Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited
Return to career-consulting-limited.com
People |
|
|
 |
The 10-Step Resume Critique
Your resume will generally receive a 15- to 30-second scan upon first review by an employer. With that in mind, it is critical that your resume -- your "paper handshake" -- makes a positive first impression and compels the reader to put your resume in the "yes" pile and possibly call you in for an interview. Before you circulate your resume, you will want to ensure it incorporates the basic characteristics of a powerful, interview-generating resume. When evaluating your resume you can follow the same basic steps as professional resume writers. This will increase the chances not only of having it placed into that "yes" pile, but also of helping it rise to the top of the stack. STEP 1: Ask yourself, "Is my resume in the correct format to best showcase my career history?" Is your resume the appropriate length, format, and formality for the position you are targeting? Length: For someone with five or more years of experience, a resume will typically be one to two pages. It isn't at all uncommon for executive-level resumes to be as long as three or four pages. If you are a recent college graduate one page may suffice, but don't be afraid to go two pages, particularly if you have some work, internship, or volunteer experience under your belt. Format: There are three common types of resumes: chronological, functional, and combination. A chronological resume calls attention to your employment history in reverse chronological order. It is most effective when your job listings are notable (position titles and/or company names) and are directly relevant to the job target. A functional resume de-emphasizes positions, job descriptions, and employment dates. It organizes qualifications by related skills or experience. Job seekers who have gaps in employment or who are making a career change commonly use functional resumes. Think carefully before using this format as feedback from hiring authorities suggests that they don't like them -- they know that functional resumes can be used to minimize, or even hide, periods of unemployment and other flaws in your history. A typical combination resume is just that -- a blend of the other two formats. It begins with a powerful Qualifications Summary or Professional Profile that clearly communicates your functional skills. This allows your resume to be focused toward particular positions and/or industries, and provides a platform to communicate the your best qualifications. A reverse-chronological listing of employment experience (including responsibilities and, more importantly, relevant accomplishments) follows. The combination format is a popular choice among professional resume writers as it is particularly effective in selling their clients to employers. A fourth type of resume, which won't be discussed at length here, is the Curriculum Vita. A "CV" is a conservatively written and designed document that emphasizes educational credentials, academic research and projects, publications, presentations, awards, and honors. This format is typically used in scholastic, medical, and scientific fields. Formality: A good rule of thumb is to write using the same level of language that you would be expected to use in the job you are targeting. An entry-level resume can include brief sentences. If you are a manager or executive your resume will be more narrative -- to draw a complete picture of your career successes and contributions -- and include vernacular expected at your level of accountability. STEP 2: Ask yourself, "Is my resume visually appealing and easy to read?" Have you incorporated appropriate font type and size selections throughout your resume? Depending on the font choice, the size should fall somewhere between 9 and 11 point, 12 point at most. Section headings can be larger, of course. As for font type, the higher your level of responsibility, the more likely it is that you will use a serif font (such as Times New Roman, Garamond, or Palatino). It is acceptable to combine fonts, but never more than two (for example, Times for the section titles and Arial for the content). Does your resume contain sufficient white space? Your challenge is to draw the reader's attention to essential information. Using white space effectively can help you do just that. You'll need to become familiar with some features of your word processing software that you might not normally access (such as the paragraph, line-spacing, and tab settings). Does your resume implement appropriate design elements? Conservative use of lines, bolding, italics, and bullets can be very effective. When used consistently, they will help the reader along in your thought process and crystallize the organization of your resume. For great ideas on contemporary formats, check out one or more of the recently released resume resource books at your local bookstore. One of the best out there is Resume Magic--Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer by Susan Britton Whitcomb (JIST Works). For executive-level ideas, Wendy Enelow's Best Resumes for $100,000+ Jobs (Impact Publications) or Donald Asher's Bible of Executive Resumes (Ten Speed Press) are both outstanding. STEP 3: Ask yourself, "Does my resume contain a powerful opening section that draws the reader in?" Is the most relevant information you want to communicate showcased in a powerful Qualifications Summary or Professional Profile in the top 1/3 of your resume? At a minimum, you'll want to include your total years of experience and encapsulate your core competencies and related hard and soft skills. Keep in mind that the remainder of your resume must substantiate what you include in this section. Does your resume make clear what position, industry, or career you are targeting? Employers don't have time to guess what you want to be when you grow up. Step 4: Ask yourself, "Does my resume effectively communicate my value to the prospective employer in one or more of the following ways?" Does your resume demonstrate how you can help an employer make money? Save money or time? Solve a specific problem? Make work easier? Build relationships? Be more competitive? Attract new