Writing a resume isn’t too hard if you compartmentalise it, breaking it down into its individual parts. Regardless of whether you’re an experienced professional with a long employment history writing a chronological resume or a transitional worker crafting a resume using the functional format, approaching a resume systematically is vital. Let’s examine a resume using the top-down approach to see how to easily write an effective resume.

Contact Information

The first thing a prospective employer should see is your contact information so they will know right away how to reach you for an interview.

• Name: your actual legal name. First name and surname are just fine, no middle name unless it’s something you always do. Don’t include nicknames; you can do that after you’ve been hired.
• Address
• Daytime phone number
• Email address: Make sure your email address sounds professional. If it’s the one you’ve had since you were in your teens, it probably isn’t. The goal is to present yourself as a mature professional, so feel free to get a new address from one of the free online services or your ISP if necessary.
• What not to include: no personal information like date of birth, religious or political affiliations. No photos.

Personal Career Objective: This should be a quick summary of a short-term or long-term career goal, but this goal must be related to this job opening. If this job itself does not relate to a true goal or you just haven’t decided on a long-term objective, it’s not a big deal and you can leave this section out.

Work History

A resume writer needs to format their C.V. so the most relevant facts are listed first. Seasoned professionals with a long history of experience who are looking for a new job in the same field need to use the chronological resume format. This format details to duties and accomplishments of the employee’s latest job first, then their second most recent position and so on.

When listing a work history, it’s important to remember two things. First, you need to list accomplishments instead of duties. Achievements are dynamic, concrete examples of your effectiveness as a worker. Bland lists of duties, on the other hand, just tell the employer what you did, not how well you did it. Second, you must tailor your resume to the opening. You need to list past achievements that match the job’s requirements first, filling out the list with other accomplishments afterward. This tells the prospective employer right away exactly how you fit the job.

Relevant Skills

For job seekers who are changing careers or students just now joining the job market, the proper resume format is the functional style. These people will be applying for entry level jobs for the most part, and they won’t have real experience in the field. This means that any skills gained in other jobs, at university or through personal pursuits that may translate to effectiveness in this position should be stressed right away.

Examples of relevant skills could be languages spoken, computer skills, examples of teamwork ability and more. These and other “soft skills” which can be used effectively at any job are a plus for inexperienced job seekers.

Education

In this section, writers need to summarize their academic history. Just like the work history, the education history section is listed in bullet points in reverse chronological order. All degrees should be detailed here, along with professional certifications and possibly extracurricular activities and student organisations, as long as these extras are professional and build a picture of you as a hard-working, diligent employee.

The education section can be abbreviated to just the relevant degrees and dates for experienced professionals, since they need more room for work history, the most important part of a chronological resume. For a functional resume, however, this section should be expanded. Even relevant courses could be listed if they relate to the job.

References

This is typically the final section of a resume. Even if the job posting doesn’t specifically ask for references, it may be a good idea to list three professional sources anyway, since they will certainly ask for them sometime. They will probably appreciate the convenience.

The key to having good references is to contact them ahead of time. It’s not just a matter of courtesy. Rather, calling former employees, co-workers or professors to ask for references makes them prepare themselves for the call. The more prepared they are, the better reference you are likely to get.

When you’re finished working through your resume template, be should to have someone proof read it for you. You need to be positive that it flows well, is easy to read and error-free. Your resume is a selling tool as well as a preview of your abilities, including your skill in crafting business communication. You need to make sure it is professional, neat and effective and they will think the same of you.

Choosing the proper resume format can make all the difference between getting a job interview and waiting for a call that never comes. The two major resume templates, or formats are chronological and functional. Each has specific occasions where they should be used and picking the right format for your situation is vital.

The Chronological Resume

This is the most common resume format. A chronological resume lists a job applicant’s work history and details in reverse chronological order with their current job listed first. After the job seeker works their way backwards through their work history, they list their education details. The chronological resume type is the one to use if you are an experienced professional with an impressive work history. Here’s an example of a chronological resume written by an experienced pro:

Name
Address
Phone Number
Email

Career Objective: To use my 15 years of progressive experience in the technology field to achieve a position of CIO for a technologically-vibrant company where I can contribute to company growth.

Work Experience:

Company Name
Network Manager
July 2006 – Present

• Managed 12-member network ops team for international eCommerce company.
• Led an aggressive upgrade initiative to increase uptime from 80% in 2006 to 97% currently.
• Worked with human resources and accounting to increase IT headcount, leading to 75% increase in SLA fulfillment.
• Spearheaded campaign to transition physical servers to a virtual environment, saving up to $20,000 yearly on hardware support, power and air conditioning.

Company Name
Helpdesk Administrator
May 1999 – July 2006

• Managed ten-member desktop services team to support hardware and software needs of 250 clients.
• Researched, purchased and implemented new trouble ticket system to cut service time in half over a three-year period.
• Collaborated with network manager to further knowledge exchange, leading to internal promotion to fill over 80% of our openings rather than conduct external searches.

Company Name
Team Captain
June 1996 – May 1999

• After three months of service rated as “exceeding expectations,” I was promoted to team captain in charge of 20 regional home and small business service technicians.
• Implemented service-based incentive system to reward efficiency. This decreased return calls by 65%.

Education:

Masters Degree, IT Management, Perth Administrative University, 2008

Bachelors in Information Sciences, Perth Technology College, 1999

In this example, Martin Smith has over a decade of experience in his field. He has been promoted from entry-level work to his current management position, and he’s seeking higher work in the same field. Because of this, Martin is using a chronological resume that stresses his experience first.

