | scheduled |
| created | maintained | supervised |
| designed | managed | trained |
| directed | operated | wrote |
| developed | organized | |
| established | planned |
Another way
to strengthen your resume is to use selective placement of your information.
If you have little work experience and lots of education, list your academic
accomplishments first. Emphasis should be place on any honors or
special accomplishments. On the other hand, if you feel your work
experience is more significant than your educational background, then it
should be given more space.
As for abbreviations, it is best
not to use any at all unless they are extremely common. (example: Inc.,
ICU, ER)
Misspellings or poor grammar may
place your resume in the rejection pile. If you are not sure, check
it out. Make sure to double check your punctuation.
Most experts agree on confining
your resume to one page if at all possible, and not more than two.
It is true that a single page can be more quickly scanned than two.
Confining the length of your resume also requires you to be more concise.
If you do have a lot of experience or education that will significantly
enhance your chances of getting a position, put it in, regardless of the
space required. Remember however, you should go to the extra page
only after you have rewritten every element into its most effective form.
With the above information and
ideas assembled, you can now start the first working draft.
Heading - A resume does not require
a label. Do not use one.
Identification - Your name, address and telephone number is all that is required. Placement depends upon the format you use. Centering it at the top is effective and creates a pleasing look, but flush to the left margin is certainly acceptable. If your resume is more than one page, make sure your name appears at the top of each page so they can be reunited if separated.
Job Objective - You should make this a meaningful, employer-related statement. Your objective should relate generally to your immediate goal, while mentioning what you have to offer. The objective is frequently the first thing read on the resume, its importance cannot be overstated.
Education - If you hold a college degree, you do not need to list your high school. If you attended more than one college, list only the degree granting school. If you earned honors or special achievements, this should be listed in a separate section labeled "Academic Achievements" or "Honors and Awards".
Extra Curricular Activities - If your activities show interest in your career field, leadership or organizational ability, they can be very impressive. These qualities should be listed immediately following the educational section.
Work Experience - Any work experience
that is appropriate to the job for which you are applying should be prominently
placed and take up more space than anything else on your resume.
Use the strongest action-oriented
words and phrases that good conscience will allow.
A great deal of detail about previous
employers is not required.
Do not include salary information.
Volunteer work that is appropriate
to the career field you are interested in should be listed under work experience
rather than personal interests.
Personal Interests - You can have three to six items under this heading. You should include varied interests to convey the fact that you're well rounded.
Other Items - For each of the following items, consider thoroughly whether any of your involvement's are deserving of an entry for one or more. You can either show each as a separate section or integrate the information into one of the sections above. It is important not to overlook anything which might help project your desirability as a potential employee.
Honors, awards
Published works
Job-related courses
Certificates-Licensures
Special skills or assets
Military experience
Internships
Languages
Now you must decide on an appropriate
format and bring the resume's parts together to produce a successful product.
Before a product reaches the
marketplace, manufactures put considerable time, money and effort into
its packaging. They know that it is most often the attractiveness
of the package that makes one product move more quickly than others.
the same is true in the job market, where your resume is the packaging
for the product you are selling.
It is said that two out of every
three resumes are scanned for less than a minute and nine out of ten are
read for two minutes or less.
You must come up with packaging
for your training, skills and abilities which will make those first thirty
to sixty seconds count.
It should be strong enough to be
singled out for special attention or you may not be called for the interview
for that "perfect job". It has to be well thought out to
serve as an outline for discussion so that the interview itself will follow
an organized plan. And last, it must be a complete concise and visually
appealing document.
How your resume is put together
- its design or format - is almost as important as what you put in it.
Consider each of the following formats to find the most effective packaging
for you.
This is the best known type of
resume, and is by far the easiest to write. It consists of a simple
listing of your educational and work experience in a chronological order,
beginning with the most recent degree or job, working backward. Its
advantage is that it provides employers a quick, easy to read training
and experience history. A major disadvantage of the chronological
resume is that it can be dull. Your information is clearly set forth,
but there is little opportunity to focus attention on, facets which
may be most appealing.
