Your resume should provide a brief employment history that outlines your responsibilities and achievements at each position. You should also include your education, any notable honors and professional extracurricular interests. Make your resume a thumbnail profile, not an epic. It's your secret weapon to catch the hiring official's interest and secure an interview.
Steps to Success -
Keep it brief. Your resume should be no longer than two pages. Include just enough information to create an interview opportunity.
Do it with style. The type of job and industry you're interested in determines your résumé's appearance. You should employ a conservative presentation on plain white, good quality paper with a simple typeface. Make sure your resume copies are laser printed.
Detail and format are critical. Neatness counts and typographical errors, poor spelling and faulty grammar are unacceptable. Leave wide margins so the interviewer can make notes before, during, and following your meeting. How your resume impresses the hiring official will make all the difference in getting you the interview.
Accentuate the positive. Your resume should present
your professional background in the most positive manner. Use strong confident
language to describe your achievements. We have included a sample resume
that illustrates the type of language we are talking about. Use action-oriented
words such as directed,
established, created, designed, produced, developed, throughout your resume
to sell yourself. Think of your resume as a sales piece for your most
important product-You!
Less is more. Never include age, height, weight, marital status and other extraneous details that will distract from more critical content. Military service is only important if it's related directly to the position you're seeking. Salary requirements aren't appropriate, either.
Perfection counts. It may take a couple of drafts to turn your resume into your ideal sales tool. Examine your first draft carefully, then refine it. Proofread it carefully. Have someone else proofread it, too. Get another opinion on its content and presentation. Now make sure it answers "yes" to the following important questions:
- Does it effectively describe your background?
- Does it highlight your strong points and accomplishments?
- Is it honest and accurate?
- Is it complete, yet concise?
- Is the format clean and attractive?
- Is it a successful sales piece?
- Does it focus on your VALUE to your other employers?
- Does it make you stand out from the crowd?
A note about e-mail: Some companies offer the option of submitting a resume by e-mail. This may require some modifications to the format you used for your "paper" resume. Prepare your e-mail resume in a standard word processing program, such as MS Word, if sending as an attachment. If asked to submit as a 'text-only' or 'ASCII' file, remove any special characters, spacing and fonts that you may have used for your "paper" resume.
