- Use the best type of paper you can find. (Resume and cover letter paper should match.)
- Use strong action verbs to describe your skills.
- List all your accomplishments, including important courses, volunteer work, internships, relevant interests, and professional affiliations.
- Arrange your resume to show off your assets. Which heading should go first? Education? Experience?
- Make it perfect. This is a cardinal rule of resume writing.
- Keep the resume to one page, two if you've had extensive experience.
- Use telegraphic phrases.
- Proofread carefully. Ensure that your grammar and spelling are impeccable.
- Consider having your resume professionally typeset and printed.
- Experiment with several different formats and layouts. Are your skills best highlighted using the functional or chronological format?
Don'ts
- Exceed one page unless you've had the experience to merit the additional pages. (Many employers only look at the first page anyway.)
- Be wordy.
- Use "I."
- Use abbreviations, except for the most common ones.
- Mimeograph or handwrite your resume or cover letter.
- Use unusual paper, type, ink, or formats unless you're trying to make a special statement about your creativity.
- Include any personal data such as height, weight, marital status. If this information is pertinent to the duties of the job, the employer will request it later.
- Include any information that could possibly be used to eliminate you as a candidate. Be especially careful to omit information about your religious or political affiliations.
- Ruin a beautiful resume by reproducing it on a dirty copier. Take a moment to wipe the copier glass to prevent blotches on your final copy.
- Keep your resume to yourself. Solicit opinions about your resume from a variety of people you trust. Use their feedback to create a dazzling finished product.
Skim the list below to see whether any of these action verbs would be appropriate on your resume. Remember that when describing your tasks in your current job, you should use verbs in the present tense. When describing the previous positions, use verbs in the past tense.
Skills Identification
Skills tend to fall into one of two categories, abstract and concrete. Abstract skills hint at your overall potential; concrete skills are more specifically defined and serve to enhance your credibility. In your resume, you should list some of each type of skill. Some examples of abstract skills are the ability to organize, quick proficiency at new tasks, and a positive attitude toward work. Some concrete skills are the ability to take dictation, knowledge of computer spreadsheets, and a typing speed of 60 words per minute.
Types of Resumes
As you assemble your resume, you'll need to decide which of the two formats below best highlights your strong points. Each type of resume is good in certain situations, and both are equally acceptable, although the chronological resume is more common.
The Chronological Resume
This type of resume highlights the sequence of the jobs the applicant has held. The "Experience" section lists jobs in order of dates, giving the most recent position first. After you've listed each employer, city, states, and job title, write a brief job description using strong action words. You may place the dates in the left margin or after each job description, depending on how much you want to highlight them. Be sure you present dates consistently. Throughout your resume, such as "5/90-present" or "May 1990-present' or "1990-present." A chronological resume is best for those who
- Have clearly progressed toward their job objective. For example, this format would highlight a job hunter's progression from a clerical, to a supervisory, and then to an upper managerial position because the job titles and the dates of employment would be clearly listed down the left side of the resume.
- Have had no gaps in their job history and want to stress the fact that they have been consistently employed.
This type of resume stresses skills not dates. After a clear job objective at the top of the resume, the next heading listed is "Skills." Three or four broad skill areas are identified, each of which should relate to the job objective. For example, if your job objective states, "Seeking a position as an office manager," you might decide to create categories such as "Office Skills," "Managerial Skills," and "Organizational Skills." In each category you could describe how you demonstrated those skills in previous jobs. You would have to draw on your experience from all the positions you've held, both paid and unpaid. A functional resume is best for those who
- Have held a variety of unrelated jobs. For example, if you have worked in a shoe store and a fast-food restaurant, a functional resume would allow you to stress the fact that you've had experience waiting on customers, regardless of the setting.
- Have gaps in their job history. Dates of employment are still listed on the page, but they are not the first thing an employer sees.