customers? Retain existing customers? Regardless of your level of accountability or industry these are things that all organizations want their employees to help them accomplish. Communicate your abilities to contribute in one or more of the areas mentioned and employers will want to talk with you. Step 5: Ask yourself, "Does my resume contain powerful, concise, accomplishment-oriented writing designed to increase the reader's interest and stimulate a request for a job interview?" Is your entire resume targeted? Does it support your job or career goal? Does it speak the reader's language with relevant industry-specific keywords? Did you use persuasive, high-impact statements that sell your qualifications as a superior candidate? Does your resume include specific accomplishments that highlight challenges, action taken, and results (quantifiable, if possible)? Most importantly, do the accomplishments support your target? In other words, do they represent observable behaviors that are associated with the best in your field? Step 6: Ask yourself, "Is irrelevant information excluded?" There is no need to include any of the following: personal information (e.g. marital status and age), full address of employers (city and state is sufficient), personal pronouns ("I", "He" or "She"), reasons for leaving jobs, reference information, and unrelated hobbies or interests. Step 7: Ask yourself, "Does my resume present relevant content in an organized fashion?" As a general rule, you'll only need to cover the last 10 years of employment in detail, 15 years at the most. Anything prior can be summarized, but do attempt to keep the information relevant and accomplishment oriented. Are your employment dates presented appropriately? There is no need to get specific -- months and years are sufficient in most cases. Did you include more than one source of contact information? At a minimum, list your home phone number and e-mail address. By the way, if you don't have an e-mail address, get one...now! Listing it on your resume tells employers that you are technologically savvy. Is your experience arranged in reverse chronological order? Are all other sections of your resume applicable to the types of positions you are pursuing? STEP 8: Ask yourself, "Is my resume free of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammatical, and syntax errors?" Feedback from hiring authorities is unanimous -- a resume with errors is likely to be immediately discounted. They assume that your performance on the job will be sloppy and that you don't pay attention to details. Proofread your resume. Ask a friend or colleague to proofread your resume. Ask your mother to proofread your resume. Step 9: Repeat step 8. Step 10: Repeat step 8 again! Your resume is a material representation of you. It is a marketing document -- not a simple work history -- that tells organizations how you can contribute to their success. Ask yourself the questions above as you review your self-written resume. If you've covered everything, you are well on your way to getting companies interested in you. © Copyright 2004 Peter Hill, CPRW -- Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. About The Author Peter Hill is a Certified Professional Resume Writer. He owns and operates Distincitive Resumes, a Honolulu-based consultancy for managers and executives. Peter can be contacted via his website, www.peterhill.biz.
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Givaudan Givaudan Meet Native American Veterans where they live with a VA career VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers | Career Opportunities West Virginia University I moved to Alaska after college for a job. I lost all my friends because I put my career first. Business Insider Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University 15 Companies Offering Health Insurance to Part-Time Workers U.S News & World Report Money Careers at CMS CMS Careers at FEMA FEMA Physicians are the nation’s top earners – a slideshow Medical Economics Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign City of Tampa Careers City of Tampa Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Careers BASF Careers Fred Hutch News Service Nursing jobs VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Career Opportunities UMHB Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report US Department of Labor Careers at Union | Human Resources Union College Careers Washington State University US employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls The Associated Press Working for ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs Financial Times October 2024 jobs report: How two major hurricanes, labor strike might affect the numbers - NBC News UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Job Search Results UnitedHealth Group Vivek Ramaswamy indicates massive federal government job cuts in US Business Standard UN COMMON CAREERS VCU Health Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Careers City of Scottsdale Careers Medline Reservists (On-Call) FEMA How to Apply FEMA Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Jobs report on eve of election will be among the most muddled in years The Associated Press Careers KPMG Join our team FHI 360 Jobs And Careers | VA Albany Health Care | Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs BCG X Careers | Building Tomorrow and Beyond Boston Consulting Group Internship Opportunities | Careers Boston Consulting Group What Trump's election victory means for job seekers Business Insider Mayor Adams Launches Multi-Pronged Effort to Connect More New Yorkers to Jobs and Training, Reduce B nyc.gov Work with Us JPMorgan Chase Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Careers in A&O Shearman Work At Chess.com Chess.com Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase Career Paths FEMA Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota The 16 Best Jobs for Creative & Restless ADHD Brains ADDitude magazine Mental health at work World Health Organization The 20 Most Stressful Jobs U.S News & World Report Money The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024 The Australian Financial Review Benefits for the whole you Accenture Why Employees Quit HBR.org Daily