The Functional Resume

This resume format is used by job seekers without experience in the field they’re applying for. It’s great for those of us with a short career history, people changing careers, recent graduates and more. The functional resume type accentuates meaningful skills that are transferable while saving career history for later. With this type of resume, the hope is that employers evaluate job seekers by skill rather than by experience. Here is an example of a functional resume in practice:

Name
Address
Phone Number
Email

Career objective: To use the skills gained my 10 years as a successful small business owner and in the customer service field to obtain an entry-level management position at a company in need of a motivated self-starter.

Profile: I started my own small business seven years ago in my garage and was profitable in just three months. Super Techs, my PC support company, focused on providing excellent, affordable service for homes and small businesses. I was able to build a loyal customer base and hire five flex-time technicians to meet the growing need while still serving as a service tech myself. After seven years as a dedicated team player, I have sold my company for a modest profit and my goal is to seek new challenges in the private sector.

Skills:

• Dedication and willingness to see every task through to completion even if I have to do it all myself.
• Eager to share knowledge and help peers grow.
• Excellent at all areas of business, from the actual “grunt work” to promotions and accounting.
• Accomplished team leader and excellent manager.
• Superior computer skills.

Work History:

Company Name
Sole Proprietor and Service Manager
July 2004 – September 2011

Company Name
Customer Service and Sales Associate
October 2001 – July 2004

Education:

Computer Technology Certificate, Western Perth Vocational School, 2001

As someone without a degree and who is changing careers, William is an excellent candidate for a functional resume. Here, he lists a summary of his impressive history as a small businessman and the skills he has gained over time with the hope that those reading his resume will see how those skills can translate to meet their needs.

A well-written resume that gets results needs to be targeted and it needs to be exact. It will not just trot out your past work record and duties. It will say, “This is what I can do for you,” and that is what will get you the interview. A resume can’t be generic. It needs to be written with the specific job in mind and rewritten for each new application. Preparation is crucial if you are to write the best resume possible every time. Resume writers need to organize their facts, create an exhaustive list of achievements and prepare their references ahead of time.

Get Your Facts Straight

The first step to writing a resume is to assemble the specific details of your employment and education histories. Keep in mind this is material is not specifically what will go on the actual resume you send. This is simply the starting point. Start at university and work your way forward, writing out every single detail you can think of. Be sure all dates are correct, even if it means checking through your old records. Make sure you list all degrees, jobs held, duties and any other relevant information you can think of. You will need all this for later. The last thing you should be doing when trying to write a high-quality targeted resume is going back and trying to remember specifically when you started and left an old job. All this information should be gathered first. Once the bare bones of your resume are ready, it’s time to flesh it out.

Create Your Achievements Database

In the past, job applicants could send one generic resume for every job. These catch-all curriculum vitae just listed past employers, job titles and duties. Recipients would need to read over these lengthy lists of past responsibilities and decipher whether the applicant could do the job at hand. In today’s tough job market, a better approach is needed.

Rather than list past duties and leave it up to the reader to figure out if what you’ve done proves you qualify, you need to come right out and illustrate that you can indeed do this job. The way to do that is to avoid listing past duties altogether. Instead, you need to list your accomplishments. What this does is it tells the reviewer exactly what you’ve done as opposed to simply listing a vague job duty and leaving it up to them to figure out. For example:

“Managed automotive parts department” is bad. It doesn’t say anything. Was the department busy? What management tasks did you perform? How many people did you manage? No idea.

“Implemented ‘Just In Time’ auto parts inventory strategy, which decreased unnecessary inventory by 80%, saving $75,000 annually” is much better. Why? Because it lists a concrete achievement. It tells the resume reviewer that you are results-driven and can accomplish something great. It is also quantifiable. You’re not just saying “I reduced inventory and saved money.” You are telling exactly how much you reduced and how much you saved. This is what and achievement looks like and your resume needs achievements, not tasks performed.

Now that you understand what an achievement looks like, you need to know how to put these in a relevant resume. The way to do this is to create an “achievements database.” Brainstorm all past job duties, which you listed in step one, and then translate them into every quantifiable accomplishment possible. Do this for university achievements, too, especially if your work history is a little light. You should end up with a fairly large list of accomplishments. This is the base you will draw from for every resume.

When it is time to write your resume, pull out this list and compare your achievements with the requirements in the job listing. Highlight the accomplishments that relate to the duties specified. When writing your targeted resume, you will list these relevant accomplishments first when describing a past job. You will use bulleted lists and if you can’t list more than three relevant accomplishments per job, feel free to fill out the rest of the list with the more impressive achievements. Just be sure to list the relevant ones first. This will get their attention and the reader will say to themselves, “this person is EXACTLY what we’re looking for!”

Contact Your References

A final word on resume preparation: contact your references. Even if the job listing doesn’t ask for references on your resume, you need to prepare them anyway, because the company will call them. Think of co-workers and associated past and present who would have the best things to say about you and contact them ahead of time. Be sure you have current contact information and tell them they may be called for a reference. References prepared ahead of time will be ready to say something nice while references caught off-guard may grasp desperately for details and fail.

How a resume looks and feels can be just as important as what it says. A job seeker can be the most qualified person in the resume pile, with a resume directly targeted to the specific job with plenty of real-world examples of accomplishments and still not even get called for an interview if layout isn’t considered. The best-qualified candidates can be dismissed to the dustbin for sending resumes with poor grammar, weird font choices, misspellings, wall-to-wall blocks of text and other common resume violations. When you feel you’re ready to write the best resume and your information is organized and ready to be put to paper, pay close attention to these tips about proper resume layout and design.

