10 Ways to Build a Resume you are Proud of
A resume is essentially your first impression to a potential employer, it is the tool that will get you the interview. It is the bait on the end of the hook so to speak. You want the potential employer to want to call you in and learn more about you. It is imperative that you take the time to prepare a good resume so that you stand out against your competition.
A good resume is well thought out and organized, easy to read, 12 pt font and about 2 pages in length. An employer will take about 30 seconds to scan a resume, using a simple format and good key words that jump out is the key.
There are three basic resumes, the chronological, the functional and the combined. Your work history and your profession will determine which of these you choose to prepare. If you have a solid work history with long term employment then either one is okay for you to use but if you have an unstable work history with a number of employers in a short amount of time then you will want to use the functional.
The most important thing that an employer will look at on the resume is the work history, an employer will ask a few basic questions of the resume.
1. Does the person have the basic skill set that I am looking for? If not, do they have transferable skills or trainable into the occupations that I need to hire for?
An employer looking for employees will look at past work history and evaluate where you might fit in. The human resource departments have a trained eye on what skill sets to look out for.
2. Will this person stay if I give them a chance? If I invest my money in training them, will it pay off for me or will I just be another employer on the resume?
To the individual it may seem like no big deal to leave their place of employment, but an employer must look at the cost of turnover. An employer is looking for an employee that will stay with the company for a long period of time and grow with the industry and changing time.
Anatomy: Now that have an idea on what a resume is and how the resume functions, let's get into the basic anatomy.
Heading: The heading of the resume includes your contact information, name, address, phone number, fax and email.
1. Be sure you list a good contact phone number, if you are using a number that is used by others besides yourself, alert the others who may answer that you are using it for employment purposes and to take messages for you.
2. If you are using an email as one of your points of contact, be sure the email address is not offensive or obscene. If you have an email address that is a little out of the ordinary, then you may consider signing up for a separate account and use it solely for job searching purpose.
Objective Statement: Just state what you want this resume to do. If you have a specific position that you are applying for, state it here. One to two lines will suffice in this area.
Work History: Your work history should be listed in chronological order, list the most recent first and continue on from there. If you are using a functional resume, your latest skill set will be listed first.
Education/Training: This area should include the education and training that you have completed. If you are presently training or did not complete a training program, be ready to answer why there is no end date.
Skills/Qualifications/Achievements: This section should be used to highlight your skills, you can reiterate what you have stated under work history. You can also use this section to address skills that you have not mentioned in your work history, computer skills, awards, professional qualities and other items that you may have left out in the other sections of the resume.
References: A simple statement should be in this section "Available upon Request" will suffice.
Final Tips:
1. Be concise and to the point2. Seek out a resume action word list3. Do not include personal information on the resume, marital status, how many children you have, your favorite sport's team, etc, should not be on your resume.4. Have others look at and critique your resume.5. Have your resume available on paper and in electronic format.6. Save your resume on a floppy, cd or on your computer so that you can update and make necessary changes.7. Sit down with a pen and paper and scratch down a few notes before you get started or complete a generic paper application, this will help you gather the necessary information to get the job done.
