Eye Appeal
A resume must be visually appealing. Lasting impressions can be formed during the first five seconds your resume is read. That's how long it takes someone to view the layout, observe the quality of the typing and printing and note the color and quality of the paper. Of course most of this takes place on an unconscious level. Resumes are usually scanned the first time through. If the reader detects misspellings, smudges, poor-quality typing or printing, clumsy or verbose writing, or a confusing layout, the resume may be set aside after just ten or twenty seconds. The result - no interview.
Positive Tone
The top-quality resume presents you in the best possible light, yet does not exaggerate your qualifications. Every item is selected carefully to promote you in the eyes of the employer. Unflattering facts are not hidden; they are either left unmentioned or carefully turned into positives. The resume that concentrates on strengths helps you obtain interviews. Make positive statements about yourself; throw false modesty aside.
Impact
Write with impact. Impact is achieved with tight, concise phrases using action verbs. Impact is achieved when you accurately describe and project your desired image. Your full potential will come across only when you write with impact. Effective writing requires plenty of editing and rewriting-something even best-selling authors must do. The effective resume provides valuable information quickly and is easy to read. Each sentence expresses a fact, impression, or idea which will help sell you. All unnecessary words and phrases have been removed. Concise writing is appreciated by all employers and reveals much about your ability to communicate.
Results
An effective resume is filled with results and accomplishments. You've got many results, and when described properly, will cause employers to want to meet you.
The Laws of Resume Writing
There are no laws when it comes to resume writing, but there are principles that generally work. When you feel strongly about a principle or approach you must follow it. But any rule or principle can be ignored if doing so will help sell you to employers.
How to Begin
Before your resume is completed, you will have made dozens of important decisions. This article is designed to help you make those decisions quickly and easily. Each section of a resume is explained in detail and you'll learn when and how to use each section, as well as how to write it. Examples and options are provided. You'll know what will work best for you.
How Interview Decisions Are Made
Have you ever wondered how employers decide who will get interviews after they've placed help wanted ads? A good job will typically attract 75-200 resumes. An employer who has a batch of resumes on her desk will usually scan each one for 5-25 seconds and place each resume in either the "I'm interested" pile or the "reject" pile. When screening resumes, people are usually looking for reasons to reject.
That's why even one typo can be a killer. A resume which contains obvious typos, spelling errors, grammatical errors, or verbose writing, will most likely end up in the reject pile. Those who obviously lack the necessary background for the position will also end up in the reject pile. Out of 80 resumes, perhaps only 20 will be placed in the "I'm interested" pile. Those 20 will be read, with one to five minutes devoted to each. Out of the initial 80 resumes, ten will generally make it through this screening process. Of the ten or so who are called, perhaps six will be invited for interviews.
There is one type of resume that gets through this process nearly every time-the one that sells potential. That's the resume you need to write. You must learn techniques you can use to create a resume with this kind of impact.
How Far Back Should Your Descriptions Go?
If you are a college graduate, go back as far as your first full-time job after graduation. If you went to work right after high school, go back to your first full-time job. If you have had a lot of jobs, you can write about your four to six most recent positions, but also include a previous employment section, which merely lists prior positions without descriptions.
Although some of your earlier jobs may not be applicable to your current occupation, employers are still curious about where you've been. Such positions require only a very straightforward two- or three-line description of duties. Or, you might present this information in a prior employment section where you would include your job title, employer, and dates, but would not use any job descriptions.
If you feel certain that it would be detrimental to include all of your jobs, simply do not list those in the most distant past. If you do so be sure not to show dates for education, or any other section which would give away your age or would indicate that some positions are missing.
Current Job Less Valuable Than a Prior Job
Generally, it's wise to devote less space to a current, but less valuable job, and more space to an earlier, more relevant job. Another option can be effective: you can separate your experience into two segments, calling one "Related Experience" and the other "Additional Experience."
The related experience section would come first and would generally have the greatest detail. Except for the fact that you have two employment sections - Related Experience and Additional Experience, it is a standard reverse chronological resume. Within each category you should list jobs in reverse chronological order and show the correct dates. Showing the information in this way makes it clear to the employer that even though you are using an atypical format, all jobs have been covered. More importantly, it means that the employer will read your relevant experience first.
Principles (not laws) to keep in mind:
- Your current or most recent position is described in the greatest detail as long as it is similar to the type of job you are seeking. Each preceding job is described in slightly less detail.
- If the job you held three jobs ago is closest to what you're seeking, devote the most details to it.
- Jobs held many years ago and jobs that have nothing to do with what you want to do in the future can usually be described in two or three lines, or handled through "Previous Employment."