White Space is Crucial

We are a visual society that gravitates toward anything that is pleasing to the eye. Clutter is not pleasing. Resume readers who see huge, intimidating blocks of text that run from margin to margin will be resistant to reading further. Instead of using paragraphs, use short bullet lists outlining your achievements and past duties. This creates white space, which is essentially ‘breathing room” for the eye and makes it much easier to read and digest your resume.

The One-Page Rule is a Myth

There truly is no all-encompassing rule for resume length. Consider the traditional wisdom that says under no circumstances should a resume pass one page in length. For experienced professionals, keeping to one page is a sure way to break the “white space” rule. Sacrificing white space for length is not the way to go. If you are a veteran worker with a lot of experience and many jobs over the years, don’t feel compelled to cram it all onto one page. Use two or even three judiciously. That being said, brevity is important as well. Don’t go over one page just because you can. If you’re not sure whether you really need more than one page, have someone read your resume and get their opinion

Use Professional Fonts

A resume is a piece of business communications and should mirror the memos and other paperwork one would normally see in an office environment. Stick to standard fonts like Calibri, Times New Roman, Tahoma etc. Anyone with common sense can look at a font and decide whether it’s professional or not. Weird fonts will definitely make you stand out, but not in a good way.

Evaluate your Choice of Paper

If you are sending a physical copy of your resume by post, consider paper choice. There is such a thing as paper that is too good for a resume just as there is paper that’s not good enough. Office supply stores make a tidy profit peddling too-fancy “resume paper” designed to look like parchment or other gaudy, attention-grabbing styles. Just as you shouldn’t go to the job interview in a tuxedo, you shouldn’t go overboard on paper. Higher-quality white or slightly off-white paper is the perfect choice. Remember that you can go too cheap with paper, too. Thin “onion skin” paper or low-quality copier grade paper pinched from the office will do you no favours.

Use a Laser Printer

Neatness is vital. No matter how careful you may be, inkjet printers can smear easily. Even if you manage to get an inkjet-printed resume in the envelope without smudging your words, the recipient might not be so careful. Just about everyone has access to a quality laser printer. Family, friends and office supply stores are all great sources for one-off printouts on a good printer. While you’re printing your C.V. on that laser printer, print an envelope. Why go through the trouble of buying nice paper and using a laser printer if you’re going to shove it into a hand-scrawled envelope?

Proofread

Don’t just rely on spell-check to verify that your resume is ready to be seen. It may not catch all grammar errors and it certainly won’t flag words that were spelled correctly but used wrong. Proofread your work carefully for errors. Keep in mind that because you wrote it, you know what it’s going to say, so you might still miss mistakes. With this in mind, find a friend and have them proofread as well. This resume is your only chance to get an interview, so don’t let a few miswritten words sink your efforts.

Resume Type

Have you chosen the correct type of resume for your situation? The two major resume types are chronological and functional. It’s important to know when to use which type. A chronological resume stresses experience, past job duties and achievements. It should be used by experienced professionals. A functional resume puts the emphasis more on basic abilities that are transferable from one job type to another. This type of resume is more helpful for workers with less experience or for job seekers looking to change careers. Use the correct resume templates type to avoid short-changing yourself.

In these days of electronic resume submission, the art of writing an effective cover letter has been lost. In many cases, companies just ask for an online resume submission and make the cover letter optional. Even when online submission is not the case, many job seekers will email or even snail mail a resume with no thought about the content of their cover letter. This is a mistake. A good cover letter can go just as far in getting an interview as a resume can. A proper cover letter is courteous and provides a bit of insight into who you are. It serves as a preview for the resume to come and, if properly executed, will leave the reviewer eager to read more. It doesn’t matter if you are sending a physical copy of your resume, submitting it online via web form or emailing it, a cover letter is not to be avoided or treated as an afterthought.

Just like a resume, a cover letter must be targeted to the specific job at hand. The days of writing a generic cover letter and sending it to every job are gone. To create a targeted cover letter, you should keep a copy of the resume you’ll be sending for this job opening nearby. You will focus your cover letter to this job so your already-focused resume will serve as a guide.

Regardless of whether it is the body of an email that has your resume attached or a standalone piece to be mailed in or attached to an online application, a cover letter must follow a basic format. The standard cover letter layout is:

• Contact information
• Personal greeting
• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion

You will place your contact information and today’s date at the top of your cover letter. Your contact information consists of your name, address, telephone number and email address. If you do not have a professional-sounding email address, sign up for a new free email address with Gmail, Live or Yahoo. After your personal information, list the date and then skip a line and list the company’s address. Under the address, write “ATTN” and list the job opening title, vacancy number if there is one, or similar information. If this is an email, the company address can be left out and you can place the “ATTN” section in the subject line of the email.

A personal greeting needs to be just that: personal. If you don’t know the name of the person who will receive your resume, do all you can to find out. It probably just takes one phone call and some manners to get this information. By writing the letter to an actual person, you establish a personal connection. It shows courtesy and respect, quite the opposite of the turn-off caused by letters addressed “to whom it may concern.”

The purpose of the introductory paragraph is to state your reason for writing. A company might have 7 different job openings, so you need to make it easy on them. A lot of company representatives like to know where you found out about the opening to assess the effectiveness of their advertising, so it’s a good idea to tell them that as well. For example, you could write:

“I am writing to inquire about the Assistant Sales Manager Position that was listed on Newhires.com.”

If you were referred to the job by a current employee, it is vital to list that in the introductory paragraph as well, since that could be the “in” you need.

The body paragraph or paragraphs is where you will do your selling. Here is where having your resume nearby helps. You should have already written a new resume focused on this company’s specific needs outlined in the job posting. In this paragraph, you need to highlight one or two of the most important duties and detail how you can fill them. Start off with a quick introduction of yourself that does a bit of selling, such as “I am an experienced sales professional with 11 years in the automotive parts sales field,’ and then go into their needs and how you can help, based on accomplishments outlined in your resume. A well-written body paragraph will make the recipient want to read more about you in your resume.

