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Creating Your Resume
Your Personal Commercial
A resume won't get you a new car, or a date, but it can get
you a foot in the door to your next career. And that foot in
the door is an interview - either over the phone or in person.
A resume is often your initial point of contact with an
employer. It's your personal commercial and printed
advertisement that describes your skills, experience, and
how you can contribute to an organization. And because
the resume is often your first point of contact with a
potential employer, it's incredibly important. Here are a few
tips and pitfalls to keep in mind while creating your resume:
The Do's
Do: List what you've accomplished during each job and
how your accomplishments impacted the company.All too
often resumes just list what a person did. It's the result of
what you did that had impact. Examples: Designed
marketing collateral to make an impact on future clients
and win new business. Bussed tables to ensure restaurant
guests had a positive dining experience.
Do: Spell check and have someone else read your resume
for typos, grammatical errors, and clarity. Employers often
utilize a resume as a writing sample. Resumes with errors
demonstrate carelessness and a lack of attention to detail,
and will likely eliminate you from the interview process.
Do: List all of your current contact information
centered on the top of your resume. Be sure to include
a current phone number, mailing address, and email
address. Be sure to use a professional email address:
partyguru@someemailprovider.com will not make a
good impression on anyone reviewing your resume.
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Do: If you're in school, include the degree you're earning
under a section entitled, "Education."
Do: Tailor your resume for the job for which you're
applying. It's not uncommon for job seekers to have several
current resumes that fit different jobs. Also, have a 'plain
text' version that can be submitted and scanned on web
sites, and a 'formatted' resume that can be sent via email as
an attachment.
The Don'ts
Don't: Assume you have no experience, or don't have any
qualifications. Think about summer jobs, contract work,
work you did for friends and family. Focus on and document
the skills you utilized and the impact you had. You probably
know and have done more than you think.
Don't: Submit a resume with a lot of text. Recruiters don't
read resumes, they scan them. Make yours easy to digest by
listing accomplishments with bullets, rather than in
paragraph form, and include a lot of white space, making
your resume easy on the eye.
A Final Word
Use the resources around you to ensure your resume reflects
your skills and experience. Ask another professional to read
and critique your resume, or use resume software packages
that provide templates and guidelines. Remember, a resume
is your personal commercial marketing you for your next
career move - make it count!
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