Resumes by Scarlett Brooks

Resume Tips

Quick Tips for Resume Writing

• The person who gets the job is not always the most qualified applicant, but the one who knows best how to get the job. Therefore, each detail of the resume writing process should have your meticulous attention. Remember, people are often screened out on the basis of a poor resume and/or cover letter.
• Emphasize skills and accomplishments rather than common responsibilities. Emphasize the fact that you have coordinated projects where you were able to save the organization time and money, or that your work received numerous accolades.
• Resumes are not read--they are skimmed. The average time spent on a resume is 20-40 seconds. They key is to be concise. Use margins and good spacing to make your resume easy to skim. Think of your resume as a marketing tool, something that will get your primary points across very quickly.
• Use action verbs, not phrases like "I did...I am...I was...". Using action verbs such as "initiated, created, developed, supervised, managed," lead the reader to believe you are active in your career pursuits.
• Resumes should be limited to 1 or 2 pages. Anything longer is an autobiography, not a resume. Don't overwhelm employers. While you may have extensive experience that you would like to include in your resume, save some information for the interview. Very little information will be absorbed after the second page.
• Appearance is paramount! Use good quality bond paper, either buff or white. Use the same paperstock for the cover letter and resume. Use Bold type, capital letters, underlining, italics, and bullets to emphasize key points.
• Be consistent! When listing employment dates, use all month/year dates throughout the resume. Be consistent with bolding, punctuation and format. It is confusing to read a resume when the format constantly changes.
• Don't use a lot of details about dates. When describing experiences, place dates at the end or to the right of an area. Refrain from using a month, day, your format. Use a month/year format instead.
• Don't include personal information such as age, sex, height, weight, marital status, health status, or number of dependents. Personal information can be used as a factor to screen you out. The reader may become more interested in your hobbies or the number of children you have rather than your actual qualifications. Include only information that will help you get the job.
• Don't include salary history in your resume or reasons for leaving previous employers. If the employer specifically asks for a salary history, include that information on an additional page.

Elements of a Resume

NAME
Address
Home Phone
(Work/School Phone)

The heading should be bolded and centered on the page. Your name should be in capital letters. Some people prefer to space out the heading across the page horizontally rather than use 4 lines vertically. You may want to look at other resumes and styles and select the one that best suits your style.

Career Objective

The career objective is optional. Some feel that is detracts from the resume's overall appearance and that it is restrictive. On the positive side, it gives a resume definition and focus. Avoid using excessive wordiness and over-used clichés. You may also include your career objectives in the cover letter.

Experience Summary

An experience summary is most effective for mid-level to senior executives and is appropriate when the career summary is omitted. The summary should be concise and to the point. It provides the reader with a short introduction to your overall skills.

Professional Experience

This is an account of your work history and includes company names, locations (City, State), job title, and dates of employment (month, year). Accomplishments would follow in order of significance and importance. The accomplishment statements should be listed in a bullet format that is easy to scan.

Remember, the average time spent on a resume is 20-40 seconds. It is imperative that your information be presented so that it is easy to read. Avoid using technical jargon, abbreviations, or in-house lingo that will not be understood by the general public.

Your employment history does not have to include all your accomplishments, but it should include your most significant ones. Accomplishments not included in the resume can be discussed during the interview process or displayed in a cover letter.

Education and Training

Include formal education (college degree, masters degree and higher, technical/vocational) and list your most recent education first. Any training, professional development, and job-related courses should follow your formal education.

Additional Sections

You may wish to add a section Professional Affiliations if you are memberships and activities relating to your profession. Do not include memberships and activities relating to your personal life.

If you have computer experience that has not been specified in the Professional Experience section, you may wish to add a section about your computer knowledge. Be specific with references to hardware/software and experience.

Types of Resumes

Chronological

The most common type of resume, and the preferred style for employers, is the chronological resume. Your work experience is listed in reverse chronological order, beginning with your most recent job first. A chronological resume emphasizes your most recent experience and accentuate a history of steady growth and promotion. The chronological resume clearly shows your employment history, job titles, length of employment, and the level of responsibility.

Functional

A functional resume emphasizes your skills and strengths, whether gained from paid or unpaid positions. The functional resume is most frequently used by career changes and individuals without expensive experience in a particular field. It downplays work lapses, demotions, or job hopping. However, many managers and hiring supervisors believe a functional resume is used to hide something.

Targeted

A targeted resume is very specific and is tailored to match the requirements of a particular job. It describes all pertinent experience and education related to the position being sought.

Combination

The combination resume uses aspects of both the functional and chronological and is gaining in popularity. It stresses transferable skills, and pinpoints job titles, dates, and previous employers.

Resume Verbs

Key Words For Resume Preparation

The following are action verbs which should be used as the first word in an accomplishment statement:

accelerated, conceived, expanded, accomplished, conceptualized, expedited, achieved, conciliated, experimented, adapted, conducted, explained, administered, constructed, fabricated, advertised, consulted, facilitated,advised, contracted, familiarized, affected, controlled, formed, analyzed, convinced, formulated, applied, coordinated, founded,appraised, correlated,generated, approved, created, governed, arranged, decided, grouped, assessed, defined, guided, assisted, delegated, handled,attained,demonstrated, hired, automated, designed, identified, awarded, detailed, illustrated, balanced, developed, implemented, bargained, directed, improved, budgeted, earned, indexed, built, edited, indoctrinated, calculated, educated, influenced, catalogued, effected, informed, chaired, eliminated, initiated, changed, encouraged, innovated, clarified, enforced, inspired, coached, enlarged, installed, collaborated, equipped, instituted, communicated, established, instructed, completed, estimated, integrated, compiled, evaluated, interpreted, completed, examined, interviewed, composed, executed, introduced, invented, reinforced, investigated, reorganized, landed, researched, launched, resolved, liquidated, restructured, maintained, revamped, managed, reviewed, manipulated, revised, marketed, saved, mediated, scheduled, moderated, searched, modified, secured, monitored, selected, motivated, set-up, negotiated, simplified, observed, sold, obtained, solved, organized, stimulated, participated, straightened, perceived, streamlined, performed, strengthened, persuaded, structured, pinpointed, succeeded, pioneered, summarized, planned, supervised, prepared, supported, presented, surveyed, presided, synthesized, prevented, systematized, processed, tailored, produced, taught, programmed, transformed, promoted, transmitted, proved, united, provided, used, publicized, validated recommended, verified, recorded, wrote, recruited, rectified, reduced