This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Nancy writes:
Do you have any suggestions on how to explain/validate long periods of professional work gaps in a resume? I am a stay-at-home mother and need some convincing and creative ways to describe this recent position on my resume. I would appreciate any input.
I know I risk the wrath of some of the women reading this blog, but I don’t really like to see resumes that under experience list something cute, such as “Household Manager” or “Domestic Coordination Specialist,” as job title for women who stay at home to manage their households and parent their children. Of course, with a traditional chronological resume, if you don’t list something for when you stayed at home, you will have huge gaps between jobs.
So, you really have three options. First, you can take the approach listed above and make your time at home a category under experience. And while I realize there are many responsibilities involved — I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home dad for a few months a long, long time ago — I still don’t think, from an employer’s prospective, that it qualifies to go in this section.
Second, you can consider experimenting with reorganizing your resume into a chrono-functional or hybrid resume that is organized around skills clusters (such as communications, leadership, organizational, etc.) rather than specific jobs and experience. Unfortunately, this style of resume is a bit on the outs right now because employers fear you are hiding something by taking this approach.
Third, you can look beyond your household and compile all the volunteering, freelancing, or other part-time or educational experiences you may have had and use those to show that you were still using and perfecting your skills.
Remember that the goal of your resume is to get your foot in the door — to get you that job interview — and once in the interview, you can decide how to position yourself — your experiences, skills, and accomplishments — in order to sell the employer on your candidacy.
Learn more about mastering resumes by using one of more of the excellent resources found in the Resume and CV 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:
James writes:
I’m searching for a guide on how to write my resume, but I can’t seem to find anything. If you could give me some tips, or a site that I could go to, that would be greatly appreciated.
Can’t find anything on resumes? Wow. There’s tons of stuff available on resumes — in magazines, books, and on the Web… but I’ll give you a quick primer.
Your resume is a critical marketing tool. Your resume has to entice a prospective employer enough — through its focus, content, and style — to first consider your qualifications for the job at hand and then to invite you for a job interview. A resume is a statement of your unique mix of experiences, education, and skills. You must not lie on your resume, but you must always remember its goal.
I think the most important thing any job-seeker should do before attempting to write a resume is to first sit down and make a list of your skills and accomplishments from all your previous experiences (work, volunteer, school, etc.) because you will take from this list those critical skills and accomplishments — not your duties and responsibilities — that highlight your fit for the next job you are seeking.
The next step is researching and identifying the job — and all the requirements of that job — that you are seeking because it is critical that your resume is focused on specifics. You should also research the potential employers that may have jobs that you seek so that you can incorporate some of their keywords into your resume.
Wait! Does this advice suggest that job-seekers need to have a specifically tailored resume for every single job they apply for? Yes! There is absolutely no reason for you not to develop a different resume for each job and employer. For most job-seekers, this task will simply mean tweaking small parts of your resume for similar jobs.
Once you have the content down, you should focus on the style and look of your resume. Do not use a template; design your own. Follow a consistent style. Use normal fonts and sizes. Use bullets rather than paragraphs. Do not use personal pronouns. Consider using a career/job objective or profile section. Always list education and experience in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent stuff). Do not list any personal information (such as age, marital status, weight). Do not include controversial information. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, spell-check and carefully proofread your resume for any and all errors.
Read our articles published on Quintessential Careers: The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be? and 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid.
You can gets lots more advice, including resume samples, resume-writing tutorial, and more, in this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources.
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:
Nancy writes:
Do you have any suggestions on how to explain/validate long periods of professional work gaps in a resume? I am a stay-at-home mother and need some convincing and creative ways to describe this recent position on my resume. I would appreciate any input.
I know I risk the wrath of some of the women reading this blog, but I don’t really like to see resumes that under experience list something cute, such as “Household Manager” or “Domestic Coordination Specialist,” as job title for women who stay at home to manage their households and parent their children. Of course, with a traditional chronological resume, if you don’t list something for when you stayed at home, you will have huge gaps between jobs.
So, you really have three options. First, you can take the approach listed above and make your time at home a category under experience. And while I realize there are many responsibilities involved — I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home dad for a few months a long, long time ago — I still don’t think, from an employer’s prospective, that it qualifies to go in this section.
