Resume Tips
Whenever you begin a search for a fulltime career opportunity, your resume should highlight your educational and work experience and elaborate your accomplishments. You will need to adapt your resume for a specific job opportunity or tailor your job objective to match the employer's needs.
Your resume should be well developed, error free, and carefully crafted to avoid unnecessarily being screened out from the interview process. It will tell the interviewer who you are and show the interviewer what you can do for their organization.
By reading your resume, the interviewer will quickly evaluate if you have the necessary qualifications along with the motivation and ambition to enhance the goals of their organization.
Think of your resume as an introduction, promoting and marketing you, to your future employer!!
YOUR RESUME
What the resume does for an Employer:
It is a time saver which quickly identifies your career objective and general background.
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What the resume does for You:
It enables you to focus on your academic background and your overall experience, while highlighting specific information to support your job objective. This will allow you to easily discuss your major strengths during the actual interview.
These major headings should appear on your resume:
Objective, Experience, Education, Personal
Career Objective
A well-written career objective can be vey useful in communicating your goals and qualifications. The objective establishes the focal point and direction of your career. You should tailor you job objective for the position you are applying for.
- What do you want to do?
- Choose those aptitudes that represent both an interest and a skill.
- Cite areas of strength that fit both you and your career objectives.
Your career objective should be brief; you should be able to state it in one sentence. Career objective statements should avoid terms, such as "an opportunity for advancement", "a challenging position", "a position dealing with people", "a progressive company", "a dynamic company", etc.
The level of scope of the position can be conveyed by "Entry-level" if you are seeking a full-time professional career opportunity for the first time.
Example:
Entry-level marketing position utilizing a strong interest in communications or product marketing.
Business Experience
This section provides information on your current and past employment, including part-time employment, summer jobs, internships and co-op positions. The name of the employer, location, position, title, primary responsibilities, and dates of employment should be listed. A brief description of the employer's type of business is essential, geared to provide a thumbnail sketch for the reader. Positions should be listed in reverse chronological order.
Next, highlight specific achievements, including examples of leadership, to convey successful performance in past positions. Do not be modest; this is the time to sell your accomplishments. Be concise. Start each accomplishment with an active verb. Words such as Increased, Sold, Introduced, Implemented, Initiated, Directed, Conceived, Developed, Created, Consolidated, Reduced, Saved, Obtained, Improved, Supervised, may be used.
http://www.resume-help.org/resume_action_words.htm
Expand on your relevant work experience and write your resume applicable to the type of position you are seeking. You will require more than one resume if applying for more than one career area.
Highlight work experience and achievements to support your career objective and to generate discussion around your skills and past accomplishments. Employers want to know what you have accomplished. Be positive, capitalize on strengths and omit negative or neutral words. Indicate any promotions and increased responsibilities you may have undertaken. Results-oriented people with proven abilities are selected.
Education
List highest degree awarded first, with the name of the college/university, location, degree, and dates attended. List training programs, seminars, or conferences relevant to your career objective.
Personal
Your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address should be placed in a prominent position at the top of your resume. Telephone numbers are a must, since employers may call to set up an interview.
Other information to enhance your resume may be listed under separate headings, such as Special Awards, Recommendations, Honorariums, Publications, Military Service, Leadership Positions, Membership in Business Associations, and Community Organizations. Include names, locations, and dates for your special achievements.
Summary
Take the time to develop the appropriate resume to showcase your interests and skills. Critique your final draft. Then review it with family, friends, and other professionals who can offer good, constructive advice. Proofread your resume carefully; it must be error-free.
The resume design and tone should be brief and action-oriented. Edit out excess words. Resume length should be kept to 1 or 2 pages. Focus on your qualifications and career goals so that employers can quickly identify how your capabilities could be mutually beneficial.
