|
Resume Advice
Tips for making your resume stand out
A resume is an overview of your skills and experience. What
makes a resume stand out? A good resume is written in a
manner that is:
- Professional. Write in a clear, direct manner. Double-check your
writing for spelling (ideally, use a computer word processor's
spell checker) and grammar errors. Nothing
weakens a resume more than spelling errors or poor grammar.
- Effective. Use action words when describing your abilites and
accomplishments. Put a positive light on your talents and experience,
but don't exaggerate or lie.
- Clear and Concise. Be direct and to the point, so avoid long
winded prose. A resume is usually only given less than
a minute of attention, so don't force the employer to do any more reading
than necessary. Keep your text focused by using bullet points and
paragraphs that have no more than 3 sentences.
Ideally, a resume should be customized for each job application,
but in the real world few have the time to write a custome
resume when applying to many potential employers. The best
option is to have only a few versions of your resume, each
tailored to specific job type.
Resumes come in two basic formats: chronological (time) and
functional (abilities). For the first, list your employment history in
reverse order, with your most recent job positions and experience at
the top. A functional resume focuses on your skills and
accomplishments without as much emphasis on employers and dates.
Well written resumes have five major parts:
Heading and Opening Statement
Start with contact information: Name (in bold), address, phone
number(s), and (optionally) personal e-mail address. The opening
statement should be a brief summary of your most important skills and
most outstanding accomplishments.
Skills
Don't list all your skills. Just include that ones that fit the general
type of job that you are seeking. Be honest here.
Employment Experience and Accomplishments
List your current and previous employers here, starting with each
company's name, your job title/function, and dates of employment. Next
describe what your job was and what your notable accomplishments were.
Your accomplishments should breifly cover what the challenge was, how
you met it, and what the result was. Again, be honest here and don't
exaggerate.
Education & Training
Summarize your educational background in reverse chronological order,
starting with your most recent degree or diploma, the name of the
school, and date attended. Include partial degrees, certifications, and
any other professional development related to your objectives.
Volunteer Work & Professional Affiliations
Only include volunteer work or professional affiliations that relate to
your objectives and can show key skills that would be important to an
employer.
Employment Source can show you examples of well written and designed resumes.
|
