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Resume Advice
From
The Best Source - Your Employer
The resume advice I've compiled here comes directly from the best
source out there..the hiring manager who makes the decision whether or
not to give you a job.
The tips below come from feedback I've received over the years and is
based on real-world experience.
I've used these resume tips myself during my job search and have received
countless requests for a follow on job interview. It worked for me, it
will work for you.
Here are some generic resume
advice and tips that you should consider. Tailor these to
meet your specific needs.
- Create your resume around a clear job objective.
- Don't wander. If
the job you are seeking is for "basket weaving", then make sure you
emphasize this skill throughout all portions of your resume.
- Think of your resume as a marketing
tool.
- Remember that your resume is the
means to the job
interview.
- Most
people do not get the job based solely on their resume.
- In the resume body, it is better to use short
specific sentences
rather that long flowery ones.
- Write in the active voice....not passive. (e.g.
"I managed"...
versus "...was managed by me".
- Use "stats" to emphasize your accomplishments.
- Numbers, dollar
amounts, and percentages stand out in the body of a resume.
- Emphasize the positive.
- Don't include any negative or irrelevant
points.
- Make your resume easy to read.
- Include a lot of "white space".
- Don't
jam everything in there.
- Ask someone you trust to review your resume and
provide honest
feedback.
As I stress through out this website, I recommend you use every source
out there and choose whatever works best for you.
So to take my own advice, I want to share some resume advice I came
across while developing my resume. The material below is
derived (in part) from the "Damn Good" website and written by Yana
Parker.
What IS a
resume anyway?
- Remember: a Resume is a self-promotional
document that presents you in the best possible light, for the purpose
of getting invited to a job interview.
What should
the resume content be about?
- It's not just about past jobs! It's about YOU,
and how you performed and what you accomplished in those past jobs.
Sound resume advice predicts how you might perform in that desired
future job.
What's the
first step in writing a resume?
- Decide on a job target (or "job objective").
Keep it short to avoid "fluff" which might indicates a lack of clarity
and direction.
What if you
don't have any experience in the kind of work you want to do?
- Get some! Find a place that will let you do
some volunteer work right away.
- You only need a brief, concentrated period of
volunteer training (for example, 1 day a week for a month) to have at
least SOME experience to put on your resume.
What's the
best way to impress an employer?
- Good resume advice includes filling out your
resume with "PAR" statements.
- PAR stands for Problem-Action-Results; in other
words, first you state the problem that existed in your workplace, then
you describe what you did about it, and finally you point out the
beneficial results.
How far back
should you go in your Work History?
- Far enough; and not too far! About 10 or 15
years is usually enough - unless your "juiciest" work experience is
from farther back.
What about
listing hobbies and interests?
- Don't include hobbies on a resume unless the
activity is somehow relevant to your job objective, or clearly reveals
a characteristic that supports your job objective.
What if you
got your degree from a different country?
- You can say "Degree equivalent to U.S.
Bachelor's Degree in Economics-London, England."
What about
fancy-schmancy paper?
- Employers tell me they HATE parchment paper and
pretentious brochure-folded resume "presentations."
- They think they're phony, and toss them right
out. Use plain white or ivory, in a quality appropriate for your job
objective.
- Never use colored paper unless there's a very
good reason for it (like, you're an artist) because if it gets
photo-copied the results will be murky.
For additional resume advice,
you might also want to check out the career information,
resume format,
resume writing
and CV
writing sections of this website.
If you are still struggling with this, and need addition resume advice,
you may want to consider using a professional
resume writer.
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