Before you can sign off, physically or electronically, it’s time for the conclusion. The final paragraph wraps everything up and ends with a call to action. Here, you will thank them for their time, mention that your resume is attached for their review and suggest they contact you if they require further information “or to schedule a time to meet and discuss this opening further.” This is a subtle – or maybe not so subtle – hint that you are asking for an interview. The closing paragraph is where you lead the reader to the next steps in the process: they need to read your resume and cal you.

For a resume to get results, it must be based on the job seeker’s achievements, not just past job duties. A proper resume also needs to be targeted to the job at hand. By writing a targeted resume that is based on quantifiable accomplishments, job seekers greatly increase their chances of getting a job interview. Here is a look at an example job listing and the type of resume that should be written in order to be accepted for an interview for the position.

The Job Listing

Systems Support/Network Analyst
Romero Corporation – Queensland

We are seeking an experienced Systems Support Engineer to join our growing network support team.

General Duties: Avaya telephone system support, Windows server and Active Directory administration, disaster recovery, server hardware support, VMware support and administration, Exchange email system support, Helpdesk trouble ticket escalation, support external contractors including third-party DBA Company, other duties as required.

Education: Five years’ experience in information technology support field. Bachelor’s degree preferred but will accept eight years’ experience in lieu of degree. Microsoft Certification strongly recommended. Other training courses in relevant technology preferred.

Please email resumes to: Email Address

The Resume

Name
Address
Phone Number
Email

Career Objective: To continue my career in network support at a growing, technology-focused firm where I can apply my skills and knowledge to contribute to an dynamic support team.

Work History

Company Name
Systems Engineer
April 2008 – Present

• Built four-node VMware environment and transitioned 30 servers to it, saving the company $5000 per month in power and hardware maintenance costs.
• Managed 500-line Avaya telephone system and led a project in 2009 to add two D-Channels. Uptime had been 85%. We have had no outages since the upgrade.
• Implemented Microsoft Exchange GRT backups, cutting mailbox disaster recovery time from our typical 3-5 days to one hour.
• Upgraded email system hardware and software from Exchange 2000 to Exchange 2010. In our annual employee satisfaction survey, employee satisfaction with email went from B- to A+.
• Researched and contracted an outsourced database administration company, leading to database service uptime increase from 85% to 98%.

Company Name
Junior Network Support
January 2007 – April 2008

• Managed user moves, adds and changes for 600-member Active Directory environment.
• Reconfigured failing Symantec Backup Exec disaster recovery system, which decreased weekly backup job failures from 11 – 15 per week to one or two per month.
• Key participant in project to manually upgrade memory in 25 production and development servers.
• Provided support for helpdesk technicians as the first point of escalation in the work order process. Successfully closed roughly 75% of all trouble tickets assigned to me without need for escalation to senior engineers.
• Promoted from desktop support after two years of performance rated “exceptional.”

Company Name
Helpdesk Support Technician
July 2005 – January 2007

• Provided desktop hardware and software support for 600 local clients in our home office and 1000 users spread across 50 international satellite offices.
• Rotated 24/7 on call schedule weekly with three other desktop support technicians.
• Researched and implemented LogMeIn system for better support for remote users.

Skills:

• Over six years of progressing experience with increasing responsibilities in the Information Technology field.
• Results-driven, proven leader.
• Quick learner, eager to gain knowledge of emerging hardware and software technologies.
• Dedicated to increasing efficiency and usability of systems.

Education:

• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer: completed self-motivated online courses and passed all exams in 2008. Currently pursuing MCITP certification.
• Attended one-week VMWare training course at QLD Tech, Inc.
• Bachelor’s Degree: Computer Science, 2005, University of Queensland
• Member of the Australian IT Professionals’ Society
• Worked for class credit in the campus network support team 2003 – 2005

If you compare the job posting to Thomas’ resume, you can see exactly how he has targeted his experiences to tailor the resume to the specifications of the job opening. Thomas does have more experience than listed here, but none of that is of concern to the Romero Corporation. Instead of listing everything he has ever done and leaving it up to Romero’s human resources department to figure things out, Thomas details his resume with concrete examples of his accomplishments that relate directly to Romero’s requirements.

The key to knowing you have written a proper resume is twofold. First, read the job listing and then look at your resume. Go ahead and do it with the above example as a guide. Do the accomplishments listed in the resume match the job duties in the job posting as much as possible? Once you are sure that you have established a one-to-one relationship between your experience and the job posting, ask yourself if you have listed quantifiable achievements. Are your achievements vague or do they list exact numbers and facts like Thomas did? Keep this example handy when writing your next resume. A targeted resume template that lists actual measurable accomplishments is the very best way to get one step closer to the job you want.

A resume is more than just a summary of your education and work history. Writing a bland resume that simply lists what you did and when is a surefire way to not get the interview. Resume writers need to always keep in mind that a resume is really an advertisement of who they are as an employee. The purpose of a resume is to sell you to a prospective employer, not to simply list your history and leave it up to them.

In order to write an effective resume, the first step is to understand the format. A resume must be neat, organized and provide plenty of white space, the use of a professionally written resume template will help you achieve this. Short, bulleted lists that succinctly detail duties, history and accomplishments sell your message while achieving maximum readability. That is the key to a great resume. If a resume is a chore to read and digest, there’s no way you’re getting the interview.

