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:
Michelle writes:
I recently was let go from my position at my office due to financial reasons. How do I start off a cover letter letting the employer know this information in a positive manner? I just need some advice on how to construct the first part of the cover letter and I did not see that on the website. Hope you can help and thank you for your time.
The Career Doctor responds:
Repeat after me — again and again — never ever put any kind of negative information in your cover letter, resume, or any other job-search materials. The time to address any of these negative issues — such as being fired — is in the job interview ONLY after the employer raises the issue.
Your cover letter is the job-search tool that sets the tone for you as a job-seeker and provides the critical first impression for the employer. How positive an impression is the prospective employer going to have if your opening paragraph states, “although I was recently let go from my previous job because the company was having financial difficulties… ” The employer is going to stop reading before he/she even gets to the end of your sentence.
But you are not alone. In the thousands of cover letters I have seen over the years, it is absolutely amazing the kind of negative information job-seekers put in their cover letters. Perhaps they mistakenly think that full disclosure is necessary. Or perhaps because professionals stress being truthful, they think this means they need to fess up to all prior mistakes.
Please remember a cover letter is a marketing document. Its sole purpose is to entice the hiring manager just enough to review your resume. It’s then the resume’s job to verify that you are worthy of getting an interview for the open position.
If your cover letter is not focused, if it provides negative information, if it has typos or spelling errors, or if it has too little or too much detail, your resume will simply not get a look and your job prospects for the position are officially over.
Finally, let me once again stress that I am not saying to lie. I am simply saying do NOT disclose negative information (or even too much information) until the employer asks you about it. And at that point you need to put a positive spin on the negative information — but only then.
I believe you need to review two key resources. First, read my article about moving beyond after getting laid off: Getting Fired: An Opportunity for Change and Growth.
Second, take advantage of the all the tools and resources we offer in this section of Quintessential Careers: Cover Letter 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.
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.
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:
Michelle writes:
I recently was let go from my position at my office due to financial reasons. How do I start off a cover letter letting the employer know this information in a positive manner? I just need some advice on how to construct the first part of the cover letter and I did not see that on the website. Hope you can help and thank you for your time.
The Career Doctor responds:
Repeat after me — again and again — never ever put any kind of negative information in your cover letter, resume, or any other job-search materials. The time to address any of these negative issues — such as being fired — is in the job interview ONLY after the employer raises the issue.
Your cover letter is the job-search tool that sets the tone for you as a job-seeker and provides the critical first impression for the employer. How positive an impression is the prospective employer going to have if your opening paragraph states, “although I was recently let go from my previous job because the company was having financial difficulties… ” The employer is going to stop reading before he/she even gets to the end of your sentence.
But you are not alone. In the thousands of cover letters I have seen over the years, it is absolutely amazing the kind of negative information job-seekers put in their cover letters. Perhaps they mistakenly think that full disclosure is necessary. Or perhaps because professionals stress being truthful, they think this means they need to fess up to all prior mistakes.
Please remember a cover letter is a marketing document. Its sole purpose is to entice the hiring manager just enough to review your resume. It’s then the resume’s job to verify that you are worthy of getting an interview for the open position.
If your cover letter is not focused, if it provides negative information, if it has typos or spelling errors, or if it has too little or too much detail, your resume will simply not get a look and your job prospects for the position are officially over.
Finally, let me once again stress that I am not saying to lie. I am simply saying do NOT disclose negative information (or even too much information) until the employer asks you about it. And at that point you need to put a positive spin on the negative information — but only then.
I believe you need to review two key resources. First, read my article about moving beyond after getting laid off: Getting Fired: An Opportunity for Change and Growth.
Second, take advantage of the all the tools and resources we offer in this section of Quintessential Careers: Cover Letter 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.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Bonnie writes:
I just read Getting Fired: An Opportunity for Change and Growth. You say that If you are fired in a job within 3 months you should not list that on your resume. Can you tell me why I should not list that employer?
The Career Doctor responds:
A resume is a critical marketing document that you construct to convince a prospective employer to invite you for an interview and then, ideally, offer you a job. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive document of your entire life, nor your entire work history.
A resume should ONLY contain the relevant information that is going to get your foot in the door.
If you were fired from your last job after only three months, but you had some amazing accomplishments and the work you performed is extremely relevant to the job you are seeking, then you can certainly consider including it on your resume.
That said, anytime an employer sees a short tenure on a resume it begs the question — why is this person looking for a new job after only such a short time on the job? And that means if you actually get the interview, you’ll need to be prepared to explain why you were fired.
Thus, unless the job is extremely relevant to the position you are seeking, it’s better to have an employment gap on your resume than have to explain why you were fired.
Get lots more resume tips, tools, and samples 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.
Today’s posting is a guest entry from the “Career Doctor,” Randall S. Hansen, PhD
Jeff writes:
Recently I was terminated from a sales position after two months. I am considering whether or not to include the employment on my resume. My employment gap will only be two months if I exclude the position.
Would it be better to list the position and use the term downsized? Or should I use terminated?
Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated.
The Career Doctor responds:
Let me reiterate a critical point about resumes that all job-seekers should tuck into the back of your heads: A resume is not an all-inclusive job history. Your resume is a marketing document. You tailor the facts in your resume to fit each job with each employer. Notice I did say facts. I am not advocating lying on a resume; I am advocating making your resume a unique document for each opportunity you seek.
And here is a second point about resumes. Never provide unnecessary information. You do not need to make any mention on your resume why you left a particular job — simply put the start and end dates. You should also NOT put your supervisor’s name, your salary information, or phone numbers. For each job you have held that you wish to include, you should list your job title, the organization’s name and location (city, state), dates of employment, and your key accomplishments.
You don’t say why you were terminated so quickly, but two months is such a short stint that I would never recommend including it on your resume. And you’re right, two months is not much of a gap, especially in the current job market.
Regardless of how you handle this job on your resume, however, you will need to have some sort of story to tell in the job interview — either about why you only lasted two months on the job or why you have a two-month gap on your resume. In terms of lingo, downsized usually results from budget cuts and does not reflect on the quality of your work while terminated says your work was no longer needed (or was bad, ineffective, etc.).
If you are working on your resume, visit this section of Quintessential Careers for much more resume advice, tips, and samples: 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.
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