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GETS RESULTS by Kevin Brennfleck and Kay Marie Brennfleck National Certified Career Counselors
Your resume is a summary of your qualifications. You can think of it as an expanded business card. You use a business card to introduce yourself or to leave behind as a reminder of who you are and what and whom you represent. In this case the product/service you represent is yourself! As you would never rely on a business card to sell your product/service, you should never rely on your resume to get you the job. The resume is an introduction to prospective employers, and gives them information about your education, work experience, abilities and accomplishments. Ultimately, its job is to convince an employer that they should take the time to interview you. Your goal is to appear on paper or in an electronic forum as someone who could meet their needs. Many organizations receive hundreds of resumes every day; therefore, most interviewers spend 30-45 seconds skimming over the average resume. It takes only that long for it to make either a positive or negative impression on the employer. And these days employers are able to collect resumes electronically (via the Internet or E-mail) and review them with the aid of software that scans for the needed skills or experiences. For your resume to be considered, it must "hit home" immediately by including the key words for which the software has been programmed to search. An excellent resume clearly states your qualifications (in descending order of importance) for the position for which you are applying. You will need to spend many hours thinking, writing and re-writing. There are no shortcuts to writing a good resume. Since at times it will form an employer's first impression of you, it must be an example of your best thought and effort. Steps to Writing a Successful Resume 1. Define your objective. A resume will be most effective if it is focused. If you have determined a specific objective, include the job title or a brief statement describing the position desired. It is best to state your objective at the top of your resume. Some examples of objectives:
2. Depending on the job for which you're applying, you will need to choose one of these two formats: Chronological or Functional. A chronological resume is an arrangement of your qualifying experiences and training listed in reverse chronological order. A chronological resume is most effective when you are applying for a position that is similar or directly related to work you have done previously. A functional resume highlights your skills and lists your qualifications in their order of importance regardless of the time of occurrence. In a functional resume, you make use of the skills and duties from all of your work history (paid and/or volunteer), education and leisure activities which relate to and qualifies you for the job objective. Use the functional format if you plan a career transition, or if you do not have specific work experience related to the job you want. 3. Write 10-15 skill statements that prove you can do the job you are targeting in your objective (or at least prove that you can learn how to do the job quickly). For either type of resume, you will attract employers by describing the skills you have that will produce the results they need. Ultimately, the results that you can produce is the only thing an employer is interested in. The following are illustrations of skill statements that demonstrate quantified and specific results:
As you can see each skill statement starts with a skill name: for example, words like identified, initiated, restructured, designed and developed. These words connote action. The skill statement then describes how the skill was used and, most important, what result was achieved. Please note that while it is not always possible to quantify results, strive to at least subjectively describe the results you produced. Writing skill statements may take you two hours or more to complete. But keep in mind, the work that you do here will help you to not only write a good resume but will also be valuable in interviewing, where it is important that you're able to prove you have the skills the employer is looking for. 4. Once you have written your skill statements, you are ready to begin a resume draft by placing those skills in either a chronological or functional format. Choose a format, study the examples given and write your skill statements into the"work experience" section for a chronological resume or into the "professional experience or relevant experience" section for a functional resume. Use past tense for previous activities, experiences or acquired skills. Use present tense to refer to ongoing or current activities. If you are using a functional format you will also want to have a "work history" section to provide the names of the companies you have worked for, where they were located, the job titles you held, and the dates you worked at each company. 5. As a part of your draft, make sure that you include a section called "Highlights of Qualifications". This section can include such things as: total number of years of experience; special knowledges that you have (for example computer knowledges); and personal skills (such as hardworking, honest, flexible, loyal, etc.). 6. Of course, you will want your name, address and phone number (and possibly, e-mail address) at the top of the page. Use a phone number where you can be reached or where a message can be left. If you don't currently have an answering machine or voice mail, invest in some technology that will be there to answer when you are not. An employer may not call a second time. Keep your answering message brief and professional. 7. Your education should be first under your objective only if it is your most important qualification to date for the job for which you are applying. Generally, it also should be at the beginning where possession of a requisite degree (or degrees) is a requirement for a professional job. However, as your education recedes in time, it also recedes as a factor in your current qualifications. In reverse chronological order, list the institutions you attended, their locations and inclusive dates of attendance. It is not necessary for a college graduate to indicate the high school attended, unless there is some aspect of that experience that particularly supports your objective. Include degrees received, academic major(s) and/or areas of concentration. Job applicants with limited work experience may also want to mention such things as special academic honors, student activities, etc. 8. Other factors that can be included: professional memberships, publications, special honors, qualifying licenses, interests, civic activities, etc. Remember, however, that you only want to include information that helps prove you can do the job. The resume is not a forum for telling your life story. 9. When editing your resume, remember the following: there is no perfect format (choose the one that best represents you); there should be a reason for everything you include; after your objective, list the most important information that targets the objective, then the second most important section, and so on; use correct spelling (have someone proofread your final copy even if you are a good speller); do not abbreviate; avoid jargon and, as a general rule, limit your resume to one or two pages. 10. Make your resume visually appealing. Visually highlight key information by using boldfaced type or CAPITALIZING or underlining it. (Underlining should be avoided, however, if you know the resume will be electronically scanned as lines confuse the scanner.) Bullets (large dots) are effective in drawing the employer's attention and eye to competencies, accomplishments and/ or achievements. Use white space for eye appeal and easy reading. 11. Use high quality paper (your local print shop can show you some examples), either white, off-white, beige or gray bond for resumes that you send or hand-deliver. (Obviously, if you fax a resume, the quality of the paper is irrelevant.) Also, use a high quality printing process. Have your resume professionally reproduced or run originals from your computer off a letter quality, or preferably, laser printer. Summary These steps will help you to write a resume that gets results. Taking time to produce a great resume can help you to not only get job interviews but to also interview much more effectively. If you would like a professional evaluation of your resume or you would like a professionally written resume for yourself please click here to learn more about our services.
© 1999 Copyright by Kevin and Kay Marie Brennfleck. All rights reserved. Source: The above information is published electronically by Kevin and Kay Marie Brennfleck, and is intended for personal use only. No commercial use of this information is authorized without written permission from the copyright owners. For additional information, contact the Brennflecks at 626/577-2705. The Christian Career Center is found at www.ChristianCareerCenter.com and on America Online at keyword COCC. |
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