Results tagged “salary information” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

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

Ira writes:

I have been asked to create a brief resume for a friend who has an extensive career history.

He has a professional background which is varied and I feel that everything he has done is very relative to the situation he is applying for.

I feel the resume needs to combine both functional and chronological aspects of his career and expertise; however, the same problem arises — it ALL seems relevant.

How should I target/focus this resume? What could be deemed unnecessary, if anything? How can I condense a 20-year-work history and list of achievements into 1-2 pages?

The Career Doctor responds:

The No. 1 rule of resume writing is focus. You must have a focus when you write a resume. A resume is not a work summary; it is, however, a marketing document that clearly shows why a job-seeker is the perfect candidate for the job.

If your friend truly has a varied work experience, you could categorize those experiences within the resume — but why not just do a standard chronological resume? (A side note for inexperienced job-seekers: everything goes in reverse chronological order, with the most recent information first.)

Also, the rule-of-thumb is that you do not want to list work experience that is more than 15 years old, partly because you do not want to give away information about age, and partly because technologies in most fields have changed greatly in the last 20 years.

As for page length, you can certainly go to two pages for someone who has that much experience, and some resume-writing experts say you can make an executive resume as long as it needs to be.

As you are writing the resume, remember to focus on quantifiable accomplishments.

Other key resume rules: make it perfect/avoid all errors; use traditional fonts/sizes; avoid graphics and excess colors; provide detailed contact information; do not include salary information, names of supervisors, or references.

One other tip for someone who has a lot of experience. If you have done a number of projects or consulting work, you might consider an addendum to your resume that focuses on them specifically.

Bottom line? This resume sounds like it may be too much for an amateur to tackle. I would probably recommend that your friend invest in a professional resume writer.

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:

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.

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.