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Article courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.com - Career Journal.com, Executive Career
Site. By Kim Kovach
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need a résumé -- you'd be out
sailing the Mediterranean, exploring the outer galaxy or basking in the Cozumel sun,
cold drink in hand.
But since the world isn't perfect and almost everyone needs a job, you have to
create a winning résumé that stands out from the crowd. Gone are the
days when an acceptable résumé featured flush-left, block-style type
that began with your high school education and included your hobbies, health, age
and marital status. Just as the employment market has changed, so have
résumés, evolving from a one-size-fits-all standard.
Whether you're a candidate for the position of CEO, district sales manager or
staff accountant, your résumé must highlight your skills,
accomplishments, and work experience in a way that distinguishes you from the
thousands of other candidates flooding company mail boxes, fax machines and e-mail
addresses. A good résumé presents a thumbnail sketch of your past
experience. A winning résumé grabs the reader's attention and
increases your chances of being called in for an interview. Of course, after that,
the rest is up to you.
Add Value to Stand Out from the Crowd
Great résumés entice hiring managers, gripping them with the following
components:
• a brief summary of your qualifications, strengths, and skills
• selected accomplishments and your most relevant industry expertise
• work experience chronologically (with titles and dates)
• computer and related technical skills
• professional affiliations
• college and post-graduate education
Mention previous military information, but don't include as detailed a
description as you would for more recent civilian positions.
Be Concise, but Powerful
Employers want to know, plain and simple, where you've been and what you can do
for them. But at this early stage of the game, your work experience is just a piece
of paper without any personality or pizzazz. If you don't blow your own horn,
who will? Of course, every bit of information on your résumé must be
truthful, or you can kiss the job goodbye if any discrepancies arise during the
interview or reference-checking stage.
"The facts need to jump off the page; companies and job titles in bold followed
by a brief list of notable accomplishments," says Jim Scott, vice president of
human resources for Staples Inc.
Personnel directors, recruiters, and small business owners are besieged with
résumés whenever they place an ad for a particular position. Don't
bore them to death or present a laundry list of every job you've held since being a
camp counselor-in-training 30 years ago. To make a great impression, your
résumé should highlight your past 10 to 12 years of relevant work
experience, then summarize any previous positions.
Your written profile should look attractive, as well. Make it easy to read, pleasant
on the eyes, and not more than two typed pages. No neon green or bound booklets,
please. Put yourself in the place of the beleaguered person sifting through hundreds
of rés each morning. If he or she can't read it, it will be tossed.
You may be an interesting person, but no one wants to review your life story unless
it’s been featured in Newsweek or on "Hard Copy." So adhere to the
two-page rule. Also, don't include photographs, letters of reference from family
members and old high school teachers or cute notations like "loves kayaking"
or "Married with three children and one puppy." Isn't finding a new
job serious business? Then be serious.
Once you have a winning résumé in hand, start a personal marketing
campaign. The traditional method of answering ads in daily and weekly newspapers
and special interest publications is a good start, but consider broadening your
search from there. Contact company recruiters directly be researching those in the
geographic regions you're targeting, then write a personalized cover letter to the
person in charge of human resources at each firm.
When résumés arrive on Jim Scotts' desk, he says he looks for
"progressively increasing responsibility with ample time to season in each
job. Too many companies can spell trouble."
Internet Postings
For more exposure, you can jump onto the electronic bandwagon and have your
résumé posted with one of the many Internet-based services, such as
the Monster.com, Job Options, or join some of the outstanding networking groups like
Netshare the Search Bulletin or Exec-U-Net. By posting your background on a electronic
bulletin board, you'll significantly increase the number of people who'll see it
throughout the United States and abroad.
When searching electronically, companies look for key words on résumés
to locate candidates who match a position's qualifications. So be sure to state your
most relevant skills and accomplishments using concise language. If a company's
computer is programmed to search for the word "finance" in a
résumé database, for example, and your résumé states that
you "managed financial accounts and services," you won't match up.
Consider a Pro
Given such obstacles, not everyone is capable of writing a great résumé.
It can be hard to be objective about yourself. Even harder, still, to use the right
buzzwords to add value and marketability to your work history. If you realize that
you've been procrastinating or sweat profusely whenever you sit in front of a computer
screen to compile your career into two life-changing pages, it's probably time to seek
professional résumé writing assistance. Many services are available to
help you write, edit or fine-tune your résumé. Simply check the
classified ads of national publications, regional journals, telephone directories and
electronic directories for a service that meets your needs. Look for those that have
been certified by the Professional Association of Résumé Writers or the
National Résumé Writers Association.
Whether you write your résumé yourself or seek help from the pros, make
sure this key document accurately reflects all you have to offer. Your interview
schedule will fill up as a result.
-- Ms. Kovach is a freelance writer and consultant to Career Resumes, a national
résumé writing service based in Westchester County, N.Y.
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