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3.10 CREATE AN EFFECTIVE RESUME |
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Follow These Resume Guidelines |
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- Write your resume to show employers three things:
- The amount and kind of responsibility you have handled.
- The results you have achieved.
- The relevancy of your past responsibilities and accomplishment
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- List your achievements and how you solve problems, not simply your responsibilities. In other words, explain how you increased operational efficiency, the amount of money you saved or raised, the number of people who used the service or product, the action that came about as a result of your efforts, etc. Write these items in phrases that identify the problem, note the solution, and describe the result.
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- Use statistics or numbers when you can, to show the results of what you did (i.e., size of organization, number of people supervised, length of report, time involved, size of budget, amount of money raised, etc.). Identify types of people, services, products, and programs with which you worked.
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- Write your own resume. Seek all the advice you can, but since you’ll be the one at the interview, you’ll make the best author. If you decide to use a resume writing service, work closely with the writer to make sure that the resume reflects your experience and personality.
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- Keep your resume brief, clean and easy to read with lots of white space on the page. Use the minimum number of words to convey what you wish to say. Be able to defend every word.
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- Be specific about your job and accomplishments; leave nothing to the imagination.
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- Be selective in the information that you include in your resume. Choose only information that relates to the jobs you seek.
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- Include volunteer experience relevant to the position sought. Also, include data on travel, languages, hobbies, certificates, if relevant to the target job.
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- Match the style of your resume to the style of the company. Avoid the slick look that many resume services offer. Print your resume and cover letter on matching bond paper (white, bone, or ivory). Do not print on the back side of your resume. Use a standard typeface and black ink.
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- Avoid gimmicks. Be creative, but always professional.
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- If possible, keep an electronic copy of your resume so you can easily make changes. Check with your transition office, public library, State Workforce Agency employment office or community college career center to see if they have computers available that you can use. Alternatively, you can write your resume by hand and pay a service to type it and save it electronically.
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- Be impressive in describing your experiences, but always be 100% honest. Never exaggerate or misrepresent yourself.
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- Make several drafts of your resume—boil it down to essential information and have it critiqued before it is copied. Recognize that you may need to write several different resumes in order to customize it for specific jobs.
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- Always send a cover letter to accompany your resume.
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- Do not include names of references on your resume.
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- Do not mention salary on your resume.
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- Keep everything positive in what you say about yourself—stress your strengths, not your weaknesses.
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- Use feedback from friends, relatives, and interviewers as to how your resume is coming across and modify where necessary.
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- Your resume should not be longer than two pages. One page is usually enough, especially if you have limited work experience. When mailing resumes, do not staple any documents together.
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- Include a Special Skills section where you can note languages you speak, read or write; computer hardware and software you can use; and machinery or equipment you can operate, build or repair. Do not use military terminology!
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- Emphasize credentials (licenses or certifications) obtained if they relate to the job that you are seeking. They can either be included in the “Highlights of Qualifications” section or in the “Education and Training” section.
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- Information you should not include on your resume:
- marital status
- names, ages, and number of children
- spouse’s job
- age
- race
- photograph of yourself
- religious and political affiliations
- height and weight
- salary for each previous job
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- Be Dynamic. Use the action verbs to begin each sentence in your resume. Avoid using the phrase “responsible for… .” Most interviewers interpret that phrase to mean you did not complete the action yourself. It is recommended that you use present tense for current jobs and past tense for jobs you have previously held.
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