Here is the basic layout of a typical resume:

• Personal contact information
• Objective – this is optional
• Employment history – listed in reverse chronological order, latest job first and so on
• Education – again, in reverse chronological order
• References – this is also optional

Understanding proper format is just one part of writing a successful resume. Knowing what to actually put into a resume and specifically how to say is it equally important. Here is a look at what to list – and what to leave out – in these key areas.

Personal Contact Information

This section should be located at the top-centre or top-left of your resume. List your name, address, telephone number and email address. If you have any professional titles or certifications, you can list them with your name as long as they’re not too overdone. For example:

“William Strauss, CPA” is fine.

“William Strauss, CPA, CMA, CFM, CIA, CFE, EA” is a little much.

Also, leave out any information that identifies race, religion, political affiliations and things of that nature. Leave out your date of birth as well. Finally, if you have an unprofessional sounding email address like “sassypants420@supermail.net,” get a new one.

Objective

Listing an objective on your resume is optional. If you do choose to list one, make sure the job you are applying for has something to do with fulfilling that goal. If you list a long-term objective, this job had better suit some step along the way. If it’s a short-term objective, this job must meet it completely. If your objective has nothing to do with this job, leave it out. They’ll just wonder why you’re applying for such a bad match if you don’t. Also, if the job doesn’t suit your goals, thing about why you’re applying in the first place.

Employment History

For experienced professionals, this is the biggest selling point of a professional resume. Employers want to know if you have what it takes to do the job. There is a right way and a wrong way to fill this section of your resume.

The incorrect method of listing your employment history is to dryly list employers, dates and duties. This is boring and it leaves it up to the person reviewing your resume to decide if you’re qualified for an interview. They will have to go over a long list of past job duties and struggle to see if your qualifications and history match their needs. Keep in mind the first person who sees your resume might be a human resources staffer unfamiliar with the technicalities of the actual job, and it might be difficult for them to make the necessary interpretations. You need to make it easy on them or your risk them giving up and moving on to the next resume.

The right way of listing your work experience is to list accomplishments and quantifiable information instead of just duties and tasks. This shows that you aren’t just a worker filling a role; you get results. For example:

Just listing a job title like “Helpdesk Manager” is incorrect because it is vague and leaves it up to the reader to determine what that means.

“As Helpdesk Manager, I coordinated the activities of six-member helpdesk team in the service of 550 end-users locally and abroad” is correct because it is quantifiable, listing specific numbers and showing the breadth of your responsibilities.

It is also crucial to list specific accomplishments like “organized network wide Microsoft Office 2010 rollout” instead of vague things like “numerous end-user software upgrades.” Again, this leaves out all vagueness and shows them exactly what you can do.

Education

For those new to the workforce, this is the most important part of the resume and should be listed on top, just below “objective,” instead of the employment history. All certifications, degrees, continuing education, student organizations and more can be listed here. For experienced professionals who are listing work experience first, this section can be a little more “bare bones,” just listing dates, degrees and any other very important information. This section will be a little different for first-time job hunters.

Students fresh from university need to approach this section like professionals approach the employment history section. This means more details are required and anything pertinent to the job and any impressive accomplishments need to be listed here. Honor societies, student groups, extracurricular activities and more can all be used to display a graduate’s level of responsibility and teamwork abilities. Students with a great amount of academic expertise but little in the way of practical experience need to scrutinize their education history and put their best foot forward here.

References

Listing references is optional unless the job listing specifically asks for them. Even writing “references available upon request” is optional and even outdated, since most employers already assume this to be true. If you are listing references, however, be sure to contact all your references first. This is a common courtesy and it also servers the purpose of preparing them. If they know the call is coming, they’ll be more likely to think of something nice to say.

Your resume is the tool that sells you to prospective employers. It should be your foot in the door, but it can also close that door if you’re not careful. Here is a list of the most common resume mistakes, and how to avoid them.

1. Resume is not targeted
   This is one of the most important lessons to learn about resume writing. It is absolutely essential to target your resume to the prospective employer and their needs. Gone are the days when applicants just had a pile of generic, catch-all resumes that they spammed to every available opening. If you aren’t able to display how you specifically fill a company’s needs, they will pass you up for someone who will. Don’t leave it up to them to figure out why they need you; rewrite your resume in order to focus your applicable skills and work history to the needs of the employer at hand. A targeted resume will sell you to the employer and will greatly increase your chances of getting and interview. A generic resume template will be filed away, never to be seen again.

2. Resume isn’t results-oriented
   A resume needs to be more than a summary of all past job duties. A resume needs to display to the employer that you are a strong candidate who gets results. The way to do this is to stress accomplishments instead of just blandly listing past duties. Consider which sounds better:

   “Served for 3 years as sales manager.”

   Or

   “Directed the marketing efforts of a six member sales team to increase regional sales by 150% over a three year period.”

   The first example lists your job and leaves the rest up to the imagination. The second flies off the page, telling the employer in no uncertain terms exactly what you accomplished in that position. Always list achievements whenever you can in order to set yourself apart as a dynamic employee who gets results.

3. Resume is not concise
   Readers need breathing room. Consider the article you’re reading right now. Long blocks of text are kept to a minimum. There are numbered headings and short paragraphs. This is intentional. The white space you see is considered breathing room, making this article easy to read and appealing to the eye instead of intimidating.

   Your resume needs to be this way, too.

   Summarize your past accomplishments and responsibilities using bulleted lists of short sentences. Ease of reading goes a long, long way in making your resume one they will want to read.

4. Resume has gaps in work history
   Many applicants have gaps in their work history, areas where they weren’t working for some reason. Do not leave it up to the employer to guess why you weren’t working; they may consider the worst case scenario. Explain your work history gaps to the best of your abilities. “Laid off from job, spent 3 months seeking employment,” “sabbatical from work to raise children,” “took time off for education and travel” all look considerably better than a date gap on the page.

