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Writing the Ultimate Resume!
from: John GrothDrafting and writing a winning resume has started a minor industry with as many ideas about resume format and wiriting as their are job hunters. Here is the ultimate resume writing guide.
Job hunting today is a numbers game. Long gone are the days when you could mail in a resume and a few days later get a call for an interview. It’s not uncommon today for an employer to get 200, 500 and even a 1000 or more resumes for a popular and well paying job.
So it’s even more critical to have a resume that grabs attention quickly, if you don’t catch the reviewer’s attention in 30 seconds or less, you go into the big reject file never to be seen again. Think of your resume as a 30 second TV commercial that is trying to sell you on seeing a full length movie. What would the 30 second commercial contain? Surely not set up scenes or how the picture was made-they go right to the heart of the movie, to the excitement and leave you wanting to see more.
This should be your motivation in writing a resume. Less is more. Keep your message short but powerful. Your resume and cover letter must stand out.
Your resume and cover letter must be tailored to the opportunity. Include skills and abilities in your resume and cover letter that are appropriate to the employer and the job opportunity. Many of the appropriate job related terms are contained in the job announcement. Use them in both your resume and cover letter.
Start your resume with a one or two sentence description providing an overview of your personality and experience. An opening statement such as, "Skilled listener, competitive, team player, determined manager who without fail exceeds the target," is a much stronger opening to a resume rather than, "I am interested in a position that is demanding and makes the most of my skills and abilities.”
Next we list your accomplishments. Put it in bullet points and make it quantifiable. Nothing is better than, “Developed plan and supervised construction of $1.4 million remodeling project completed under budget and 6 weeks earlier than planned.” Isn’t this better than the weak “Responsible for company wide remodeling project?” You don’t need to say how you accomplished the project results, save that for the interview.
Now we list a summary of descriptions showing your basic skills and experience. What are they looking for in the job description? If they require you to be proficient in the use of a particular type of software, put it under a category such as “technical expertise.”
In the next category you will include all the relevant education that is applicable to the job opportunity. If you attended or completed extra courses, workshops or seminars in subjects relevant to the job, by all mean include the information. The standard on including the educational information is what the employer would want to see that increases your qualifications for the job.
The fifth and last section of the resume is where you outline in some detail your specific work experience. You can organize this information by function or date. Again the standard is to include information that would be of interest to the hiring manager to want to interview you. Include anything that demonstrates your experience to succeed in the job.
Finally, two subjects to avoid in your resume. Many times you’ll read from some expert to include this information. One is your job objectives. Many times the objective is so specific that it excludes other positions that you may qualify. Starting your resume with a profile or achievement summary is a great way to demonstrate your interests and abilities.
The second subject to avoid on the resume is a listing of references. Create a separate list of references and save it on a separate document. When requested you can provide a list of 2 or 3 references. It’s a good practice to call the reference in advance of a possible call from the prospective employer.
Review the requirements of the job with them and any hot buttons you observed in the interview. Ask them to call you after the contact from the employer so you can get a more complete picture on what the employer seemed particularly interested in. At your next interview make sure you fill in any gaps that might have been uncovered in the call with your reference.
With this start you’ll be drafting a winning resume, one that will get noticed and move you to the interview phase of the hiring process. With the same dedication you put into the resume and cover letter, study effective interviewing strategies and practice your approach until your confidence shows through. A job offer will be the next step.
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