And then there are some computer people who insist on preparing their resumes on a computer - often their company's computer. Would you hire a person who took the employer's time and supplies to look for another job? Besides, resumes call for conformity and readability. Make it easy for potential employers to find what they want, and, of course, spell out your achievements - that's what will get you a better job. Look at it this way: even when jobs are plentiful, the good ones are still hard to find. It's your career-make the best of it.
Resumes are perhaps the most bothersome aspect of job hunting. Maybe that's why so many of them are poorly done. These are the ones that are almost guaranteed to end up in the "Reject" basket-even if they have been written by the perfect candidate for a job opening.
I've been collecting material from resumes for many years. I call my files "R6sumania," and have been doing a monthly column based on them for Dow Jones's National Business Employment Weekly for more than two years. The column is composed of the best (or worst) of real items taken from actual resumes. Every month, as I prepare the column, I am amazed at the ability of intelligent, educated, and experienced people to put their worst foot forward in an important aspect of gaining an interview for a job - their resume.
The reason resume seldom nail down a job for a candidate is that few people would hire someone sight unseen. Obviously, the personal interview, coupled with solid references, is the thing that brings about a tangible job offer.
But in order to reach the interview stage, the employer often has only one thing to go on (two, if you count the cover letter), and that's the written record of a person's past employment history and personal data. That's why it is imperative that you take the time to make sure that the resume you send out to prospective employers is exactly what it should be-a clear, concise, visually attractive, and compelling presentation of someone the employer will want to meet and to interview.
For many people, the concept of writing anything is formidable. This is especially true of a data processor whose educational and professional focus has been on highly technical matters, not on becoming an efficient communicator, either verbally or with the written word. I indicated earlier in the book the need for data processors with an eye on higher management jobs to become better communicators. For now, the task at hand once you are ready to seek a new job is to write an effective resume.
There's no need to have your resume" typeset. In fact, resumes printed in this manner often make a person appear to be a professional job seeker. For that same reason, I do not generally recommend going to a resume-preparation service. If you feel that you cannot do an effective job, write it yourself anyway and consider using a recommended service to brush up some of the wording. By actually writing your own resume you come to appreciate even more those aspects of your career that have value to prospective employers. Resumes that come out of these services have that cookie-cutter look, which puts you in that run-of-the-mill category. Furthermore, they are easily recognized as being professionally written, which leaves many doubts in the reader's mind as to the authenticity of the facts.