5. Resume embellishes the truth
   This is a polite way of saying “there are lies on the resume.” Simply put, don’t do it. Your resume will be reviewed by professionals. These people can spot an obvious embellishment easily and, even if they don’t, they may discuss your resume with contacts in the industry that could also expose your storytelling. Lying is just too risky. You could effectively be blackballed from applying at this company and even others by being caught in a lie; the business world is smaller than you think. And even if your resume fools them, can you keep the act up when cross examined in an interview? Lying on a resume almost always leads to disaster and it’s just not worth the risk.

6. Resume was not proof-read
   After writing and rewriting your resume so many times, you know exactly what you are saying and you know what comes next. Or maybe you just think you know. Being so used to your message, it’s easy to miss errors. Find a friend or two and ask them to proofread your resume. The benefit is twofold: they should read it from the position of an employer in order to evaluate the effectiveness of your message, and they should scan for spelling and grammatical errors. An out of focus message or glaring mistakes can easily ruin a good resume, so find a proof reader in order to easily avoid these common pitfalls.
   ]]> http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/common-mistakes-to-avoid-when-writing-your-own-resume/feed 0 http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/resume-checklist http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/resume-checklist#comments Sun, 15 May 2011 12:37:38 +0000 Admin http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/?p=200

   If you’re just sitting down right now to write your resume, it’s important to go over everything and make sure everything is ready to go. Or maybe you’ve already crafted a well-written, concise resume — so you think – and you just need to give it a good once over. Regardless, there are very crucial guidelines to follow to get the most out of your resume. Here’s a checklist of all the key points that will make your resume worth reading and will maximize impact in order to get the interview you want for the job you need.

   BEFORE WRITING:

   Have you organized your “database?”

   What you need to do before you even start writing resumes is create a master list of EVERYTHING you have done. Write down every job you have had, the dates, contact information if necessary, titles, everything. For each job, list every single major duty you performed. Then detail all your accomplishments at every single job. This entire list won’t go on your resume, so there is no need for brevity here. Quite the opposite. This list must actually be exhaustive.

   When this is finished, do the same for your education history. List all degrees, schools, dates attended, awards won, important extracurricular activities, major achievements, certifications and anything else that may look impressive on any resume template in the future. Once again, leave no stone unturned. Be sure you brainstorm and think of anything that showed teamwork, leadership, individual initiative and any other qualities that you, if you were the boss, would want in an employee. At this stage of the process you must leave nothing out.

   Save these lists for later. You are going to need them when you write each resume.

   Have you contacted your references?

   Some job postings ask for references and some don’t. The ones that don’t ask up front may ask later in the interview process while others may never ask for references at all. Regardless, it’s better to be prepared ahead of time with high quality, reliable references than to scramble for them later just after being asked.

   Think of three to five good references that would be able to stress your good qualities. Former co-workers or supervisors are great choices. If you’re fresh out of school, then professors, professional level peers in student organizations, supervisors or co-workers at internships and the like would all fit the bill. You need to contact the people you have in mind ahead of time to ask if they wouldn’t mind giving a reference during your job search. The first reason for this is that it’s common courtesy to ask first and not just list a former co-worker on a resume and have them get an unexpected phone call. A more beneficial reason to you is that you will put it in their heads early that they need to give a reference, leading them to give it some thought ahead of time. This preparation will lead to a well thought out recommendation instead of an off the cuff response that may or may not help you.

   How good is your contact information?

   Your email address must sound professional. No prospective boss is going to take “fluffykittiesandbunnies@aol.com “ or “bigsexybill@gmail.com“ seriously. If your only email address is something frivolous like this, log on to one of the many free email services out there like GMail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, etc and sign up for a new one. Get something that doesn’t make you sound like someone who never gets out of bed before 9am and you will be ahead of the game.

   You must list a reliable telephone number. If you list your home number but you’re never there, that’s not a good number to use. If you write your current job phone number on your resume but you can’t take that kind of call at work, that number is a bad one to use as well. Use a cell phone or any number that you can answer reliably during regular business hours. Remember: you can’t get an interview if they can’t get in touch with you.

   • Remember the “business communication” philosophy. Your resume reflects your professionalism and how you would behave in a professional environment. It shows off your writing talent and your ability to convey ideas and concepts elegantly in a piece of business communication. Every facet of your resume must communicate the idea that you are the consummate professional. Keep this in mind throughout the writing process.
   • What resume format are you using? Which resume format you choose depends on your situation. Are you a seasoned professional with years of experience or maybe at least one or two jobs in your field under your belt? Or are you a job changer looking for a fresh start in a new field? Maybe you just graduated from university or will graduate soon. Depending on which situation you find yourself in, you’ll choose either a chronological or a functional resume format. Each format is designed to emphasize the strengths of the applicant.

   The chronological resume format favours professionals who are staying in their field. In this format, job history is listed first, as this is the professional’s strong point. Each job is listed in reverse chronological order, starting with the current job, then the previous one and working backwards. Education is listed after job history, again, since work history is the most important and impressive aspect of someone who is already in the field.

   The functional resume format is best suited for those applicants who are changing careers or by graduates. In a functional resume, the first major section is a list of talents, abilities and the like. The goal here is to detail the skills you have attained, through past jobs in other fields or in college through classes, internships, extracurricular activities and the like, which are transferable to the job at hand. The idea is to state that you have skills that you can apply to this job, and then, when summarizing employment and/or education later, back up the talents listed with facts.

