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Resume Builder: Foundation First!
from: John GrothBuild Your Resume from the Ground Up!
In writing a winning resume, the key approach is to “build” the resume from the ground up. The foundation of successful resume writing is to do your homework and preparation before you start the first sentence. Building the proper resume foundation will save time later on in the writing stage.
Many resume writing experts contend that the time spent in the preparation stage many times is equal or greater than the actual time spent writing the resume itself. Dates of employment, names and addresses of former employers, titles of positions held, dates of promotions, dates and times of seminars and workshops attended, titles and dates of published articles are all important information to get right.
If you’ve kept an “atta boy or girl” file you’ll have a record of achievements and commendations. The listing of achievements can range from a formal letter, emails, letters from customers, maybe a positive comment from a company executive on the margin of a memo or completed project. Of course, you’ve kept copies of all your performance reviews so they will be added to your resume writing preparation file.
Finally, in your preparation to writing your resume, you will secure copies of sample resumes. There are many examples available on the internet. Secure copies of both functional, chronological and combination resumes. Get resumes with different layouts. In your research make a list of things not to do in writing a resume. Have a similar list of things to do that are important to writing a winning resume.
Now that you’ve gathered the required information this should make building of the resume go rather smoothly. In writing the resume, always keep in mind the objective of the resume. It is not to get a job but rather to get an interview.
As you draft the resume also consider the mind set of the reader of the resume. The prospective employer has a problem. He needs someone to solve the problem. The best way to demonstrate that you are the person he’s looking for is to qualify your achievements.
In writing out our achievements hopefully you’ll have many more than will fit in a one or two page resume. This is a considerable advantage in writing the resume as you can tailor the resume to answer the required qualifications listed in the job announcement. The more focused you are the more likely you are to make it to the interview stage of the job search. If the job announcement uses industry specific jargon or other terms be sure to include them in your resume as appropriate.
Although there is no perfect length to the resume, the length depends on the required listing of your qualifications, skills and education. Redraft, redraft and redraft again to reach the needed length. Keep it brief, quantify your achievements and skills and focus on what the employer is looking for. If possible have one or more friends review the document. Make sure there are no grammatical or spelling mistakes. (In reviewing a large stack of resumes one applicant had crossed out the word “eight” and wrote in pencil “nine.” How far do you think that applicant went in the review process?)
Writing and drafting a winning resume starts with detailed preparation. Get the preparation and research done properly and your resume will move you to the interview stage of the job hunt. And with the same attention to detail in the interview stage can a job offer be far behind?
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