JobFeed NSW Department of Education Two unis walking the career path alongside graduates The Australian Financial Review How to realize the potential of rising digital jobs World Economic Forum Current opportunities Turner & Townsend The 10 Most Enjoyable Jobs for Older Workers U.S News & World Report Money AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let’s Make Sure It Benefits Humanity. International Monetary Fund 9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2024 and Beyond HBR.org Daily Careers City of Norfolk (.gov) Careers at Campari Group Campari Group 8 global issues shaping and driving job creation World Economic Forum Jobs Energy.gov Careers at King County King County More and more jobs can be done from anywhere. What does that mean for workers? World Economic Forum Employment Opportunities Unity Health Toronto |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Looking the Part I don't know his name and he wasn't trying to be profound. A man who worked for one of my colleagues always showed in a shirt and tie with a simple explanation: "if you look business, you is business". How to Think Like a Headhunter to Find Your Dream Job! In this ever changing world, we need to think out of the box to get ahead. This true for anything you do in life. Put Some Mystery in Your Life Mystery shoppers. For some it conjures up images of private eyes and undercover detectives. How to Turn a Job Search into a Career Find The only way to find a new career is to stop looking for a job Career success requires the identical effort and targeting as setting a course for continuous professional development.Job opportunities are found through the strategic use of the same steering mechanism that successfully sells products and services: Positioning, Exposure and Marketing. Dissatisfied With Your Job? Stop Believing The Myths! If you are dissatisfied with your job, you are in a self-imposed career slump!Why are so many of us in career slumps? Bottom line?we are not doing work that satisfies us! No matter what our employer does for us, if we are not doing work we really want to be doing, in a way that fits our desired life-style, we will never be satisfied.What keeps us in career slumps for so long? The number one thing that keeps us in our slumps is that we believe the "myths" we were told!1. Mystery Shopping for Fun and Profit How would you like to get paid to go shopping? That's right! Get paid to shop for clothes, eat in restaurants, watch movies, play golf, travel, and so on.You can have your cake and eat it too! Enjoy the best ofboth worlds. Occupational Health and Safety - Stress and Workaholism at Work There has been a lot of hullabaloo recently about the problems facing Australia in retaining talented workers and the subsequent pressure placed on those remaining behind in the workplace.The incidence in stress claims is rising and is having an impact on the economy and enterprises in general. What Everybody Ought To Know About How To Change Their Career or Profession and Still Survive... Dr. Denis Waitley, trainer of leaders, including Super Bowl and Olympic athletes, Apollo astronauts, and Fortune 500 executives, is the most listened to voice on personal and career achievement and the author of the all-time best-seller, The Psychology of Winning claims that the 21st century is unlike anything we could have imaged. Traveling for An Interview? 10 Tips to Get You From Here to There You've just been granted an on-site interview in another town. Hurray!This means you'll be traveling to an employer's location so that they can further evaluate you for a specific job position. Get Off Your Butt and Out of the Rut It's amazing to see so many people who are prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their careers.I'm sure you know of someone like that. Employment Under A Microscope A certain amount of oversight is involved in almost any job. The more important, the more highly skilled, the more successful the position, the lower the degree of oversight. Writing A Great Resume, Part 2 TIP: Update your resume often. Be sure to add details of any training course, new interests and areas of responsibility. Importance Of Your Job Search So that you can decide just how critical your job hunt is in your total life scheme, let's put a kind of frame around the importance of the effort ahead.Reflect on it. Can You Compete? Are you looking to hire the best talent? Are you thinking about adding a new employee who will significantly impact millions of dollars in YOUR business? Do you want to hire the best? Then you need to show and convince your next hire that you are serious about him joining your team.In March, we received the following candidate's response to two high level interviews. Assess Your Transferable Skills One of the most important parts of a job search is assessing your Transferable skills. These are skills which you can use in other jobs such as: Communication, Information Management, Human Services, Managerial, Manual/Physical Labour, Personal Attributes, Organization. 20 Ways to Advance Your Career To survive and thrive in today's competitive environment, it is not just what you know. You also need to be competent. How to Receive Multiple Job Offers After You're Fired Ask survivors of the most popular reality television shows and they'll tell you "If you have to eat a cockroach, don't spend too much time thinking about it." Keep focused on the end-game and move on. Change Your Career, Change Your Life! Lots of times I see and talk to people who are tired, bored and burnt out of their current jobs. I'm not sure what causes this dis- satisfaction. Prepare for Your Performance Review Before You Start the Job When you start a new job, you probably realize the first three months are critical to your long-term success. Everybody's eye is on the "newbie" as you learn the ropes. Creating a Winning Resume Preparing your resume can often seem like a daunting task. You've done your research, but there is so much information, and how do you pick from the countless formats?!Writing your resume doesn't have to be so scary, in fact, if you keep a few simple tips in mind, you'll keep yourself ahead of the competition.
|
|
|
| © Career Consulting Limited.com 2011
|