10 Tips For Writing A Professional Résumé
1. Start with an attractive layout. Use bold and italics to highlight key points. I do not recommend downloadable templates because they are very generic and dull. Get creative but not crazy. You can use a little touch of color if you are modest. 2. Justify the text instead of using left align. Most people are accustomed to reading justified text. This will make your résumé easy to follow. 3. Choose a common font. Times New Roman, Arial, and Verdana are some of the best fonts for a résumé. Now is not the time to experiment. Most computers do not have 600 different fonts installed so the file will not read correctly if you use your decorative fonts. Do not use cutesy graphics such as candy canes or teddy bears if you want to be taken seriously. - Yes, I have really received a résumé with teddy bears and candy canes on it. It is NOT appropriate for business correspondence, and I guarantee your résumé will be canned if you do this. 4. Do not use the word "I" in your résumé. Start each sentence with a powerful verb. - Organized annual student symposium by securing speakers and working closely with marketing department executives. - Implemented production bonus incentives and "best practices" matrix for all divisions raising overall productivity by as much as 40%. 5. Write a proper cover letter for each position you apply to. Do not ever send out a résumé without a cover letter. This is basic business etiquette. Personalize each cover letter directly to the position you are applying to. A generic cover letter will not work to your benefit. If possible, address the letter directly to a person. If you do not know the hiring managers name, use "Hiring Manager". 6. Print your résumé and read it word for word. You can use the grammar and spell check function, but don't rely on it. 7. When you have a degree, list only the year that you obtained your degree. When you list your dates of attendance, many résumé scanning systems will not recognize that you obtained a degree, only that you attended college for a period. 8. Deactivate all e-mail links and web addresses in your résumé and cover letter. To do this in MS Word, highlight the link with your mouse, go to the "Insert" drop down menu, scroll down to and click "Hyperlink", and on the lower left-had side of this screen there should be a little button that says "Remove link", when you find it, give it a little click and voila! Alternatively, you can highlight the link with your mouse, right click on it, and scroll down to "remove link" to deactivate the link. 9. Be consistent! For example, don't list one date as 1/2004 and then list another date as 9/22/2004. List software consistently. MS Word and Microsoft Excel are both correct, but not consistent when used together. 10. Adhere to punctuation and capitalization rules. Use a reference manual if you do not understand standard punctuation and capitalization rules. Jennifer Anthony is the owner of
ResumeASAP, offering professional and affordable résumé writing services. If you have comments about this article, or if you are
interested in learning more about professional résumé writing, please contact Jennifer Anthony by e-mail or by
calling 1-888-722-5211.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
In Control - Inside Tips on Interview Success
No, you can't control how the interview will be conducted, nor can you control the outcome. But you can influence it greatly by the way you present your personality and your skills.
Finding a Career in Harmony with Your Life Path
Which of the following would you chose? Doing your lifework as a permanent occupation or a regular activity performed in exchange for payment. The first is the definition of a career and the second that of a job. Both involve physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something, but in a career you are self directed and at choice. In a job you are generally following orders and passive.
Does Your Career Change Itch or Burn?
Two weeks ago, I received a newsy email from a former client. Dan gave me the scoop on his life and new love, and ended by saying that while work had improved, he was feeling the itch again to go after career change. He would soon give me a call for some personal coaching sessions.
Layoff Survival Guide - Do You Have The Career Management Horsepower It Will Take To Survive?
In a recent survey of over 662 career seekers, some disturbing trends identified that MOST career seekers don't have a clue what career management skills they have or what those skills are! As a result, it will be difficult for these career seekers to succeed.
Should You Lie On Your Resume?
Warning: Lying on your resume could cost you your job and your freedom.
The Importance of Background Verification
Today's society has created an environment that requires business owners to be armed with numerous tools. Many employers currently spend little time verifying the accuracy of employment applications and the cost of not doing normal due diligence can be staggering.
What You Should Never Put on Your Resume
Liars Get Caught! What NOT to Put on Your Resume
Get Your Dream Job!
Anyone who is a jobseeker knows that looking for a new job or career is a job in itself. Once you have completed the laborious task of writing your resume and submitting it to various companies, you now have to pass the screen test to get the job. Interviews are the gateway to landing your ideal job. These five tips will help you get own your way to making that job yours.
A Job is Not a Job
It only happened on Mondays. Sometimes I escaped the unpleasant ritual. But, more often than not, right before boarding I threw up in the ladies room of the train station. It wasn't the commute I hated. It was the job.
