The Resume

Your resume is a marketing tool and the first impression an employer has of you.  It should contain information that is informative, concise, consistent and highlights your individual skills and experience.  An effective resume will incorporate material that will attract the attention of a prospective employer and ultimately lead to a scheduled interview.  The resume will communicate why you are a good candidate for your stated professional objective.  There are several ways of writing a resume.  Therefore, it is important to focus on your target market and select a format that is appropriate.

CHRONOLOGICAL FORMAT

Heading
Include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

Professional Objective
If you have a clear and focused professional objective you could include it on your resume.  A professional objective is optional, but if you do not include it, the prospective employer will assume you are interested in a position similar to your most recent position.

A professional objective:

• Defines the work you want to do within your profession and makes it easier for you to explain when speaking with others.  It is important for others to understand what you are looking for so they are better able to assist you.
• Helps you focus and gives direction to your job search.  It can be included separately at the beginning of your resume or as part of a summary statement.
• Assists you in developing a good marketing plan.  Your marketing plan allows you to target companies and organizations that will lead you to the right position.
• Should be understood and focused.  Needs to be written in language commonly used in the industry, not just relevant to your last position or company.

Summary/Profile
A summary is a statement(s) emphasizing your technical or professional skills, accomplishments and strengths.  If you are contemplating a career change utilize a summary to indicate your transferable skills.

Experience
List all positions in reverse chronological order with the most recent first.  Include company name, location, years employed and job titles.  Using bullet points, as opposed to paragraphs, explain your job responsibilities, focusing on your accomplishments.  This will make it easier for the reader to comprehend and pinpoint key words.  Begin the description of your skills and duties with an action verb.  (Refer to section entitled Action Verbs). 

Skills
Include computer skills and any foreign languages that you speak.  Use the following to describe your proficiency in a particular language: fluent, conversant, proficient in, knowledge of and familiar with.

Education
List your credentials in reverse chronological order including your highest degree and university. 

License/Certification
List relevant professional licenses and/or certifications.

Professional Development and Training
List additional training or courses taken that are relevant to the position.  You could also list these under the education section.

Memberships
List memberships and positions held in professional associations, boards and community groups; avoid acronyms.

FUNCTIONAL FORMAT

When using a functional resume, the emphasis is placed on your qualifications, not on specific employers and dates.  You would utilize a functional resume when your objective is very different than your experience, you want to highlight skills and accomplishments not obtained or used in recent work experience.  This is often most effective for individuals re-entering the job market or changing careers.

Heading
Include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

Summary/Profile
A summary is a statement(s) emphasizing your technical or professional skills accomplishments and strengths.  If you are contemplating a career change utilize a summary to indicate your transferable skills.

Accomplishments
Using bullet points, list your skills/accomplishments that are most relevant to the position.  These bullet points could also be categorized according to job responsibilities.  The categories may include:  Management, Marketing, Operations, and Administration.

Skills
Include computer skills and any foreign languages that you speak.  Use the following to describe your proficiency in a particular language:  fluent, conversant, proficient in, knowledge of and familiar with.

Work Experience
List in Reverse Chronological order name, location, years employed and job title of your current and previous employers.

Memberships
List memberships and positions held in professional associations, boards, and community groups; avoid acronyms.

Education
List your credentials in reverse chronological order including your highest degree and university.

License/Certification
List relevant professional licenses and/or certifications.

Professional Development and Training
List additional training or courses taken that are relevant to the position.  You could also list these under the education section.

When you choose a format it is important for you to determine if the layout is the best way to present your experience, skills and accomplishments.  Since resumes are unique to each individual, not all will have the same headings and information.

RESUME TIPS

• Keep the resume to one or two pages.  If you use two pages make sure the content on the second page takes up at least half the page.
• Include your name, phone number and a page number on your second page.
• Use same font type, font size and quality laser printing on your resume and your cover letter.
• Avoid using pronouns, abbreviations or acronyms.
• Utilize action verbs when beginning sentences or phrases.
• Quantify your results and achievements by providing statistical data and numbers.
• Use present tense to describe current jobs and past tense to describe previous positions.
• Include a phone number with an active and professional voice mail.
• Write out all numbers up to and including the number nine.  (use numericals for 10-999,999).
• Spell check all documents and have at least two others proofread your resume for spelling and grammar.
• Select a format and be consistent.

SCANNABLE RESUMES

Many employers use computerized scanning systems to review resumes.  Since you cannot be sure whether your target company uses such a method, you may want to send two resumes - your standard resume and one marked "scannable" at the top.  Tips on creating a scannable resume:

• Print from a laser printer or high quality inkjet printer
• Your name, address, phone number and e-mail should appear on separate lines at the top of your resume.
• Avoid using fancy typefaces, italics, underlining and vertical and horizontal lines.
• Avoid boxes, shading, hollow bullets or anything decorative.
• Use specific numerical dates, not words, when listing dates of employment.
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms; it is better to spell them out.
• Stick to standard resume headings in a chronological format.
• Use 8 ½ x 11 white paper, printed on one side and use 10-12 point font size.
• Use adequate margins and spacing, do not fold or staple your resume.
• Place the most relevant information toward the top of the resume.
• State a specific objective - it will be the first key word on the page.
• Submit a cover letter including key words from the job listing if possible.
• Make liberal use of key words that are commonly associated with the job, i.e. Financial Analyst, keywords:  budgeting, forecasting, cash flow, etc.
• Beneath the objective write a summary, profile or summary of qualifications to highlight your skills and accomplishments.

ELECTRONIC RESUME

This generally refers to a resume that is sent to an employer via the Internet or e-mail.  Some company homepages will include a form that you can complete on-line and submit.  Some websites geared toward job search assistance also include this type of resume service.  Before you post your resume, you should consider that you will not have any control over who will see your resume, including your present employer.  Investigate any on-line employment services that may want to charge you a fee and verify their success before you join.  Some tips for creating e-Resumes:

• Save your resume as a text file in a word processing program and send it as an attachment along with a professional e-mail stating your purpose for forwarding your resume.  If possible, follow up with a phone call or an additional e-mail requesting confirmation of receipt.  If the recruiter is not able to open an attachment for fear of a virus, copy and paste the resume text into the body of your e-mail when you apply for a job.
• Limit each line in your resume to 72 characters.  Most e-mail programs wrap around after 72 characters.  Avoiding the 73rd character will make your resume much easier and enjoyable to read.
• Showcase your strong points first.
• Don't forget to use spell check.  Using technology as an aid doesn't mean you can forget old fashioned proofreading.
• Include a cover letter.  Many applicants submitting resumes via Internet eliminate this step.  Recruiters want to see how you write, and they also want to see how you market yourself for a particular position.
• Backup all of your work on a disk and on your hard drive.