A resume is your personal marketing tool-- a critical document
required to get you called in for a job interview. Professional
resume writing should present your career history, accomplishments,
and education in a concise, informative one to two page document.
Is A Resume Really Necessary?
A professional resume is mandatory in today’s job
market because the contents can be scanned, visually or
electronically, to meet each company’s specific requirements
and quickly weed out unqualified applicants. A resume is
not an autobiography, but a document that can open doors
to your next career opportunity via headhunters, corporate
H.R. departments, targeted mailings, answering ads or internet
posting sites.
Key Components of a Resume
A resume should start out with a Summary of Qualifications
section which is a 3-8 sentence overview of your professional
background. The Summary of Qualifications should include
strong action words and highlight your various skills with
phrases such as “results-oriented”, “strong
analytical skills”, “excellent negotiation skills”,
“ability to think out of the box”, etc.
The second category that is very important for resumes
that are visually or electronically scanned is entitled
Areas of Strength.
The Heart of Good Resume Writing
The major portion of a resume presents your job responsibilities
and accomplishments under the heading of Professional Experience.
Typically, career experience is listed in reverse chronological
order, starting with your present or most recent position.
The most effective resumes include accomplishments as
well as responsibilities under each job description.
Brevity is Important
Human Resources professional do not want to read through
pages of information on each applicant. Instead, focus on
your most recent 10-15 years of work experience and then
summarize or list previous companies/titles to keep your
resume to a strong one or two pages in length.
Education and Training
The last section of a reverse chronological resume is
Education. In addition to the name of the college or university
attended, your major, and date of graduation should be included.
Professional degrees and industry training are very important
and should not be overlooked.
Computer Skills
A separate section on Computer Skills can be appropriate
if you have a lot of relevant hardware, software, and applications
experience or if this is your career profession. The Computer
Skills section can follow the Education section on your
resume.
Addressing Special Needs
Often, a job applicant’s career information may
not translate strongly on paper. For example, military personnel
attempting to present their specialized training in a resume
being sent out to civilian employers may not use the same
terminology or job titles that Human Resources professionals
are used to seeing in the typical job market.
Cover Letters
While your resume is written to present and highlight
your career experience and achievements, a cover letter’s
job is to target the specific information that you would
like prospective employers to focus on. The cover letter
should include the name of the position you are applying
for, list a few examples of how your experience fits in
perfectly with the job description, briefly outline your
related job experience, and refer to the specific sections
on your resume where this can be shown.