Second, you can consider experimenting with reorganizing your resume into a chrono-functional or hybrid resume that is organized around skills clusters (such as communications, leadership, organizational, etc.) rather than specific jobs and experience. Unfortunately, this style of resume is a bit on the outs right now because employers fear you are hiding something by taking this approach.
Third, you can look beyond your household and compile all the volunteering, freelancing, or other part-time or educational experiences you may have had and use those to show that you were still using and perfecting your skills.
Remember that the goal of your resume is to get your foot in the door — to get you that job interview — and once in the interview, you can decide how to position yourself — your experiences, skills, and accomplishments — in order to sell the employer on your candidacy.
Learn more about mastering resumes by using one of more of the excellent resources found in the Resume and CV 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:
James writes:
I’m searching for a guide on how to write my resume, but I can’t seem to find anything. If you could give me some tips, or a site that I could go to, that would be greatly appreciated.
Can’t find anything on resumes? Wow. There’s tons of stuff available on resumes — in magazines, books, and on the Web… but I’ll give you a quick primer.
Your resume is a critical marketing tool. Your resume has to entice a prospective employer enough — through its focus, content, and style — to first consider your qualifications for the job at hand and then to invite you for a job interview. A resume is a statement of your unique mix of experiences, education, and skills. You must not lie on your resume, but you must always remember its goal.
I think the most important thing any job-seeker should do before attempting to write a resume is to first sit down and make a list of your skills and accomplishments from all your previous experiences (work, volunteer, school, etc.) because you will take from this list those critical skills and accomplishments — not your duties and responsibilities — that highlight your fit for the next job you are seeking.
The next step is researching and identifying the job — and all the requirements of that job — that you are seeking because it is critical that your resume is focused on specifics. You should also research the potential employers that may have jobs that you seek so that you can incorporate some of their keywords into your resume.
Wait! Does this advice suggest that job-seekers need to have a specifically tailored resume for every single job they apply for? Yes! There is absolutely no reason for you not to develop a different resume for each job and employer. For most job-seekers, this task will simply mean tweaking small parts of your resume for similar jobs.
Once you have the content down, you should focus on the style and look of your resume. Do not use a template; design your own. Follow a consistent style. Use normal fonts and sizes. Use bullets rather than paragraphs. Do not use personal pronouns. Consider using a career/job objective or profile section. Always list education and experience in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent stuff). Do not list any personal information (such as age, marital status, weight). Do not include controversial information. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, spell-check and carefully proofread your resume for any and all errors.
Read our articles published on Quintessential Careers: The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be? and 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid.
You can gets lots more advice, including resume samples, resume-writing tutorial, and more, in this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources.
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:
Aldon writes:
I read your website with great interest and was thinking you could help me in my situation.
I’ve resigned my job of 2.5 years looking for a better opportunities and prospects. I found a new job about 2 months ago. However, I feel that the way the management manages the company is very unprofessional, and I was never paid for my very first month. (Basically, this company has cash-flow problem, so I can forget about my bonus!) I have decided to resign during my probation period. I need to look for a new job, however, I don’t know how I should indicate this job of 2 months on my resume. (I like this job scope but I do not see my long term growth and prospects in this company.)
If I do include the job, how should I do it such a way that I do not reduce my chances of securing an interview? And, during interview, how should I explain to prospective employer of my plight?
The Career Doctor responds:
Remember when developing your resume that the resume is not a depositary of all your experiences and accomplishments — just the ones that will help you attain your next position. Note: I am not advocating adding material that is not true to your resume, but rather editing it to contain only the most important and relevant information to the position you seek.
That said, in most cases, I would be tempted to not include the most recent job. Your time there is too short and it sounds like you only have negative things to say about the company — and you never want to say those things when you are trying to explain why you only stayed with the company for 2 months.
In today’s job market, many people go much longer than 2 months between jobs, so keep it off your resume. If you do decide not to include it, you may need a story about what you have been doing since you resigned your previous job.
Your situation is also a good lesson for other job-seekers to understand: when job-hunting you must learn as much as you can about the companies where you interview — including the corporate culture, management style, financial stability, and growth prospects.
It’s also important that the company you work for respects your values. For help identifying some of these values, go to this Quintessential Careers assessment: Workplace Values Assessment: Do You Know the Work Values You Most Want in a Job and an Employer — and Does Your Current Employment Reflect Those Values?
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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