This
example shows a chronological resume where work experience and education
both appear in chronological order. Most often, resumes are formatted
flush to the left margin, but the centered form
has eye appeal and some distinctiveness. This will
help set it apart from many others.
If you organize your resume to
reflect your qualifications by disregarding dates, you have much more latitude
in stressing the skills most useful in the position for which you are applying.
You can gain the "first read" advantage by placing significant
accomplishment upfront. This type of resume is of value if you have
a short employment history or have held a number of different jobs.
Previous employers names, with or without employment dates, may follow
the functional listing.
There are no specific rules to
determine which resume format is the right one for you. You are the
only one who can determine which format makes the best presentation.
Your resume will almost always be
your introduction to any potential employer; it will make that crucial
first impression. Eye appeal, clarity, readability and a little of
your personality should be your goals when writing your resume. It
is for you to decide which format will best accomplish this for you.
An option few people recognize is
the possibility of having more than one resume. If a functional resume
seems most appropriate for one group of employers, a more conservative
chronological resume may best suit another (even though both target groups
are in the same general field), why not prepare both?
Another advantage to preparing more
than one resume is the ability to make changes in your job objective statement
that will be appropriate to each group of employers.
The first draft of your resume is only a starting point. You must go over it again and again in order to spot verbs that can be strengthened, phrases or sentences that can be shortened, or any omissions that weaken it. Recheck your grammar, spelling and punctuation. Test your draft on others you can rely on to give you an objective and honest opinion. After scanning, if your background seems fuzzy, go back and revise and revise until a sharp, clear image comes across at first glance.
With all the time and effort
you have placed in your resume so far, do not allow it to fail by poor
eye appeal. Even the best qualifications, in the most appropriate
format will loose their effect when presented via smudgy carbon or faint
photocopy. The quality of print and materials are equal in importance
to content.
You must remember, your resume is
a projection of you. It must make an instant positive first impression.
This is not the place to cut corners.
Listed are some of the basic mechanics
that will make the difference:
The cover letter
does many things, most of which introduces your resume to employers.
It allows you to add a little personal charm. A cover letter can
highlight an accomplishment that is only briefly mentioned in your resume,
let the employer know you are willing to relocate, or name-drop if you
have been referred by a mutual acquaintance.
Most importantly
the cover letter can ask for action from the employer, specifically, an
interview.
Like your
resume, a few simple mechanics will help you put together an effective
cover letter.
Your cover
letter should be written by you personally. It has to be a proper
reflection of your own personality if it is to serve as the reinforcement
and advertisement you want for your resume.
You should
give it a human touch, but keep it businesslike. The purpose of this
letter is serious and its tone should indicate the seriousness of your
application. However, if the letter is dull, you may be perceived
as dull also. Dullness will not sell.
This
is an example of a cover letter for a response to a newspaper ad.
You must individually type each letter you
send. You cannot make a specific appeal to potential employers with
a pre-printed letter. If you want individual attention and a response,
extend your readers the courtesy of an individual typed letter.
When considering
the style of your cover letter, remember the golden rule of all successful
writers: the readers attention must be engaged at the outset. Make
sure your opening sentence or paragraph will grab attention.
If you have
been referred by a mutual acquaintance or some one familiar with to the
company, say so at the beginning. Make it known early that you have
the backing from someone familiar.
If your are
answering an ad, address the qualifications or requirements mentioned.
Try to use some of the same words that were in the ad. The employer
carefully chose them as a description of the available position.
You gain an advantage when your reply starts with the qualities for which
the employer is looking.
If you are
sending an unsolicited application, make sure your cover letter shows an
understanding of the organization's services.
You must use
caution and avoid at all costs wording that sounds phony or over complimentary.
The perceived insincerity may send your application to the rejection pile.
You should
close the letter by requesting an interview and letting the employer know
when you will be available. A range of dates is always better (ex.
I'll be in Denver from December 16th through December 20th.)
Keep your
letter short, contained to one page.
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