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:
Kris writes:
Should I have a cover letter to accompany my resume when I go for an interview on Tuesday?
If you can assist me in any way I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time.
The Career Doctor responds:
The main purpose of a cover letter is to entice a prospective employer to review your resume in consideration for a job interview, and since you have cut through the process and already have an interview, a cover letter seems unnecessary at this point.
Do make sure your resume is sharp in appearance and directed specifically at the job you are seeking. Just as you would write a different cover letter for each position, so too should you tweak your resume for each position.
Instead of the cover letter, if you have a portfolio of samples of your work experience, bring it along to the interview. And be sure to bring multiple copies of your resume.
And before the interview, be sure to brush up on the types of questions you are expecting in the interview. You don’t want to memorize your answers, but you do want to have a basic story prepared so that you will showcase your experience and fit.
Let me just add a final comment about cover letters. First, when you are applying for any position — unless the employer specifically requests you not send one — you should always send a cover letter and resume as part of your job-search package. Your cover letter should be brief and specifically address why you are the perfect candidate for the position. Cover letters should be no longer than 3-5 short paragraphs — and never longer than one page.
You can read more about special cover letter formats that grab employers’ attention, as well as find lots more articles and tools in the cover letter 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:
Maria writes:
I had been job-hunting without much success when a recruiter at a job fair told me he thought my resume was really bad. I was shocked! I thought I had a pretty darn good resume. What do I need to write and improve my resume?
The Career Doctor responds:
You didn’t attach your resume, so I don’t know for sure what the specific problem is with your resume, but I have seen enough bad resumes to know some of the most common problems. And for a recruiter to tell you that your resume was bad means that it must be really bad. I’m not trying to be overly harsh, but to add a douse of realism because I find job-seekers often ask for advice on improving their resume when they secretly love it and plan no changes.
So… here are my all-purposes fixes for resumes.
First, your resume has to have a focus. Every job-seeker needs to be a specialist, a specialist that fits the needs of the prospective employer perfectly. Sometimes a job objective or summary of qualifications can give you the edge you are seeking.
Second, your resume must showcase your accomplishments. Employers like specifics. They don’t want to know you saved your former employer money; they want to know exactly how much money you saved. They want to know the exact size of the staff you managed, the amount you increased revenues, the level of customer satisfaction you delivered.
Third, there is no such thing as one resume. Gone is a one-size-fits-all resume. Every resume you send out should be different from all the others. You need to use specific keywords and phrases that fit each employer.
Fourth, your resume has to look appealing, welcoming. Yes, it’s superficial, but a plain resume (or worse, from a template) screams plain job-seeker. Take the initiative to design your own resume style… or hire a professional resume-writer who can do it for you.
For more information, check out these articles on Quintessential Careers:
Many more articles, resources, and tools can be found in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers and in the Resume and Cover Letters Tips Blog of Quintessential Resumes & Cover Letters.
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:
Amy writes:
I am writing my first resume and I am using your web site for information in
doing so. I have 7 years of experience and 3 employers on this resume.
I was at my first job 5 years and had 3 positions while I was there.
I know my whole date of employment with that employer, but I don’t know the exact dates that I went from 1 position to another. I only have estimated dates. How do I put estimated dates on a resume? I have been looking at sample resumes, and I haven’t seen any with my situation. All of this will make my resume about 1.5 pages. Is that too long? I tried to cram it on 1 page, but the only way was to crowd it and put the type as small as 9 pt., and it was hard too read at 9 pt. Please give me your feedback.
The Career Doctor responds:
First, kudos for thinking ahead and perfecting your resume before you jump back into the job market. A resume of more than one page is fine for someone with seven years of experience. A one-page resume that uses non-existent page margins or tiny type will just not get read.
As for content… First, remember that it’s perfectly fine to develop a generalized resume, but once you identify prospective jobs and employers, you’ll want to customize your resume using the employer’s words and highlighting the experience they seek.
In terms of describing your experience with your first you have two choices. In the first approach, you list all three positions within the same company, using the company as an umbrella. In the second approach, which is favored by my partner Katharine Hansen, you list each job separately, which gives more weight to each position. I also tend to favor the second approach. And if you are unsure of your dates or exactly how to list them, contact the human resources department of the company, thus the dates on your resume will match their records in case a prospective employer calls to check.