The reasons don't matter why a job I once enjoyed turned into a job I didn't. It happens. Bosses change, companies change, priorities change, budgets change, responsibilities change. Some changes bring personal growth and opportunity. Some don't.
What does matter was the lesson learned that stayed with me the rest of my career: a job is not just a job. That job I hated helped my checking account. But my confidence, creativity, health, energy for life and view of the world was not as fortunate. When the alarm clock sounded, my previous excitement to face a new day became cocoon-like behavior, both in and out of the covers, wanting protection from another day's battle. It was safer for those I loved to refrain from sharing important issues or concerns with me, never knowing how I would react.
How you spend a significant part of your day rubs off on the rest of your day, and on those you share your life with. Over time, it rubs off on your life. I'm not talking about temporary potholes and work hiccups that come with change or periods of work intensity, or the interim choices to increase finances, or the normal setbacks and challenges that should be dealt with at work. I'm talking about the long term match between who you are and the job you have. When you're in a job that's good for you, you can feel it. And you can feel it when you're not. I agree with Barbara DeAngeles, "No job is a good job if it isn't good for you."
You see, you can't be winning at working if you don't like what you're doing, where you're doing it, or who you're doing it for. If what you do feels like work the majority of the time, you might want to think about why, and what you can do to change it. That doesn't necessarily mean you should change jobs or companies. Transferring to another team, volunteering for a new project, or asking your boss for new responsibilities may be all it takes.
But, whatever it takes, you won't be able to offer your best you at work and get rewarded with interesting work, personal growth and financial rewards, if you aren't in a good workplace environment and a good position match for who you are, what you want, and what you have to offer.
I've worked in jobs where I couldn't wait until Monday. That's when I'm so excited about the new project or the new idea or the next thing I'm working on that it's not work to me. It's a challenging, interesting, stimulating and fun way to spend my day. And, I'm a lot happier when that's the case.
(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
7 Deadly Cover Writing Sins
Don't start off your job search with one (or more) strikes
against you by committing any of these common cover letter
blunders. Each is easy to avoid, but they can sink your
chances of an interview if you include them in your letter.
3 Cover Letter Secrets Revealed
Writing a cover letter can be like cleaning your garage -- you don't know where to start ... and you just want it done.
Experience Hear-See-Do
Research indicates that we retain only 10% of what we hear; 20% of what we see; 65% of what we hear and see; but 90% of what we hear, see, and do.
Get Beyond Your Tasks
Ever hear the story of the two masons working side by side at a building site? They're doing the same work under pretty much the same conditions. Then, one day a stranger comes along, approaches one of the men and asks him, "What are you doing?" "I don't know and I don't care," replies the man, his voice brimming with irritation. All I do is slap this crummy mortar on these crummy bricks and pile them up in a crummy line. That's what I'm doing."
Are Your Intentions Clear in Your Job Search?
1. Do you REALLY know what you want?
5 Simple Rules for A Great Job Interview
Many years ago, when I was a young job-searching greenhorn, I ventured to New York City to take a bite out of the big apple of opportunity.
Career Killers to Avoid
Many professionals and managers are so involved in day-to-day crises and fighting fires that they forget about a key leadership characteristic: self-management. Effective leaders are first of all effective in managing themselves ? their time, their focus, their emotions and their careers. It's too late to figure out what's next for you once your company has merged, had lay offs, changed strategy or whatever. Here are the biggest mistakes leaders make in their careers.
Theres No Need to Pad Your Resume
It seems like a good idea, harmless in fact. Your friends assure you that everybody does it and that employers rarely check resume facts. Going on blind faith and convinced the truth hasn't been helpful so far, you seriously consider fabricating information on your resume. You adapt the school of thought that a little white lie never hurt anyone and lying on a resume is just that, a little white lie.
Managing The Boss Is Essential To Career Success
Your boss is the gatekeeper of your career. Unless you are able to
manage a positive relationship with him at each step in your career you
will fall short of your potential.
How to Give Job-Winning Answers at Interviews
Human Resources personnel, professional recruiters and various other career experts all agree: one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a job interview is to anticipate questions, develop your answers, and practice, practice, practice.
Children At Work: Looking at Child Labor in the Victorian Age
Today, it isn't that uncommon for some children and teenagers to work. They may earn extra money by baby-sitting, doing yard work, or maybe even walking dogs. Others, once they go on to high school, may go to work in their local grocery store, malls, or food chains. However, in the Victorian Age, it wouldn't seem at all strange to see children as young as five or six, go to work full-time (sometimes sixteen hours a day!) in often dangerous conditions.
|
