- A RESUME IS A FORMAL WRITTEN PROFILE
THAT PRESENTS A PERSON'S KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
TO POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS.
A WELL WRITTEN RESUME MAKES IT EASY FOR POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS
TO QUICKLY AND EASILY IDENTIFY YOUR SKILLS AND WORK EXPERIENCE.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WALKS YOU THROUGH FIVE STEPS
IN BUILDING A WINNING RESUME.
STEP 1 IS TO WRITE A CAREER OBJECTIVE
OR PERSONAL PROFILE.
BOTH THE CAREER OBJECTIVE AND PERSONAL PROFILE
ARE STATEMENTS THAT PRESENT YOUR KEY SKILLS BRIEFLY.
INDIVIDUALS WITH LITTLE OR NO WORK EXPERIENCE
SHOULD USE A CAREER OBJECTIVE
WHILE THOSE WITH MORE EXTENSIVE CAREER EXPERIENCE
SHOULD USE A PERSONAL PROFILE.
EACH SHOULD BE WRITTEN SPECIFICALLY FOR THE TARGET JOB.
STEP 2 INVOLVES COLLECTING IMPORTANT INFORMATION
FOR YOUR DRAFT ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT.
THIS INCLUDES YOUR EDUCATION, SKILLS,
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY, FOREIGN LANGUAGES SPOKEN,
HONORS AND AWARDS AND OTHER INFORMATION
YOU WANT A PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER TO KNOW ABOUT YOU.
STEP 3 INVOLVES ARRANGING YOUR ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT
INTO THE PROPER RESUME LAYOUT.
IF YOU'RE AT THE START OF YOUR CAREER
AND DO NOT HAVE EXTENSIVE WORK EXPERIENCE,
USE THE FUNCTIONAL RESUME LAYOUT.
THIS LAYOUT EMPHASIZES RELEVANT SKILLS
WHEN YOU LACK RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE.
A FUNCTIONAL RESUME FOCUSES ON SKILLS AND EDUCATION.
PRESENT EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
AND EDUCATION IN REVERSE TIME ORDER,
MEANING YOUR MOST RECENT JOB FIRST.
BOLD YOUR JOB TITLE, NOT THE PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT.
IF YOU HAVE EXTENSIVE CAREER EXPERIENCE,
USE A CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME LAYOUT.
IN THE CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME LAYOUT
THE CAREER OBJECTIVE IS REPLACED WITH A PERSONAL PROFILE.
GENERAL SKILLS EMPHASIZED IN YOUR PERSONAL PROFILE
ARE YOUR SKILL SETS.
THESE SKILL SETS ARE USED AS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
SUB-HEADINGS ON YOUR RESUME.
STEP 4 INVOLVES DETAILING THE INFORMATION
LISTED IN YOUR SKILLS, WORK EXPERIENCE
AND PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
INCLUDE BOTH JOB-SPECIFIC AND TRANSFERABLE SKILLS.
JOB-SPECIFIC ARE THOSE SKILLS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE JOB
WHERE TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
ARE THOSE THAT CAN BE USED FOR ANY TYPE OF JOB.
USE POWER WORDS TO QUANTIFY YOUR SKILLS, RESPONSIBILITIES,
AND PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
THE KEY IS TO EMPHASIZE THE INFORMATION MOST IMPORTANT
FOR THE TARGET JOB.
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND NEEDED EXPERIENCE
MENTIONED IN THE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
SHOULD BE SHOWN ON THE RESUME.
HOWEVER, BE TRUTHFUL ON YOUR RESUME.
DO NOT LIST A SKILL OR EXPERIENCE
IF YOU DO NOT POSSESS IT.
DO NOT USE COMPLETE SENTENCES
AND DO NOT INCLUDE THE WORDS "I" AND "MY".
THE FINAL STEP IN CREATING A WINNING RESUME
IS ENSURING THAT ALL INFORMATION IS COMPLETE, ACCURATE
AND SELLS YOUR SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
DO NOT INCLUDE PERSONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS PHOTOGRAPHS,
YOUR BIRTHDAY, HOBBIES OR ANY REFERENCES.
ADD AN INFORMATION HEADING.
THIS IS THE CONTACT INFORMATION LISTED AT THE TOP OF YOUR RESUME
THAT INCLUDES YOUR NAME, MAILING ADDRESS,
CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE,
CONTACT PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS.
ONLY INCLUDE ONE CONTACT PHONE NUMBER.
KEEP YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PROFESSIONAL.
COMPLETE THE RESUME BY PROOFREADING FOR PERFECTION.
USE BOTH, SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK.
THEN HAVE SOMEONE YOU TRUST
PROOFREAD YOUR RESUME FOR ERRORS.
CHECK FOR CONSISTENCY.
PRINT YOUR RESUME IN BLACK INK ON 8 1/2 X 11 INCH RESUME PAPER.
USE AN EASY-TO-READ FONT
AND DO NOT OVERUSE UNDERLINES, BOLD, ITALICS AND BULLETS.
A RESUME IS INCOMPLETE
UNLESS IT'S ACCOMPANIED BY A COVER LETTER.
A COVER LETTER SERVES AS AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR RESUME.
WHEN WRITING A COVER LETTER,
USE PROPER BUSINESS LETTER FORMAT.
EACH WORD AND PARAGRAPH MUST HAVE A PURPOSE.
YOUR GOAL IS TO COMMUNICATE HOW YOUR KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS,
ABILITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FILL A TARGETED COMPANY'S NEEDS
AND MAKE THE READER WANT TO REVIEW YOUR RESUME.
ADDRESS THE LETTER TO A SPECIFIC PERSON.
TAILOR YOUR COVER LETTER FOR THE TARGET JOB.
INCLUDE HOW YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT THE POSITION,
WHAT BENEFITS YOU CAN BRING TO THE COMPANY
AND YOUR INTEREST IN THE POSITION.
DO NOT JUST REWRITE YOUR RESUME.
INSTEAD INCLUDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
YOU WANT THE EMPLOYER TO KNOW.
HOWEVER, DON'T MAKE IT PERSONAL.
MAINTAIN A PROFESSIONAL TONE.
INJECT INFORMATION YOU'VE LEARNED ABOUT THE COMPANY
THROUGH YOUR RESEARCH.
KEEP IN MIND, A COVER LETTER IS WRITTEN WITH PROPER GRAMMAR,
CONTAINS COMPLETE SENTENCES
AND MUST BE SPELLCHECKED AND PROOFREAD.
AVOID THE OVERUSE OF THE PRONOUNS "I" AND "ME".
WHEN SENDING YOUR COVER LETTER,
REMEMBER TO SIGN THE LETTER.
PRINT YOUR LETTER ON THE SAME TYPE OF PAPER
USED FOR YOUR RESUME.
USE THE SAME INFORMATION
HEADING YOU CREATED FOR YOUR RESUME
OR PROPER PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTER SETUP.
THIS CREATES A CONSISTENT
AND PROFESSIONAL VISUAL APPEAL FOR YOUR RESUME PACKAGE.