Free Resume Guide and Tips
Writing an effective resume can be a tedious task. The stress of job hunting is further made worse by the uncertainty of your resume. An ineffective resume should not be an additional stressor to your while searching for a job. By utilizing a resume guide or resume writing service, you can rest assured that your resume is the best it can be.
The purpose of a resume is to essentially gain an interview and highlight your work accomplishments. The header of should always contain your name and current contact information. In today’s technologically driven work environment, you should always include a cell phone number and email address. Always make sure that the email address used on your resume is professional in appearance. For example, do not use the email PartyDude@email.com. Your email address for resume and business purposes should contain your first name, last name, or a combination of both. For example, use the email JohnDoe@email.com and if this is taken, experiment with other combinations such as JDoe@email.com. The last thing you want to do is exclude yourself from an interview based upon what the company perceives your personality as. Inappropriate email addresses can easily do this.
An addition to inappropriate email addresses is inappropriate content on social networking pages such as Facebook or MySpace. Employers will now search your email and easily find your profiles on the web. Always make sure that your privacy settings are set to strict so only people you allow are able to see you personal pictures and comments. Be sure to research this topic further to ensure you are not giving the wrong impression before even setting foot in a potential employer’s office.
Below your contact information, you should provide a brief paragraph about your skills that pertain to the position that you are applying for. This paragraph should use relevant descriptor words that highlight your work skills. An example for this would be “Expert in the utilization of Office software and the Windows operating system.” Keep this paragraph as short as possible while giving the best description attainable. Potential employers will be impressed by your ability to relay an accurate message effectively without going into unnecessary details.
After your description is written correctly in your resume, you will next need to give your education background. Be sure to include any and all awards given such as graduating Cum Lade, dean’s list, extracurricular activities, charity work, and organizations or fraternities/sororities you were involved with during your college years. If you did not attend college, you still should include your high school awards and involvements in your resume. Generally, employers would like that you attended college, but college experience is not necessary. Work experience will generally outweigh a four year degree if you are an expert in your field.
Once your resume has education information completed, you should then include your past work experience or military experience. If you have had jobs in the past that are not relevant to the position you are applying for, it is best to exclude these jobs unless it was your most recent place of employment. For your work history, you should include the employer’s name, city, state, and phone number. If you had a manager, include his or her name on your resume under the company. Provide an email address for them if you still have it available. Be sure you do not include hostile former managers or bosses as a contact reference. If they will not vouch for your work, it’s best to exclude them. For each job, you should create a bullet list that highlights your duties and achievements at each job. If you were in sales, you will want to include a statement that says something along the lines of “Delivered $250,000 in new sales in July, 2010” or “Received bonus commissions in the 2010 fiscal year.” Always remember that you are advertising yourself when writing a resume. Make yourself look essential to potential employers but do not exaggerate. If you exaggerate or blatantly lie on a resume, it will eventually catch up to you or become obvious once you begin a job you are not qualified to perform.
Lastly, you should create a reference page on your resume. Your references should be both professional and relevant to the industry you are applying for. If you already know someone in the company that will vouch for you, be sure to include their name and contact information at the top of your resume references pages. Many potential employees forget or ignore the fact that employers actually call your references if they are interested in hiring you for a position. Before sending out a resume, contact your references that will be included on your references page and make them aware that they may be contacted and asked questions about you and your work experience. If they are unaware, they will be caught off guard and unable to answer the questions appropriately. This makes you look bad in two ways. First it shows that you do not communicate well and secondly shows you are willing to pass work or duties off to others. Do not make this crucial mistake.
Writing a resume is not the end-all solution to landing your dream job, but it surely can help. If your resume is ineffective, you will miss out on potential interviews and not stack up to the competition. If you are unsure of your resume writing abilities, you should seriously consider a professional resume writing service or a resume coach that can walk you through all aspects of resume writing to land your dream job. Life is too short to continue working at a place that makes you unhappy. Get to write that resume, network with employees of places you would like to work, and never stop sending out your resume to prospective employers. Eventually you will get the job you want and will be able to thank your effective resume for opening doors you never knew existed.