Finally, some general resume rules to remember:
- Customize your resume to each position and employer.
- Focus on accomplishments, not duties.
- Design an attractive resume using normal fonts, sizes, and page margins.
- Provide as much contact information (phone, cell, e-mail) as possible.
- Avoid all errors, especially misspellings and typos.
- Keep your resume factual.
- Never include salary information, supervisor’s names, or references on your resume.
For more tips on resume-writing, including samples, 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:
Tasha writes:
I have a question. I was fired last summer, but I don’t use my last employer on my resume so there’s a huge gap of employment and I don’t know what to put on applications for “reason for leaving” when really I was fired for a misunderstanding without opening a can of worms with an interviewer.
Example of gap: 11-2006 thru 12-07 is my last employment history on my resume. I worked 12-07 thru 06-08, but I was fired and don’t use this employer on my resume.
Can you give me a suggestion — please?
Yours is an interesting situation. Before I even get to the issue of the job you were fired from, let’s start with what you’ve been doing in the year-plus since you were fired. Have you worked at all during this time? Have you volunteered your services? Have you received additional education or training? You must find something to fill this gap — other than job-hunting or sitting home feeling sorry for yourself over being fired for some sort of misunderstanding. If you have not done anything — start doing something NOW.
While a resume is a statement of facts, it is also a sales document — it needs to convince the prospective employer that you are worthy of an interview. And in my opinion, a short stint is much better than having a much longer gap on your resume. Regardless of the month, hiring managers will see 2007 and think that you have been out of work for two years and there must be something wrong with you. It’s just too long of a gap. You could consider using a chrono-functional or hybrid resume centered around skills clusters, but many employers favor the traditional chronological resume because it’s easier to find the information they need.
As for job applications, simply put “left company” as the reason. You certainly do not need to go into any detail on the application. Again, the application is designed to weed out applicants, so it too is a sales document for you. Once in the interview, you may need to address the issue — so be prepared with a short statement about how you were fired over a misunderstanding, being very certain to address the lesson you learned from the experience so that you show a positive attitude and growth. Do not blame your previous employer or manager; accept your responsibility in the issue, but do not dwell on it.
And don’t worry too much what this past employer will say about you. The one benefit of living in such a litigious society is that most employers are very unwilling to say anything too negative about current or former employers for fear of being sued.
Finally, it sounds as though you are having a hard time rebounding from being fired. If so, consider getting some sort of career counseling to deal with these feelings. You might also benefit from my article, Getting Fired: An Opportunity for Change and Growth, published on 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:
Kris writes:
Should I have a cover letter to accompany my resume when I go for an interview on Tuesday?
If you can assist me in any way I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time.
The Career Doctor responds:
The main purpose of a cover letter is to entice a prospective employer to review your resume in consideration for a job interview, and since you have cut through the process and already have an interview, a cover letter seems unnecessary at this point.
Do make sure your resume is sharp in appearance and directed specifically at the job you are seeking. Just as you would write a different cover letter for each position, so too should you tweak your resume for each position.
Instead of the cover letter, if you have a portfolio of samples of your work experience, bring it along to the interview. And be sure to bring multiple copies of your resume.
And before the interview, be sure to brush up on the types of questions you are expecting in the interview. You don’t want to memorize your answers, but you do want to have a basic story prepared so that you will showcase your experience and fit.
Let me just add a final comment about cover letters. First, when you are applying for any position — unless the employer specifically requests you not send one — you should always send a cover letter and resume as part of your job-search package. Your cover letter should be brief and specifically address why you are the perfect candidate for the position. Cover letters should be no longer than 3-5 short paragraphs — and never longer than one page.
You can read more about special cover letter formats that grab employers’ attention, as well as find lots more articles and tools in the cover letter 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:
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.
Writing a winning cover letter isn’t the easiest task, but it’s well worth the effort, especially when you know that it can make the difference between a good first impression and a bad one, notes Elizabeth Freedman in her article for Quint Careers, Cover Letters That Count. After all, taking the time to write a great letter ensures you’ll impress a prospective employer and practically guarantees a wince-free moment.
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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