   PRESENTATION:

   • Are you using a clear, professional font? Stick to fonts you think you’d expect to see on typical business communications like interoffice memorandum. No professional would ever use Comic Sans, Algerian, Showcard Gothic or anything out of the ordinary like that. Stick to a simple, easy to read font like Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri and other fonts of this nature that look sharp and professional.
   • How are your paper and envelope? Your paper should be middle of the road. It can’t be the cheap copy paper that your office uses for the fax machine, but it shouldn’t be the ornamental, overwrought manuscript style sheets from the high end stationary store. Go with simple, good quality white or off white paper with a matching envelope. Use a laser printer, not an easily-smearing inkjet, and print the envelope in the printer instead of hand writing it. Your neatness will probably put you ahead of many applicants before they even read the resume.

   WRITING THE RESUME:

   The main idea to keep in mind constantly with every resume, and ever cover letter while you’re at it, is that the resume must be targeted to the job you’re applying for. This mean you should never rely on a generic resume.

   A generic resume tells a company that they’re not important enough for you to take the time and address them individually. So does a cover letter addressed “to whom it may concern.” More importantly, not targeting your resume specifically will sell you short. Conversely, a targeted resume tells the company exactly what you can do for them.

   To write a targeted resume, assemble the “database” you created earlier. Get all your employment and education information in front of you and then look over the job posting. Take notes, writing down the key qualifications and job duties. Now, look at your database and match your experiences with the details of the job posting. This is the way to write a targeted resume. When summarizing past job duties, accomplishments and education details in their respective sections of the resume, list the ones that match the job’s needs FIRST. You will have more, but you’ll be writing bulleted lists and many resume reviewers never read the entire list, so give them the relevant information right away. Targeting your resume like this ensures that readers will get this message loud and clear: “I am exactly what you need for this job.” It is simply the very best way to make sure you get an interview.

   Did you list a career objective? Below your contact information and above your work history is where you might detail your career objective. This is a single sentence where you will show your initiative as a hard working professional who is determined to succeed in your field. For your objective, examine your career path and, more specifically, how this job relates to it. An example would be:

   • “Objective: To obtain a position as an auditor at a top five accounting firm where I can apply the skills I’ve gained in my eight years in the field to contribute to a successful audit team.”

   In this example, assume the writer is indeed applying for an audit position at a firm in the top five firms in the field. If not, this would not be appropriate. As it stands, the writer is touting his success in the field, flattering the prospective employer and telling them he wants to contribute. This job will be mutually exclusive, and this objective ties everything together.

   If you can’t relate the job in any way to your career goals, it’s best to simply leave this section off the resume, or even reconsider applying for the job.

   Did you list accomplishments or duties? A common mistake many resume writers make is that they view their resume simply as a dull, dry summary of all past jobs and duties. This may do well if the prospective employer suffers from insomnia, but it will do you no favours in getting a job interview. Always remember that your resume’s purpose is to sell you to the employer. Next to targeting your resume, the best way to do this is to list your accomplishments and achievements, instead of simply detailing your job duties, every single time you can.

   Consider which of these two would appeal to you more as an employer:

   “Sales Supervisor”

   OR

   “Oversaw 15 member sales team, motivating the group to increase the company’s profits by 20% over just six months.”

   One is a boring listing of a job while the other says exactly what the applicant did and quantifies it with numbers that show results. This is a perfect example of the “accomplishments, not duties” approach. Writing down accomplishments from past jobs that relate to the duties listed for the job you want is the very best way to “sell” yourself to the employer. I tells them “I can do this job. I’ve already done it, and look at my results.”

   For every past job you list, you need to detail accomplishments whenever you can. It is definitely more difficult than just throwing out a laundry list of duties, but it pays off so much better.

   Are there gaps in your work history? Did you explain them? There are many reasons for gaps in your work history, including layoffs, sabbaticals, returning to school and more. Since you detail your job history on your resume by date, it’s easy for resume reviewers, especially human resources professionals who do this for a living, to find these gaps. Not explaining them may make some reviewers wonder why, and some may jump to the wrong conclusions. Eliminate this possibility by explaining any gaps right on your resume. A simple list of the dates between jobs and the reason, such as “took time off to pursue further education,” “downsized from previous job, spent three months seeking employment,” et cetera works a lot better than leaving them wondering.

   Did you make sure to use bullet points? Never, ever use paragraphs to describe past work duties or education. Busy professionals will be reviewing your resume and do not have time to seek out the pertinent information about you from a massive wall of text. A resume with an intimidating layout with very little white space will probably end up in the recycling bin with nary a glance. Make it easy on reviewers by doing their work for them. Use short, bullet-pointed lists to boil down your accomplishments, duties and history into the essential facts. Everyone likes reading lists better than trying to figure out what’s important from a rambling screed. Using short lists also makes your resume pleasing to the eye. A good amount of white space leaves “breathing room” for the reader and is so much more inviting and pleasing to the eye than wall to wall ink.

   AFTER YOU’VE WRITTEN THE RESUME

   Have you had someone proof read it for you? After writing and rewriting your resume to make it perfect, it’s easy to miss mistakes. After all, you already know it forward and backward and know what it’s supposed to say. Proofreading it yourself after being so familiar with it is a surefire way to miss errors. Don’t rely on spell check, either. While spell check can catch spelling mistakes, it will miss correctly spelled but misused words and grammatical mistakes.

   Instead of going it alone, grab a few friends and ask them to proof read your resume. A few fresh sets of eyes will easily find mistakes you would have missed. Ask your friends to especially try to read from the prospective of someone running a business looking to fill a position. Tell them to not be afraid to be critical. After all, it’s easier to hear criticism from friends than to miss out on an opportunity due to a resume that wasn’t as good as it could have been.

