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Your future is in your hands.Feb 08 '00 Write an essay on this topic.You have just finished four or may be more in my case years of college (I switched majors twice). Now is the most important part, the part you have been waiting for, finding that dream job or at least something suitable. One of the most important parts is to write a very well organized and professional resume. When I graduated, we had suggestions and courses on how to create an impressive looking resume, but a lot of times, they are speculating and giving you something straight out of the book. I would like to express some dos and don'ts on how to create a resume, which will get you the job, without making you look bad. First things first, Organization: Your very first part of the resume is ofcourse your name, address, telephone number and email if available. Then you would like to specify the objective. Something short, but descriptive enough to let the person, who will be reading your resume, know what your career plans are. EXAMPLE: a recent college graduate specializing in web development is in search of a challenging position, where my education and skills can be utilized. You have just graduated or at least anticipating to graduate soon, you most probably have a little if none at all experience in your desired career, so your real achievement is mostly academic. Put down your school, GPA, awards, clubs (professional and academic) before your work experience. You can also specify software and hardware sections, where you will list all of the tools, which you possess for the job. Now comes the professional experience section. If you have worked in the environment, which you feel is related or at least helpful for your knowledge of the desired job, list it from the most present one and to the past experiences in the descending order. Put down the dates worked the company names and the location. The interviewer might want to know what the company is and which branch you were affiliated with. Next, you might want to list the languages and other additional skills, which might be helpful in the working environment. Last you might want to put the REFERENCES: section, where usually you don't want to list the references, but just specify: Furnished upon request, which will let the interviewer know, that you will have the names available, when the time comes. RESUME Dos 1. Bold lettering and different font sizes. Use the italic, bold and other features which can help the reader see the separations in sections, important information and various items, which you would like to point out. 2. Put down your achievements, awards, staple a copy of a referral from professors or past employers if any. Don't be afraid to provide more information, within a reason. If you want to create a cover letter and specify the extras on it, it is recommended, but in my personal opinion, not a must. 3. Put down the jobs, which are somewhat, related. If you have worked as a manager for valet company and you are seeking an opportunity as a marketing research professional, it might be somewhat helpful, but if you are looking to get a job a technical professional in IT for instance, you might want to put down some of the computer related accomplishments or even data entry skills. RESUME Don'ts 1. FONT, yes a crazy looking font, might look nice, funny and cute, but destruct a person, who is going to read the resume, from the actual information. 2. Spelling and grammar. The last thing you want to do is write a quick and sloppy looking resume. Spelling is very critical. Check it, make sure there are no errors and then check it again. Same thing with the grammar. Do not overlook, what is probably one of the most important tasks to make you appear more professional. Do not use abbreviations, unless absolutely necessary and prove read your resume over and over again. What I used to do, is give it to few of my friends to read, before I mailed them out. I never used abbreviations, even for the STATE code. Use the whole name, for example New Jersey instead of NJ. 3. Avoid putting pictures on your resume. I know it is obvious and I doubt that most of the people would, nevertheless I have seen it and believe me it is not a pretty site. A friend of mine had to interview a girl, who just got her Management Information degree, at the top of her class, with impeccable skill set, but... On her resume, on the very top, she decided, it would look cute to put a picture of penguins. A big NO, NO. She didn't get the job. Me personally, I don't care, but the manager who was making the decision, thought that it was childish and unprofessional. 4. Don't put down skills, which you do not posses. Yes it might look impressive and get you the interview, but eventually, you might have to do the work and there might be a slight problem. Put down tools and technology you have used and seen, but don't put more just because it would look nice. I would rather see a resume with two skills, which I need for my company, then a whole bunch of skills, which have nothing to do with the job. I have seen a lot of resumes in my days and can tell you this, the simpler sometimes might be better. 5. Try to keep it on one page. Very important, not to make the person, who will pick your resume out of the bunch, read more then they should. Ofcourse, if there is information, that is important, do not avoid putting it down, but try to avoid creating a lengthy resume, in order to make it look more impressive. CONCLUSION: A resume is a big part in the job search process. Do not overlook it. Take your time, think it through carefully. This might be the ticket to your future. Once the resume is send out to a lot of places, you do not want to make tremendous changes, because the companies do keep them on file. Good luck and for any questions or misleading information, please contact me at my email address. I will be very happy to explain any parts of my opinion.  |
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