Ten Tips To A Great Resume

A RESUME IS ACTUALLY YOUR FIRST INTERVIEW-TARGET IT

THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL FORMAT Your work discipline (occupation) and experience determine the format.

A KEYWORD SUMMARY does a far more effective job of presenting your credentials than the old generic job objective. You may include a career goal on the resume, as well as repeating it in your cover letter. Present your credentials in a focused manner that relates both to the job opportunity and to the company.

A JOB HISTORY MUST HAVE CONTINUITY. A resume is used to eliminate job searchers, not qualify them. Resumes with gaps of time often hit the circular file.

A RESUME MUST BE RELEVANT. All information should support your keywords. If something does not fit, omit.

You must "WEIGH YOUR WORDS" by selecting strong key words, concrete nouns, and positive modifiers for emphasis. Concise phrases and clauses work better than sentences.

FINAL HIRING DECISIONS are never based upon resumes; the only decision that is made from a resume is whether to offer you an interview. To get that interview, your resume should be concise, factual, and targeted with emphasis on your accomplishments, education, employment history, and skills.

REFERENCES need to be on a separate matching sheet and given only when requested except in certain circumstances.

YOUR COVER LETTER is almost equally important and needs to be targeted to the specific job opening or the specific company if you have this information. If you are just "shopping", then your letter can be more generic. Be sure you list a career or job goal. The cover letter must match the letterhead and resume paper.

If you are uncertain as to your ability to market yourself or you are not sure of what the latest formats look like, CONTACT ME. I will team up with you to write a resume that fits you like a glove; markets your strengths; and successfully gets you an interview. I know scannable keyword resumes work as I get feedback all the time from my happy, newly employed clients.