   How’s your cover letter? After spending all this time on a resume, many job seekers make the mistake of not giving enough attention to their cover letter. They just see the cover letter as a necessary evil to getting the resume out the door. This is just not true and falling into this trap could eliminate you from the competition.

   Your cover letter should be seen as an extension of your resume, and you should give it the same amount of attention and care. It is an introduction to who you are. It will tell the company a little bit about you and why you are interested. If written well, it should whet their appetite and make them want to find out more by reading your resume. Just like with your resume, you need to never ever use a generic cover letter. Target the cover letter to the job and company. This is the information that needs to be in a cover letter:

   • The job you’re applying for (including a posting number if there is one).
   • Where you learned about the opening.
   • A brief mention of some interesting notes about your background and qualifications as they apply specifically to this position.
   • Why you are interested in this job.
   • An invitation to contact you for more information or to meet to discuss the opening.
   • A note thanking them for their time and consideration.

   Since we’re discussing the subject of the cover letter, be sure who you are sending it to. Do NOT send a cover letter to “dear sir or madam,” “to whom it may concern,” or any other generic non-person. If the specific contact person is not listed, make a phone call to the company. It doesn’t take much to tell someone that you’re interested in the job and would like to know who to send a resume to. By the way, be sure to be courteous! You never know who you’re talking to.

   • Did you follow up? Sure, this is more of a job seeking tip than an actual resume tip. Still, it’s important to remind job seekers that persistence pays off. Companies usually are very busy and may put off the hiring process for an indefinite period of time. Calling to follow up if you haven’t heard from someone in a week or two is always a great idea and might even cause them to just tell you to come in for an interview. There’s nothing at all wrong with showing interest. Enthusiasm is always a desirable trait in new employees.

   Searching for jobs and everything else that goes along with it, like organizing your entire work and school history, contacting references, making a ton of phone calls, writing resumes and cover letters and following up can be an intimidating process. Going into it unprepared only makes things worse. Following this checklist before, during and even after the resume writing process will make it a lot easier and will definitely get better results than just using copy and paste an updating last year’s resume and cover letter. Good luck!

   ]]> http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/resume-checklist/feed 0 http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/how-to-make-your-resume-design-layout-look-professional http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/how-to-make-your-resume-design-layout-look-professional#comments Thu, 12 May 2011 04:12:26 +0000 Admin http://www.resumetemplates.com.au/?p=196

   When writing a resume, many job seekers only consider the content of their resume. They often get too wrapped up in the summary of their employment, skills, accomplishments and their education background that they don’t pay enough attention to the resume layout and design. While it is of the utmost importance to write a dynamic, concise resume full of targeted information that focuses on one specific job and employer, it is equally important to consider the look and feel of your resume.

   A resume is a preview of your writing skill and your ability to craft professional communications. Official communications, both internal and external, like well as presentations, memos, press releases and many other forms of professional writing may all be required of you, and your resume is the first impression you will give the employer of your ability to design a well made piece of communication. Consider your resume part of the job interview and you will see the importance of creating a well-designed resume. Just as you would wear a nice suit to an interview, you should design a smart-looking resume to attract the employer’s attention. Looks do matter in this case.

   One factor that goes into the look of a resume is white space. By listing your employment and education details in short, bulleted lists, you leave white space on your resume. This is much more pleasing to the eye than wide expanses of ink, and is also easy to read and digest. Always remember to keep your details to-the-point and you’ll have plenty of attractive white space as “breathing room” for the reader.

   The paper you choose is important. Now is not the time for the cheap photocopy paper in your company’s multifunction. Buy some higher quality stationary paper at an office supply store. White or slightly off-white is good. Don’t be tempted by pastels or packets of “resume paper.” Parchment-type paper and other ostentatious choices are just too much. Keep it simple but not cheap.

   Conventional wisdom for resume length has always been “don’t go over one page.” This is just not the case. If you are writing a bulleted resume full of short lists with plenty of white space, but you have a lot of experience and there’s just no way to avoid a second page, ignore this old rule. It’s better to include all your important details than to dogmatically stick to this outdated guideline. Just be sure that you’re going to a second page for the right reasons. If you simply lack the ability to properly edit yourself, find a proof reader and get some help before considering page two.

   Choice of font says a lot. Remember that you are writing a piece of business communication. Nobody in their right mind uses Comic Sans, Stencil, Gothic or any of the other strange fonts in Microsoft Word for a memo in the office. Using strange fonts in a resume will certainly make you stand out, but not in a good way. Stick with a conservative font like Times New Roman or Arial for your resume.

   Neatness is always crucial. Inkjet printers tend to smear regardless of how careful you are. Unless it is impossible, try to use a laser printer for your resume and cover letter. While you’re at it, print an envelope on the same printer. There’s no reason to go through the effort of printing a resume and cover letter on high quality paper with a laser printer, only to stuff them into a hand-scribbled envelope. Your whole package must be neat from start to finish.

   Use all proofing tools at your disposal. Your word processor program does come with a spelling checker and you should use it, but don’t make that the first and last step in the proofing process. Spell check may find misspelled words, but it will certainly miss words that are correctly spelled but misused. Consider “they’re, there and their,” for example. Instead of possibly making the one grammatical error that causes your resume to be tossed to the dustbin, proof read your resume carefully. Remember, though, you often burn yourself out in the writing process and then you’re apt to miss mistakes, so find a friend or two and have them proofread as well. Rewrite according to their feedback to make your professional resume even better.

   Don’t fall into the trap of paying too much attention to content and not enough to form. Use these tips to craft a resume that is both full of substance AND style.

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