Saturday, July 30, 2011

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "N" is for NARROW

N: NARROW your focus before writing your resume.

Across the nation, there are more than 14 million people unemployed and looking for work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate for June sits at 9.2 percent. That means that for any job opportunity, hundreds and even thousands of people are submitting resumes and applications. Oftentimes, many of the clients are not qualified or are only loosely qualified for the position. Why is this? At some point during the job search, desperation sets in; severance may be running out and bills are coming due.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "M" is for MIX

M: Don’t MIX responsibilities and accomplishments.

Just as oil and water don’t mix, responsibilities and accomplishments don’t (or shouldn’t) mix either. One of the worse things you can do when writing your resume is to mistake responsibilities for accomplishments. While it is true that accomplishments are the result of carrying out your duties or responsibilities, accomplishments are what set you apart from your competition.

In my resume practice, I see this all the time. Clients send me their resumes for review and in their professional experience section, they have mixed their position responsibilities with their position accomplishments. The problem with this is that accomplishments need to be separated from their lesser-known cousins, AKA responsibilities in order for you to stand out as a potential employee.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "L" is for LEAD

L: Lead Off Accomplishments With Results.

Accomplishments can make or break your resume. Accomplishments are why employers read your resume in the first place and when I say read, I really mean scan because employers do not read resumes thoroughly, at most, they give them a casual scan. Because resumes are a marketing tool, your accomplishments need to be written to sell your skills and abilities to the employer. Your accomplishments must entice them to make a purchase, e.g., to “buy” you and invite you in for an interview. You may be thinking, "What is the best way to write my accomplishments?" Of course you should start each accomplishment with a strong action verb, but there is one little trick to help your accomplishments really stand out.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "K" is for KEYS

K: KEYS to formatting your resume.

It’s no secret that the content of your resume is very important. After all, including good content, i.e., information that markets you as a viable candidate, can definitely help you win more interviews. Conversely, including bad content, i.e., personal information, dated technical skills, or reasons for leaving past employers (see earlier post for the letter “I”) can hinder your job search and keep your resume from making it to the top of the stack. Just as including the right content is important to writing an effective resume, the formatting of this content is equally important. A visually appealing resume is easier to read and a well formatted resume helps make information on your resume easier to locate. Keep these five keys in mind when arranging the information on your resume.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "J" is for JOURNAL

J: Keep a career JOURNAL.

We’ve all been there. It’s time to update your resume. For some, this task is not terribly difficult, especially if you do not have a long career history, or you have been keeping your resume current throughout your career. But for those of you who have not taken the time to update your resume throughout your career, it could be a very trying task to recall information earlier in your career. So what do you do? Unless you have the mind of an elephant, you next best bet is to keep a career journal. Few job seekers do this because, let’s face it, it is a task that you have to keep up with month after month and year after year. But a career journal is an invaluable tool to help you document three key pieces of information useful for updating your resume.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "I" is for INCLUDE

I: Five things not to INCLUDE on your resume.

Last week, I covered three areas that you must include on your resume in an effort to land more interviews. You can read that blog post below. Today, I am writing about what not to include on your resume. Some of you may have heard this before, for others, this may be news to you. Whatever the case may be, keep these five things as far away from your resume as possible and you’ll be destined for more interviews.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "H" is for HIGHLIGHT

H: When writing your resume, HIGHLIGHT these three areas to land more interviews.

In resume writing, accomplishments are king. Accomplishments are what set you apart from the competition. They tell what you did, why you did it, and what results were obtained. By far, well-written accomplishments play a key role to getting the interviews you want. However, accomplishments alone will not do the job. When writing your resume, there are three sections that you should focus on to ensure that your resume rises to the top of the stack.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "G" is for GARBAGE

G: How to keep your resume out of the GARBAGE.

Are you frustrated because you have been sending out tons of resumes without any response? Do you realize that there are a few things that you can do when applying to jobs to essentially guarantee a response? Follow these five steps to keep your resume out of the garbage: