This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers, and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer. On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers: What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner, Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Ben writes: I have a question concerning submitting my cover page and resume via email. The question is that most companies will not accept attachments so I must submit my resume within the message body of my email vs. attachments. How do I maintain the same appearance as the original written in MS Word?
The short answer is you can’t. And while appearances are important for traditional cover letters, the most important element is the content. The same holds true for resumes; appearances are important for traditional resumes, but content is the most critical element — regardless of the format.
So, how are emailed cover letters different than traditional cover letters? Let me walk you through some of the key issues, but before I do, let me emphasize that you should always go to each employer’s career center site and examine the guidelines for submitting electronic documents, if they list them.
Here are the five critical email cover letter issues.
First, know the rules of writing a cover letter. If you are still writing “vanilla” cover letters, you won’t get any employer response — no matter how you send it.
Second, keep it short. Email cover letters need to be more concise and shorter in length than traditional cover letters.
Third, take advantage of keywords. Be sure to use all the keywords from the employment listing — and any other important jargon or keywords from your industry — without making the letter a string of sentences full of jargon.
Fourth, watch your line length. Some email software automatically perform line returns for you, but I would make sure the lines of your email are no longer than 60 characters.
Fifth, take the time to send the email cover letter to yourself first — so you can see what it looks like after transmission.
Finally, as you know, don’t even bother with attachments. Most employers don’t want them. Instead, consider developing Web versions of your resume and providing the URL to the employer (in addition to providing a text-based version).
Find more information and guidelines in my article, Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter, published on Quintessential Careers. You can also find more information about types of resumes in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Shannon writes:
I would like to type a new cover letter for a couple of job openings. However, I have an unlisted phone number and would prefer not to put it on my resume or cover letter. I found the last time I applied for a new job that the companys had sold my resume to other companies, and I began receiving several unwanted phone calls. How would I handle something like this? I do work full-time and will list that number in the cover, but I am very reluctant to give me home number.
Someone at my work suggested using an e-mail address instead of a phone number. Is this the way to go? How would I word that into the cover letter?
I can’t believe that any company would sell your resume to other companies — unless it was not a legitimate business or some kind of unethical recruiter.
Regardless, I think most experts would agree that when you are job-hunting, you cannot place any obstacles in your path, and while I am a big proponent of email communications, I believe that if you leave off your phone number you risk missing out on some opportunities.
If you are concerned about unwanted phone calls, you may want to get a screening device, such as an answering machine or Caller ID.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
JoAnn writes:
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Need info on sending resumes over the net on e-mail. What about cover letter and the best format to use?
The thing to remember when doing any kind of job-seeking activities is to make whatever you do easy for the employer. If the hiring manager has to spend more time on your application than on others … guess what? He or she won’t; he or she will simply move on to the next applicant.
With those words ringing in your head, let me suggest that with sending cover letters and resumes over the Internet, you want to make it as easy as possible for employers to consider your application.
Thus, I suggest that you always send your cover letter and resume as unformatted text within the email message as well as formatted as attachments. Otherwise, you risk not being considered because some employers only want text, some only want formatted, some don’t open attachments for fears of viruses or other security reasons, and some may not be able to open your attachments because of software incompatibilities.
As with everything else, there are guidelines to follow when doing a text-based resume. I encourage you to read my article, Scannable Resume Fundamentals: How to Write Text Resumes. (Note that “scannable” resumes are rarely used anymore, but they are fundamentally the same as the text resumes employers prefer.)
You might also want to read my Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers, and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer. On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers: What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner, Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Ben writes: I have a question concerning submitting my cover page and resume via email. The question is that most companies will not accept attachments so I must submit my resume within the message body of my email vs. attachments. How do I maintain the same appearance as the original written in MS Word?
The short answer is you can’t. And while appearances are important for traditional cover letters, the most important element is the content. The same holds true for resumes; appearances are important for traditional resumes, but content is the most critical element — regardless of the format.
So, how are emailed cover letters different than traditional cover letters? Let me walk you through some of the key issues, but before I do, let me emphasize that you should always go to each employer’s career center site and examine the guidelines for submitting electronic documents, if they list them.
Here are the five critical email cover letter issues.
First, know the rules of writing a cover letter. If you are still writing “vanilla” cover letters, you won’t get any employer response — no matter how you send it.
Second, keep it short. Email cover letters need to be more concise and shorter in length than traditional cover letters.
Third, take advantage of keywords. Be sure to use all the keywords from the employment listing — and any other important jargon or keywords from your industry — without making the letter a string of sentences full of jargon.
