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By Donalyn Leskosek Spisak
Resumes are reviewed by a
glance-over lasting usually
no more than 3 to 30
seconds. If you aren't
receiving invitations to
interview, you need to
revise and improve your
resume. You have to attract
an employer’s attention.
Here are some examples of
how to do this by focusing
on skills, areas of
expertise, and your
accomplishments.
ALWAYS TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE.
Write your resume with this
one particular job in mind.
Perhaps you may wish to
create a resume for each job
title you maybe considering
as your next career move. Do
not include information
pertinent to management when
applying for a position
which is non-management,
etc. Let them know clearly
you can fill the hole in
their organization with the
necessary requirements.
USE APPROPRIATE FONT SIZE
AND COLOR: Type resumes in
12 or 14 font size and
always in black, or if you
must be different, perhaps
blue ink. Resumes are
serious business. Utilizing
fancy fonts and colors will
not get you the desired
effect. Stick to the
conservative.
NEVER USE COLORED PAPER:
Print resumes on white or
off white traditional resume
paper. If your paper has a
watermark which is visible
when held up to the light,
even better. My personal
favorite is white linen.
Once again, when in doubt
stick to conservative even
when applying for positions
in graphic arts.
MAKE YOUR RESUME APPEALING
TO SEE. Use a non-electronic
resume for interviewing
purposes. Print with a laser
printer if possible for a
nice, sharp image. Leave
lots of white space, center
items, use bullets and
underlining as well as
italicizing and CAPITALS to
bring attention to pivotal
points.
BORDERS. Avoid using fancy
borders and colors with the
exception of the title
listing. Placing a border
around the title of the
position you are applying
for eliminates the need for
any other type of objective
statement and makes your
desires quite clear.
FOCUS ON THE EMPLOYER'S NEED
TO KNOW. Don't waste
precious time talking about
things you feel the need to
explain. Keep focused on the
employer’s need to know.
Emphasize the skills and
areas of expertise they are
seeking.
SAVE YOUR MONEY. Don't
overnight a resume in order
to impress an employer. The
secretary normally receives
all mail and will take it
out of the package and hand
it over with resumes
submitted the regular way.
Many times, she or he will
stockpile them for a day or
two before viewing any for
elimination purposes. Hand
delivery is a different
matter. Whenever possible,
hand deliver your resume.
Place it in a properly
labeled file folder you have
prepared and include a
handwritten note placed on
the file folder. The note
should say, hand delivered
to you by your name. I will
telephone to follow up on
Thursday. Sign it.
ALWAYS LIST ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Listing accomplishments in
lieu of a boring
dissertation of every
unrelated job description is
a wonderful way to get
attention. Even if you're
applying for a position
which is different from
those you've held in the
past, showing promotions and
accomplishments demonstrates
your value. Who wouldn't
wish to hire the person who
achieves what he sets out to
do?
ACCURACY. Check your work.
Verify all words are spelled
correctly. Review each
sentence for errors. There
is no need to write complete
sentences throughout the
resume. Keeping ideas and
statements brief and to the
point is always best. Don't
make anyone have to read
between the lines to find
qualifications necessary to
do the job. The resume you
submit must be flawless. It
is a sample of the quality
of your work.
PERSONAL INFORMATION. Years
ago it used to be considered
proper to include
information pertaining to
marital status, religion,
children, weight, height,
health, etc. These items are
no longer expected and in
most cases answer questions
which are not appropriate to
the interview process as
they may lead an employer to
discriminate against a
candidate site unseen.
DON'T MAKE EXCUSES: A resume
is the place for you to
advertise what makes you the
best candidate to fill the
position. It is not the
place to describe why you
left a position or why the
position left you. Never
list illnesses, surgery,
leaves of absences, etc.
USE ACTION WORDS. Making use
of action words adds
prestige and power to your
resume. These words, usually
verbs, make a perspective
employer wish to meet you in
person. These are words they
like to affiliate themselves
and their departments with.
Some examples may be:
Designed, Developed,
Managed, Created, Improved,
etc.
DON'T USE ABBREVIATIONS: Do
not use abbreviations. Spell
out names of companies,
schools, cities, etc. Don't
use even the most popular
acronyms either (eg, IEEE is
an acronym for Institute of
Electrical and Electronics
Engineers). Do not make an
employer look up
information; they have
neither the time nor
inclination.
KEEP IT SIMPLE: Don't fill
your resume with useless
information or information
unrelated to the position
being filled. An employer
will not read every word
especially when the resume
is cramped full of jargon or
statements which focus on
your need to tell rather
than the job at hand. Think
of your audience at all
times. This is your time to
sell yourself to a
particular position.
DON'T LIST REFERENCES. Your
references are personal to
you. Never send information
pertaining to contact
information for your
references unless asked for
them.
Don't state "References
Available Upon Request"
either. Employers know you
will submit references when
requested. Keep unnecessary
information off of the
resume.
RELATED EXPERIENCE.
Experience does not need to
be listed from latest to
earliest in every case. If
you had experience in a
particular field earlier in
your career and are
returning to that career,
you can lead off with
"Related Experience," which
would also be the most
applicable experience to the
hiring manager.
Donalyn Leskosek Spisak-Resume
& Portfolio Writing Expert;
author of "How to Write Your
Professional Portfolio",
"Keeping Track of
Interviews" & Job Searching
What you Need to Know",
Owner of Recruitshop and its
two websites
www.recruitshop.com &
www.phartnaceuticalsalesprep.com,
trainer and motivational
speaker. For information
724.446.7287.
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