Resumes are basically one of the most important
deciding factors in determining whether the job seeker gets an
interview with the employer.Think of your resume as a tool. Just how
well can you "market" yourself? You are the product, and the
employer is the buyer. Your resume must interest the employer in
what you have to offer--namely, your skills, knowledge, and
experience. Why should the employer invest time and money in you?
What do you have to offer that is unique?
You may learn of an opening in a specific company
through a friend, a classified ad, or an agency. Or you may wish to
get an interview with a certain company without knowing whether they
have any openings at this moment. In all these situations you need a
good resume. Resumes are used as screening devices to determine whom
they are interested in interviewing.
A resume is a highly personal and individual
summary of a person's background, experience, training, and skills.
These factors will influence the final form of your own resume.
Likewise, a good resume will vary depending on the type of job for
which you are applying. Also, your own occupational group may be a
factor requiring special consideration. For example, if you are a
liberal arts graduate, you can direct your resume toward any number
of areas. Your education has taught you how to communicate, lead
others, be persuasive, solve problems, and plan. All of these are
excellent skills for a management trainee position. The point is,
you are selling your own unique combination of skills, and depending
upon the job requirements, you should present your work experience,
skills, and education to best reflect your qualifications for a
particular job.
Preparing a good resume takes time. You should
complete your resume before beginning your job search campaign. You
will need a good resume to send to prospective employers and also to
leave with those you contact when seeking information within a
company. The contact person may be in a position to pass your resume
along to someone who needs a person with your qualification. If you
are given an interview unexpectedly, a resume serves as a guide for
the interviewer as well as an information source for you.
Every person, regardless of the present stage of
his or her career, needs a good resume readily at hand. This is
obvious if you are now actively seeking a job or a career change.
Occasionally, however, you may need a current resume to capitalize
on an unexpected job opportunity. Once you have worked up a good
basic resume, you should be sure to keep it updated. It should
always reflect your newly acquired skills and experience.
What a resume should
contain.
- Your name, address, city, state, and
phone number(s) where you can be reached
- An objective statement that clearly
describes the type of position you hope to obtain
- Summary of your qualifications
- A record of your employment history
- A record of your education
- Professional training
- Professional affiliations
- Knowledge of foreign languages
- Publications
- Special accomplishments or other
related facts
- A statement to the effect that your
references and, if applicable, samples of your work, are available
upon request
When determining what
information to include, consider what is relevant to the position
for which you are applying. This selection is what will make your
resume unique.
Name,Address
and Telephone Numbers
Your name, address, city, state, and phone
number(s), this information has to be included, and it has to be
correct. You should avoid the use of nicknames and shortforms in a
resume. All words in the address should be spelled out correctly,
and zip code included. The telephone number should be one where you
can be reached easily.
The Career or
Job Objective
Most resumes should include an objective statement
of some type. This could be as simple as a one or two word
description of the position you are seeking. Because the job
objective is the "topic" of your resume. It says what you want to
do, and it should say this as clearly and concisely as possible. In
any event, avoid the "all purpose" type of objective
If you have access to the exact job description,
write your objective to match the employer's interests and needs.
Summary of
Qualifications
If your work experience has been varied and spread
out over a number of years, consider the use of a Summary of
Qualifications category. By providing a summary, you give the
employer an overall picture of your qualification before he or she
reads further for details. This section allows creative job seekers
to present their personal traits in a positive manner.
Employment
History
The employment history comes after the job objective and/or
the Summary of Qualifications. Employment history can
be listed in several ways. If you elect to use the chronological
format, list employment in reverse chronological order (your present
or most recent job first). The important point is to emphasize that
your skills and experience will be valuable to the employer. Most
employers want dates of employment. Even if you use a functional or
analytical resume, you should indicate length of experience. This
does not necessarily mean using dates; for example, say "two years'
experience selling...."
The total employment history should reflect your
skills and make a positive impact on the employer. In resumes, these
two kinds of verbs are often used to begin sentences.
Incorporate as many action verbs as possible (but don't
go overboard). They are dynamic and forceful and tend to make an
impression on the reader and portray you in a positive light. If you
are having difficulty choosing the right word to describe your qualifications,
experience, and accomplishments, the Student Center
list of action and skill verbs may be helpful.
Education
The education section usually follows the
employment history section unless you are recently out of school, in
which case it precedes the employment history. If you have little or
no practical experience, your academic credentials probably will be
your strongest asset; in this case, place them directly after the
objective statement. As you gain experience, your academic
credentials become less important and are usually placed near the
end of the resume. An exception to this rule is when the academic
background is required for the job as in the case of law or
medicine.
Begin with your highest level of educational
achievement. In this way, a doctorate will be followed by a master's
degree, then a bachelor's. If you have not completed a college
degree, list what you can. Drop references to high school if you
have attended college or have received some type of specialized
training.
Degree, Diploma, or
Certificate
Your evidence of having completed formal education
is a degree, diploma, or certificate. This is not the place to be
creative; list your degree as it was awarded by the institution.
Name of the
Institution
Give the name of the institution or organisation
where the learning occurred. Avoid abbreviations, and be certain to
include the entire name.
Location of
Institution
It is generally not necessary to include the city
and state where your college is located if it is obvious from the
title.
Date of Degree, Diploma, or
Certificate
Include the date of degree, diploma, or
certificate. If the degree is not recent (within last five years)
place the date at the end of the paragraph or omit it. You want to
accent what you learned rather than when you learned it. This is
especially true for those who think their age might have negative
impact on the employer.
Major Area(s) of
Study
You should include your major field of study if it
applies directly to the job objective. Omit it if the major or minor
field of study is not directly applicable,to prevent your getting
screened out by human resource professionals. If you have an
exceptionally high grade point average you may want to mention it.
Professional
Training
It is generally nice to separate education from
training. Include this section when you wish to focus on special
courses and seminars or other forms of continuing education.
Seminars include those sponsored by your employer and those you have
attended away from your employment. Training also includes college
courses taken to improve your job performance. For example, this
would be a good place to mention that you are computer literate and
substantiate that claim with relevant coursework:
Professional
Affiliations
List only those memberships that directly relate to
your career objective. By including associations and memberships you
demonstrate that you are keeping up to date in your profession. For
persons making a career change, a listing of professional
memberships demonstrates that you are serious about your intent.
Persons returning to work after an absence of years may want to take
this opportunity to expand on any community involvement. Focus on
involvements that demonstrate skills that would be useful in the
position for which you are applying.
For example:
Foreign Languages
State any foreign languages you know, level of
proficiency, and any translating experience you may have had.
Special
Accomplishments
Career changers, recent college graduates and
women reentering the workforce can benefit from including a special
accomplishments section. The section can also be labeled
achievements, activities, project awards, volunteer experiences, or
other related facts.
References
Because most employers prefer to seek out their own
sources for references, it is not necessary to devote space to
listing them on a resume. Simply stating "References will be
furnished upon request" should be sufficient.
Remember, your resume sums up your accomplishments.
Therefore, keep it as streamlined as possible. It is redundant to
use a heading such as RESUME, FACT SHEET, or CURRICULUM VITAE. It is
also unnecessary to say anything about your availability for
employment or the reason you left your last job, as these are topics
covered during the interview.
Spelling Mistakes
Avoid spelling,punctuation and grammatical
mistakes:
