write a resume

[ShinigamiSama]

ok I suck at this. Coupled with the fact for the last few years I've head my parents bitch about how resumes suck now whenever someone applied for a job at the restaurant. I can't seem to make mine even look nice at all

does anyone have any tips or tricks?

 

[yoshimitsu]

I hate resumes. I think the whole "They need to be exactly this way or it goes out the window" is such a pile of bullshit. Don't you want employees who are capable of expressing their individuality and thinking for them selves. Don't bosses get sick of looking at mirror image paperwork.
I did my own for years with the help of a couple friends who knew more about it than I did. It never did me much good.
Then I went and had one made by a pro. I think it was a good choice and might recommend it. It still never did me a lick of good but at least it fit the conformalist profile that 95 percent of employers are looking for.
Sorry for the rant but I hate looking for jobs. I would rather stab myself in the leg with a rusty fork until lock jaw caused me to bite off my tongue.

Good luck though

 

[M's girl]

They always worked for me. No matter how you look at it, in many cases it is a first introduction and impression of you. So you better make it a good one. There are certain rules, of course, although I can imagine the do's and don't vary per country. So I doubt if I would be of any help.

There are sites with examples of résumés that work and look good. At a time when I had to help a friend with a résumé for an American company SweetErika gave me some very good tips and examples. She made me a list of main points that I only want to copy paste in her after her approval. There is a good chance she will barge in here anyway.

I would say: keep it simple but at the same time make it stand out somehow. make sure you have a good letter to accompany your résumé. Adjust it accoring to what job you apply for each time. It goes without saying (I assume) that a résumé of a waiter looks and is presented different than the résumé of someone who is applying for a job in top management!

 

[EJFan]

yeah... what M's said is pretty much what you need to know. tailor the resume to the job and write it in such a way that it hides any faults you have (like long lapses in employment or short terms at a lot of jobs and that sort of thing) while enhancing your good points as they apply to the job.

i have (from both sides of the issue) found that brief and attracitve are key points. the people reading them are likely reading a LOT of them. if it's boring or too lengthy they'll lose interest. make your points clearly and concisely and consider the reader.

it's also a good idea to talk to people who already work there. if there's any way you can reach out to current employees they'll give you valuable information about the workplace and the person/team reading your resume.

edit to add: the resume is usually a way of buying yourself an interview... that's where you really get a chance to make an impression and win or lose the job.

 

[subwannabe]

I have read many resumes due to my work and I can tell you I personally hate the professionally done ones where they all basically look the same and like to use big words you know they don't even really know. Having said that, you seem to have hit a dead end in your brain and if you can't unclog the traffic it is probably better that you do have some professional help in writing yours. There is nothing better though than someone who is good at presenting themselves on their own and their resumes stand out over the professionally done ones. I think the most important part, especially in the cover letter and objective, is to tailor it to the job you are applying for and most importantly - be sincere wherever possible. I want to know you really mean what you say and it's not just yadda yadda yadda. If you don't send a tailor made cover letter then you are probably wasting your time applying at all. The biggest mistake I consistantly see is people applying for a job and yet the objective describes a totally different job than what they are applying for.

 

[SweetErika]

Microsoft Word has a handy resume wizard with a bunch of formats. It tells you where to put everything.

There are lots of good examples on job search sites like Monster and elsewhere.

 

[wehstar]

Always ensure that you have a "Hobbies & Interests" section.

Hobbies & Interests

• I am an active member of a local soccer team
• I enjoy reading and writing Erotic Literature
• I have travelled extensively throughout Europe

 

[shy little fairy]

action

Make sure not to use full sentences under job descriptions b/c they are likely skimming many resumes and will lose interest quickly. Action verbs are really good if you are doing a Title/bullet points format. If each of your bullet points starts with "proficient" or "budgeted..." or "managed team of..." etc. then this will help them get the key ideas of your positions/experience and why they may be helpful. And of course list your qualities/positions/experience/education/etc in order of most relevant to this specific job to least relevant.

Don't forget a cover letter! Show interest in that particular company, even if it is only one line about why you are interested in fitting in there or why you think you already would, etc. Total cover letter should NOT be more than one page. This is like death to an interviewer (I speak from experience). Most likely they will not even read your cover letter, but you should have one just in case. In some close cases where it comes between you and one other person coming in for an interview - the cover letter may be read and then might make a difference.

 

[Sarojaede]

I've been teaching Technical Writing, Professional Writing, and Business Communication for over 12 years, so here is my advice on resumes.

While MS Word does have a handy wizard with a bunch of formats, you should remember that chances are if you are using one of those formats a hundred other people are too and your resume will just blend in with theirs. MS Word formats/templates should be looked at to give you ideas, but you should never use one, to be honest. And for some of the templates in MS Word, the overall document design and the balance of white space to text is horrific. I would avoid using an MS Word Template at all costs because I think it's a bad decision chiefly for the reasons I just mentioned. They are good to look at to get ideas, but don't actually use them.

A really good trick to seeing if your resume has good overall balance of white space to text is to print if off and fold so that you quarter the page (fold it in half vertically and then horizontally). Make the creases really crisp and then unfold it so that you are looking at the page in quadrants. Each quadrant should be balanced in terms of white space and text. If you have one quadrant that is mostly white space with only a little text, then the resume has white space balance overall.


The thing you will find is that the advice you find online is contradictory to some extent. Some sites, for instance say use an objective while others say don't. If you are going to include an objective, it should be specific to the job you are applying for. Your objective should not be some broad general statement like: Seeking a position where I can utilize my skills to grow within the company. There are so many things wrong with an objective like that. The first reaction to such a statement by most HR managers is "Well, duh?" Such an objective does not tell them anything about what you can do for them, it only tells them that you are looking for a job to help you.

The BIGGEST thing to keep in mind is that your resume should answer the reader's question: What can you (the writer of the resume) do for my company?


Don't fall under the assumption that your education has to be the first section of your resume (after your contact information and objective, if you include an objective). Put what qualififes you for the specific position you are applying for first on your resume. So, if your previous work experience qualifies you most, then Work Experience should be the first section of your resume, not eduction. If your computer skills qualify you the most, then that should be the first section. If your education qualifies you the most, then that should be the first section.

When listing job duties for each job in the Work Experience section, use bulleted lists to format the job skills. Don't lump them into a paragraph. Paragraphs take longer to read, and HR managers typically scan a resume first and decide in about 60 seconds whether it is going to be looked at more closely or whether it goes in the trash.

In other words, you want something that looks like this:

• Convert course materials to web formats, including HTML and PDF, and upload converted materials to Blackboard
• Provide individual technology training and course design consultations for faculty and graduate students
• Lead Blackboard training seminars for faculty, graduate students, and distance education students
• Design tutorials for Blackboard 6.0

Notice that each list item begins with an action verb; this keeps the list parallel as well as gives the reader a sense of what you did because you are using verbs to describe your job duties. (These are also techically not complete sentences, but that is okay on a resume.)

When using bulleted lists like the one above for each job, be sure that you keep some balance in them as well. You don't want 9 bulleted items for one job and just 3 for another one. And, with the items listed, put the most impressive one for each job first in the list (or the one that most applies to the job you are applying for first in the list).

Hobbies should absolutely NEVER be put on a resume unless they are directly related to the job you are applying for. If you enjoy playing golf, that is fine and dandy, but if it has nothing to do with the job you are applying for, it does not go on the resume.

 

[SweetErika]

I've been teaching Technical Writing, Professional Writing, and Business Communication for over 12 years, so here is my advice on resumes.

While MS Word does have a handy wizard with a bunch of formats, you should remember that chances are if you are using one of those formats a hundred other people are too and your resume will just blend in with theirs. MS Word formats/templates should be looked at to give you ideas, but you should never use one, to be honest. And for some of the templates in MS Word, the overall document design and the balance of white space to text is horrific. I would avoid using an MS Word Template at all costs because I think it's a bad decision chiefly for the reasons I just mentioned. They are good to look at to get ideas, but don't actually use them.

I should have qualified my post, as I agree with you. Both my husband and I have used the Word templates with great success, BUT we do far more than just fill in the blanks and be done with it. Our resumes are customized for each job, and often sections from the template are deleted/heavily modified to suit the specific jobs we're applying for (e.g. Hubby's has a section for work accomplishments that highlights his real-life achievements to demonstrate his skills, then goes on to specify experience and education). We also change the fonts and other formatting aspects to make it easy to read and unique. The default fonts in the templates are usualy horrid.

Hobbies should absolutely NEVER be put on a resume unless they are directly related to the job you are applying for. If you enjoy playing golf, that is fine and dandy, but if it has nothing to do with the job you are applying for, it does not go on the resume.

This is what I came back to comment on. It's a cultural difference, in my experience - hobbies and personal info such as a photo, age and marital/family status are often included in European, Asian and S. Americans' resumes, whereas that's a big NO-NO here, and can actually hurt one's chances of getting the job.

So, make sure you follow the standard for the country where the company/job are located, and exclude personal info if there's any question, as they can always ask about that in the interview, if it's allowed in that country.

 

[webber1998]

I guess it depends upon what type of job you are after.

I've read 100's and 100's of resumes. Speaking as a person on the other end of the resume, I can say a few things after all this time.

I pretty much disregard ones that are poorly written or look like they were composed by a 10th grader.

Spelling DOES count and so does grammar.

Keep it REALLY clean at the top and have all of your contact information, including email neat.

Really, it does come down to this. When things are really busy and I've got 40 resume's to read, if yours look crappy? Well, it goes in the OUT basket.

If I do read it, I want to know pretty quickly WHAT your skill's are and if they FIT what I/we need. I don't want to have to sift through 3 or 4 pages to get to the nitty gritty. So, have all of the pertinent information about what skill's you have that I need up front.

If I get past the first page, then more detailed information can follow on the 2nd page.

I've talked to tons of hiring managers and they all, well, most all... basically agree with this generalization of what happens to your resume if it hits my desk.

 

[bighornedsatyr]

Cover letters

I'm going through the same process now. I'm happy with my resume, but having real problems writing a cover letter. Anyone have any advice on that half?

 

[ShinigamiSama]

Cool. I've gotten some help with it from my mother after I re-did it from scratch, reason being after owning a restaurant for 3 years she's seen plenty of resumes

thanks for all the tips everyone - even if I don't use M$ word.

all I need to do now is update my professional site and finish some little points on my cover letter

thanks all

 

[SweetErika]

On a related note, make sure your email address (and name, if anyone uses that) can't be used to track down info that might jeopardize the job, like MySpace/Facebook pages or personal sites that show you love partying, wearing womens panties and think your current boss is an asshole. Employers are googling now, so be very careful about putting stuff out there and using different emails and such for work purposes.

 

[ShinigamiSama]

On a related note, make sure your email address (and name, if anyone uses that) can't be used to track down info that might jeopardize the job, like MySpace/Facebook pages or personal sites that show you love partying, wearing womens panties and think your current boss is an asshole. Employers are googling now, so be very careful about putting stuff out there and using different emails and such for work purposes.

I own a few domains so I think I'll be good in that respect

also I usually end up using another account that my domain's but that is a good point
thanks

 

[INeedLove]

There are lots of free resources. Most people don't realize this, but community colleges will often assist community members (non students too) in career planning and resume writing. You would need to contact the Counseling Center/Office to start. Some good websites I refer students to:


http://www.ncda.org/ click interest areas and then job search instruction

www.about.com

Templates are "evil" but serve as a good starting place.

Action words are important. Don't use the same verb over and over.

Buy resume paper-it's inexpensive but makes an impact

Don't use any fancy fonts and size 10 or 12 font is best.

Good luck!

 

[naamplao]

ShinigamiSama : ok I suck at this. Coupled with the fact for the last few years I've head my parents bitch about how resumes suck now whenever someone applied for a job at the restaurant. I can't seem to make mine even look nice at all

The problem with commenting on the original writer's lament regarding their resume is that they give absolutely no information about the type of job they are applying for and the level of work experience that they have...are they appying for a similar job as the one they are leaving? Are they making a significant career change? Are there significant gaps in their work history?

All of the above influences the form and style of the resume.

Type of Job

Applying for a job as a graphic artist requires a completely different resume compared to applying for a job as an accountant.

The former requires a resume with a bit of flair and creativity...the latter requires a very neat, easy to read, organized format.

Work History Gaps

If these exist then you must try to camoflague them (not hide them though). A functional design is preferred over a chronological format. The first page should have at leat 5 "accomplishments" related to the job you are applying for...a simple listing of the work appearance would be one of the last items of your resume (more about that later)

Major Career Change

Again a functional resume wins here since you can highlight accomplishments that relate to the new career.

Resume lenght

In general it should be limited to 1-2 pages...at most 3 pages. There are some jobs though....teaching comes to mind where it is necessary to list every half-course that you have ever taken.

Why is lenght important? A one page resume gets 100% attention...the second page is read 50% of the time...each succeeding page gets 50% less attention. Most resumes are screened OUT after reading the first page....SO! don't save the good stuff for the end...it won't be read if the first part is boring.

Going back to "Work History gaps"...putting a chronological list of work history at the end of the resume is done to de-emphasize this. You can defend yourself wrt these gaps in an interview later.


THE PURPOSE OF THE RESUME is not to get the job!!! Remember that! The purpose of the resume is to get the interview and provide a basis for the interviewer to ask questions about you in the interview.

If you are getting lots of interviews but no job offers...you have problems with interviewing skills....your resume is not the problem...it is working for you.

 

[ShinigamiSama]

well I was kinda intending on the thread being a little general so that it might help other people as well

but the fact I have very little work experience(student), no history in the field(student), and everything I have done fits on one page nicely.
I'm applying for a Technical assistant for an ISP. And this will be my first 'real' job.

and I've nearly completed my application and will have it ready for submission later today.
wish me luck eh