Soooo many people looking for a new position, so many of us searching for that new job for the first time ever, or for the first time, in what seems like ever… we all need to start in the same place. We need a way to secure an interview. Unless you have a personal referral, the "connection" or "rabbi", the only way to accomplish our goal is to take it one step at a time, and Step 1 is your resume.
Step 1. – Your Resume:
Let’s understand that this is an information driven document. The job of your resume is to give the reader the impetuous to contact you for an interview! Your resume is the ultimate first impression. It need not be fancy, but it must be strategically well laid out, and bursting with pertinent information. Here are some of the most important do's and don’ts:
Resume format should be consistent, and font friendly throughout.
a. font size should never be smaller than 12.
b. style should one of the more basic forms, e.g. Calibri, Times New Roman, or Arial – never prepare your resume in a script or italicized font.
c. job title, employer, tenures should all be placed consistently throughout resume.
d. utilize underlining, bold, and italics very judiciously.
Name, complete address, home and cell phone numbers, email address, all should be top center.
a. make certain to have your two most reachable telephone numbers listed, indicating what they are – e.g. (h) – home, (c) – cell, (o) – office
b. be sure to have your correct zip code – many firms communicate based on commutability, and desired locale.
c. never "hide" your address and telephone number on the bottom of your resume.
All resumes should state a career objective.
a. make your point in no more than two succinct sentences.
b. do not confuse your objective with your cover letter.
Work experience should be detailed in reverse chronological order, with most recent position indentified first, and working back in your career history.
a. your resume must include your tenures – a resume without dates of employment is like a calendar without numbers.
b. months are NOT essential.
c. a bulleted format is most desirable. Information provide in paragraph form is harder to “pull”.
d. your position with the longest tenure is generally the one allotted the most number of “bullet points”.
e. each bullet point should begin with an action word, drawing the reader’s interest. e.g. Directed, Lead, Created, Initiated, Implemented – you get the idea…
f. the “meat” of each bullet should be very evident to the reader. e.g. Increased profit by 37% year over year, resulting in a net profit of 1.5 million dollars.
g. your resume should go back no more than twenty years worth of professional experience.
Following your work experience should be your educational background. (except recent college graduates where education experience comes after objective)
a. indicate the highest degree you attained first, along with the college or university granting the degree.
b. indicate lesser degrees and the awarding college or university next.
c. mention all certifications, and training courses completed, if the training pertains to your professional experience. e.g. if you are a C.P.A., and your professional background is in the field of finance, we want to know that, however if you’ve passed your Level 3 Soccer coache's certification, that needn’t be mentioned here.
Resume closes with personal background. This can include hobbies, family, community involvement, volunteer experiences.
a. state no more than three personal hobbies, too much success on the golf course could imply too little time in the office.
b. be careful not to “over-accentuate” your commitment to outside activities. e.g. if you serve on 5 different community organizations, and have been the head coach of the highest level soccer club, it begs the question of how much time you will miss from work.
Your resume is the ultimate first impression. Regardless if you do it yourself, or have it professional written, you must insure that there are no TYPOS. Reread your resume over several times. Then ask at least two other trusted friends, family members, or better yet an English teacher to read it over again.
Never rely on "Spell Check" from any program to catch errors. Finally make certain that your information is accurate. Many companies, staffing firms, not for profit organizations, (and hiring authorities in general) are now relying on due diligence firms to verify employment, education, and military history.
To make your resume work for you, make certain your resume makes sense to the reader. Forget the "fancy", and concentrate on presenting the facts... and for more info on your resume, cover letter, upcoming interviews, or any career search question, contact me Jack Young at headhunter@aol.com - also check out two websites affilated with my companies http://www.jackyoung.com/ and http://www.allowmetointroducemyself.com/
