Best Resumes for You

The primary purpose of a resume is to get the interview. It is important to realize this, to be able to write an effective resume. Your resume works if you get the interview.

Since a hiring manager spends only a short time reading your resume, keep it short and to the point. You don't need to put every last boring detail of your employment history and experience into your resume. Save that for the job application form, if it's required. Write just enough in your resume to entice the hiring manager to want to interview you.

Forget the meaningless, self-centered objective at the beginning of your resume. A hiring manager isn't interested in an objective of "Obtaining a challenging position with a dynamic company which will lead to advancement opportunities." Instead, begin with a informative summary such as "Ph.D. statistician with over 15 years experience analyzing clinical trials data using SAS."

Keep in mind that someone reading your resume will be asking, "What's in it for me?" Don't focus your resume just on yourself and your skills. Keep the emphasis on your accomplishments and what you can do for your employer. If you are a programmer, for example, mention that one of your C++ programs saved your current company over $300,000 in the first year rather than list details of your sophisticated programming skills. That will get the attention of the hiring manager. In the interview you can discuss details of this success story.

Include your skills and accomplishments rather than your job responsibilities. If you are a career changer, consider using a functional format instead of the common reverse-chronological format.

Keep your resume focus on the employer's needs and you will more likely prompt the hiring manager to put your resume in the "must interview" stack.

Remember - the purpose of a resume is to get an interview. And the purpose of the interview is to get the job. Simple, isn't it?

Now that you know that the purpose of a resume is to get the interview, you can strive to write a resume that works.

Kempton Smith is a resume-writing consultant and former hiring manager who helps technical professionals and managers write resumes that work. He is a co-author of "The Manager's Job Search Handbook." Visit http://www.resumesthatwork.kemptonsmith.com for a free resume evaluation and more resume-writing advice and assistance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kempton_Smith http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Purpose-of-a-Resume&id=1268362

Everyone should have an updated resume on file. But when you're applying for a specific job, you want to make sure your resume stands out. How do you do this? First of all, you need to understand your audience when writing your content. Second, you need to apply some basic document design principles.

Who is your audience? Regardless of who you'll be submitting your resume to, it must be professional and follow some basic formatting standards. But the specific content and tone you should create depends entirely upon who will be reading it and what information you need to communicate to them.

Tailor your resume to the specific position you're applying for. How do you do this? State your objective at the top of the resume in a way that shows you can meet the specific qualifications necessary for the specific job you want. Also, make sure the information you provide throughout the resume is applicable to your prospective employer. Pack a punch with descriptive words that succinctly describe how aspects of your previous positions have prepared you for your next job. Highlight your achievements using specific examples and quantifiable data, rather than simply bragging or making obvious statements such as "I am a hard worker and a dedicated employee." Show, don't tell, why you are good for the job. Your resume will reflect who you are and what you are capable of. Make it shine!

But even if you are obviously qualified for the job, a shoddy design or excessive grammatical errors can land your resume in the trash. The appearance, not just the content, of your resume sends a powerful message to potential employers that can greatly influence their hiring decisions. Consider applying these design principles before you send out your resume:

Typography: Choose a font style and size that can be easily read. Script or novelty fonts should be avoided. Serif fonts (such as Garamond or Times New Roman) are good for long sentences because the letters are connected to each other, helping the reader's eye glide along and read faster. Sans serif fonts (such as Arial or Verdana) are great for headings because they can have a more powerful presence, but reading a lot of text can fatigue the eye.

Hierarchy of Information: Simply put, make sure the most important information comes first. Readers enter documents from the top left corner of the page. This makes it a great location for your name and contact information. The higher up you list something on your resume, the more important the reader assumes it is, and the more likely it is that it will be read. Hiring managers typically only look at resumes for 60 seconds, and won't read every word. Start sentences with the most important words, in case they don't read the whole sentence. Make it easy for them to read by creating bolded headings and indentations and lists for various levels of information. This will guide the reader's eye and break up the information into more manageable chunks. If it takes effort to read and understand your resume, people simply won't read it.

Templates: Beware of using resume templates provided by your software or downloaded from the internet. While they can be helpful if you don't know where to start or how to come up with your own design, they have some drawbacks. First, not all templates are created by people who understand good design principles. They may work well for certain people or positions, but may not help you highlight your specific information very well. Second, they are frequently used, so there's a good chance that your resume will look exactly like dozens of others in a stack. Creating your own design, or at least customizing a template to fit your purposes, will set your resume apart.

It probably goes without saying, but make sure you are qualified for the job you apply for, and that you are 100% truthful in the content you supply on your resume. After those conditions are met, set yourself apart by remembering who your reader is and how people read documents. Good luck, and happy designing!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leah_Higginbotham http://EzineArticles.com/?Design-a-Winning-Resume&id=1329522

Let's face it. When searching for a new job, most people feel that time is of the essence and they want to get the best results in the least amount of time possible. Unfortunately, many people employ the strategy of creating ONE resume that they can submit for multiple job postings. Sounds logical right? You'll be able to spend a lot of effort writing one good resume that can be used for many purposes. Well, while this sounds logical it is not exactly the best practice.
A resume that is BEST for one company is usually not the BEST for another. Even if you are applying to different job postings in the same general field, job postings usually differ. Some companies may be looking for one qualification in that field versus another. For these reasons it is extremely important to make sure that you tailor your resume for each job posting. So yes, this does mean more than one resume and yes this does mean that it will take more time when it comes to resume writing, however, tailoring your resume to each specific job posting will drastically increase your chances of being called for an interview.

Why is tailoring your resume to the job posting or job description so important? The first reason is that it eliminates guesswork for your employer. When an employer receives a resume, he or she is looking for the perfect candidate. The employer has likely invested a lot of time and energy into creating a job description and/or job posting that best describes what they are looking for in a candidate. When they pick up and read resumes, they are looking for information that fits that job description. If you tailor your resume to that job description, immediately after reading your resume, they will say, "This looks like our perfect candidate, let's call them for an interview!" Another reason that it pays to tailor your resume is that is shows that you took the time to create a resume specifically for that employer. A tailored resume usually will include, in the objective section, the specific job title as it was posted on the job description and the department/company name. This allows your resume to speak to the employer on a more personal level.

Employers are short on time. They usually have a stack of resumes to consider including yours. You want yours to shine and show them that you are the perfect candidate. Avoid "cookie cutter resumes" and tailor your resume for each employer's job description.
Author: Angela Thomas has been a hiring manager for over 4 years. Her expertise includes resume writing, cover letter writing, job interviewing, and business presentations. Visit: http://www.7tipshowtowritearesume.com/ for more tips on how to write a resume and cover letter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Angela_Thomas http://EzineArticles.com/?Write-the-Best-Resume---Avoid-this-Common,-Yet-Fatal,-Mistake&id=359547

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