Fourth, watch your line length. Some email software automatically perform line returns for you, but I would make sure the lines of your email are no longer than 60 characters.
Fifth, take the time to send the email cover letter to yourself first — so you can see what it looks like after transmission.
Finally, as you know, don’t even bother with attachments. Most employers don’t want them. Instead, consider developing Web versions of your resume and providing the URL to the employer (in addition to providing a text-based version).
Find more information and guidelines in my article, Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter, published on Quintessential Careers. You can also find more information about types of resumes in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Shannon writes:
I would like to type a new cover letter for a couple of job openings. However, I have an unlisted phone number and would prefer not to put it on my resume or cover letter. I found the last time I applied for a new job that the companys had sold my resume to other companies, and I began receiving several unwanted phone calls. How would I handle something like this? I do work full-time and will list that number in the cover, but I am very reluctant to give me home number.
Someone at my work suggested using an e-mail address instead of a phone number. Is this the way to go? How would I word that into the cover letter?
I can’t believe that any company would sell your resume to other companies — unless it was not a legitimate business or some kind of unethical recruiter.
Regardless, I think most experts would agree that when you are job-hunting, you cannot place any obstacles in your path, and while I am a big proponent of email communications, I believe that if you leave off your phone number you risk missing out on some opportunities.
If you are concerned about unwanted phone calls, you may want to get a screening device, such as an answering machine or Caller ID.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
JoAnn writes:
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Need info on sending resumes over the net on e-mail. What about cover letter and the best format to use?
The thing to remember when doing any kind of job-seeking activities is to make whatever you do easy for the employer. If the hiring manager has to spend more time on your application than on others … guess what? He or she won’t; he or she will simply move on to the next applicant.
With those words ringing in your head, let me suggest that with sending cover letters and resumes over the Internet, you want to make it as easy as possible for employers to consider your application.
Thus, I suggest that you always send your cover letter and resume as unformatted text within the email message as well as formatted as attachments. Otherwise, you risk not being considered because some employers only want text, some only want formatted, some don’t open attachments for fears of viruses or other security reasons, and some may not be able to open your attachments because of software incompatibilities.
As with everything else, there are guidelines to follow when doing a text-based resume. I encourage you to read my article, Scannable Resume Fundamentals: How to Write Text Resumes. (Note that “scannable” resumes are rarely used anymore, but they are fundamentally the same as the text resumes employers prefer.)
You might also want to read my Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
JoAnn writes:
Need info on sending resumes over the net on e-mail. What about cover letter and the best format to use?
The Career Doctor responds:
The thing to remember when doing any kind of job-seeking activities is to make whatever you do easy for the employer. If the hiring manager has to spend more time on your application than on others … guess what? He or she won’t; he or she will simply move on to the next applicant.
With those words ringing in your head, let me suggest that with sending cover letters and resumes over the Internet, you want to make it as easy as possible for employers to consider your application.
Thus, I suggest that you always send your cover letter and resume as unformatted text within the email message as well as formatted as attachments. Otherwise, you risk not being considered because some employers only want text, some only want formatted, some don’t open attachments for fears of viruses or other security reasons, and some may not be able to open your attachments because of software incompatibilities.
As with everything else, there are guidelines to follow when doing a text-based resume. I encourage you to read my article, Scannable Resume Fundamentals: How to Write Text Resumes. (Note that “scannable” resumes are rarely used anymore, but they are fundamentally the same as the text resumes employers prefer.)
You might also want to read my Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter.
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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Russell writes:
I am new to career-hunting online. I am curious to know if I should include a cover letter when I send my resume via e-mail or via fax. If I should send a cover letter via e-mail, should I draft a traditional letter and attach it to the e-mail, or should I write one in the body of an e-mail message such as the one I’m sending to you now?
The Career Doctor responds:
Unless an employer specifically states no cover letters, you should always include a cover letter! Why would you want to eliminate a key selling tool in your job-search portfolio? The whole point of a cover letter is to draw interest in you and get the potential employer to look over your resume.
By the way, for some great tips on writing a dynamic cover letter, I suggest you visit my cover letter resources section, which includes some great links, such as to the cover letter tutorial (for those who need a lot of help with writing cover letters) and the cover letter formula, as well as many other tools and resources.
When sending a fax, of course, you would send a normal cover letter, but email is a little trickier. For email, I suggest sending your cover letter both as part of the email and as an attachment. You need to make a quick sale in your email, so why not take advantage of the possibility?
Another factor is whether the company wants a regular resume or a text resume. There are a number of format differences, as well as some minor content differences. For more information on resumes, visit the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers..
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.
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