Results tagged “duties and responsibilities” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:

Heidi writes:

What are some tricks to making resumes more effective? I am not having much success in finding a new job and at least one person has suggested my resume could be stronger. But how?

The Career Doctor responds:

I don’t know about tricks, but I can certainly give you some strategic pointers. I am constantly amazed at how many bad resumes I see on a regular basis — and with all the articles, books, and Web-based resources, I simply do not understand how it is possible.

Let’s start with the purpose of a resume. A resume is a marketing document designed to arouse enough interest in a prospective employer to call you for a job interview. It’s a statement of facts — education, skills, and accomplishments — designed to show how you would make the ideal candidate for the open position.

A resume should focus on the positive. It should not include any negative information. It should also not include duties and responsibilities, salary information, names of supervisors, or references.

And a resume should be tailored to each specific job, each specific employer. Once you have your resume written, you’ll want to modify it each time you send it off. From the job description and from the company’s literature or Website, pull some of their words and jargon and incorporate them into your resume.

Finally, consider adding some kind of summary at the top of your resume. You could use a keywords section, a job title, or a qualifications summary… something that a hiring manager will see from a quick scan of your resume.

And please do not forget that looks and writing matter. Make the resume attractive and avoid all grammatical errors. Do not use a template, but instead create your own format or borrow one from a resume you find attractive. And whenever possible, have someone proofread your resume before you send it out.

For more help with resumes — from articles to tutorials, samples, and more — go to this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources for Job-Seekers.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve been instructed to list your career accomplishments, and you can’t think of any. Or you’re asked in a job interview, “What accomplishments are you most proud of?” — and you freeze up. You know you have had accomplishments, but you just can’t dredge them up. The inability to come up with accomplishments happens to lots of job-seekers. We know because we’ve asked our resume and cover-letter clients to list accomplishments as part of the process of preparing their job-search materials. Although we stress that accomplishments are far more important than duties and responsibilities, a surprising number of clients are unable to articulate beyond the day-to-day tasks they performed in their jobs. Accomplishments are the points that really help sell you to an employer — much more so than everyday job duties, and you can leverage your accomplishments for job-search success at all stages of the process: resume, cover letter, interview, and more. Find out more about why and how to use your accomplishments in our article, For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.