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| Resume Writing Tips and Sample Outline
Internet Resources:
Resume Writing — Excellent web tutorial on how to write a good resume Cover Letter — Web tutorial on how to construct a good cover letter
Sample Resume Outline
Name
Address
Phone Number
| Objective | – what kind of job you are looking for and what you want out of the job | | Qualifications | – what personal qualities make you a good person for any type of job | | Skills | – skills you have that apply to the position – or what you did in previous jobs | | Job History | – jobs you have held – titles, companies, cities, years – most recent first | | Education | – degrees, GED, courses, certificates, training – school names and years | Related Experiences
| – volunteering, travel, languages, computer skills and other experience |
Resume Writing Tips
Writing a resume can be intimidating. HR professionals and hiring managers receive hundreds of resumes for any given position; therefore, they may spend as little as 10 to 30 seconds on yours. These tips will help your resume get noticed. - Before putting your pen to paper or fingers to the keys, determine your objective. Do this prior to writing the resume. You should clearly state what sort of job you want and know what kinds of skills and experiences are needed to do well in that job. After your objective is determined, you can structure the content of your resume around that objective. It is essential that you take the time before you start your resume to form a clear and targeted objective.
- Now you can begin the resume writing process. The resume's only goal is to obtain an interview. It's a marketing tool to get you in the company and in front of your potential boss – that’s it. Once in, you will need to do the sales pitch and close the deal.
Strive to be clear and concise. You do not want to go into detail about every accomplishment in your resume. You should put yourself in the shoes of the resume reader. When looking at the job qualifications needed for the position, what would you be looking for in a candidate? Obviously, that is what you should include in your resume.
- In the body of your resume, use bullet points with short sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs. Resumes are read quickly. Therefore, having key phrases standing alone and bulleted will help the reader see the important information at a glance. Again, don't worry about the specifics; you will go into details during the interview.
Use action words such as prepared, managed, developed, monitored and presented to help your resume to stand out. In addition to standing out to a reader, you also ensure that if your resume is scanned, the computer will pick up on the words. Some companies now scan in your resume and have computers pick the resumes to be looked at. The computers are looking for one thing – keywords that have been picked by the hiring manager. These are action key words that relate to the position; therefore not including them could mean your resume is disregarded as a "non-match."
- You should use symbols such as %, $ and #. Percentages, dollar totals, and numbers stand out in the body of a resume. I’ve included an example below. As is obvious with the below examples, being specific does not mean being lengthy.
Incorrect: Sold advertising to 15 companies
Correct: Closed 15 strategic accounts billing in excess of $20M annually
- Highlight your strengths and what is most relevant to the potential employer. Determine which bullets most strongly support your job search objective. Put the strongest and most relevant points first, where they are more apt to be read. Doing this will hook the reader, and the rest of your resume will reel them in.
- Match the needs of the hiring company. Review job postings online and in the newspapers for positions that interest you. Each listing will almost always have a brief blurb about the company and the position available. Read the job description closely, and use the key words listed in these ads, and match them to the bullet points in your resume. Chances are that you have some of these as key points already. However, if you have missed any, be sure to add them to your resume.
- Above all in your resume and interview – you must be positive. Avoid including negative and irrelevant points. If you feel your graduation date will subject you to age discrimination, leave it off your resume. If you do some duties in your current job that don't support your job search objective, do not include them. Focus on the duties that do support your objective, and leave off irrelevant personal information like your race, weight and height.
- Have you taken an advertising class? Let me give you one tidbit from my studies that will improve the appearance of your resume. White space is the open area of an ad, and white space is important to your resume. Open up the newspaper and note which ads first catch your eye. Are they the ads that are jammed full of text and pictures, or are they ads that have a large amount of unused space ("white space")? This is done to grab your attention, as you are always attracted to open areas. For this reason, don't worry if you are having a hard time filling the page with text; increase your line spacing to compensate – this will increase the white space – and really, that’s a good thing.
- How long should my resume be? What size font should I use? The font size should be no smaller than 10 point, and the length of your resume should be one to two pages. Yes, you can use more than one page. But remember, keep it concise. It’s okay to use two pages for your resume if you really have that much to say; however, it’s not necessary.
- Ask a friend and get an outside opinion on your resume before sending it off. You should always have a third party review your resume. It can be difficult for you to note all your high points and clearly convey all your accomplishments. Having someone besides you review your resume will allow you to note how others will view your marketing materials – would your resume impress them? If not, why?
Don’t settle for “it’s good.” You must encourage the third party to give you feedback and ask questions. These questions from the reader can help you discover items you inadvertently left off your resume. Take their comments into consideration and revise your resume to include these items. Their questions can also point to items on your resume that are confusing to the reader. This valuable input will allow you to clarify your resume.
Okay, you’re ready to start applying for positions – When submitting your resume, you should apply for some jobs that appear to be above your qualifications, positions that are a match and positions which may be beneath you.
Why? Perhaps the position beneath will turn out to be more than it appeared once you interview for it. Or perhaps once you have your foot in the door you can learn of other opportunities. If nothing else, interviewing more will increase your interviewing skills. Like anything else, repetition will decrease your nervousness and increase your skills at attacking the tough questions.
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