Welcome to How to Write a Resume!
In today's competitive job market, you need every advantage to land your dream job.
Your resume represents you to potential employers and is often the first step in the hiring process. Your resume can determine whether you get the interview and ultimately the job.
A great resume will make you stand out from other candidates by showcasing your skills and strengths. Think of your resume as your sales pitch - you need to sell yourself in the best possible way.
Unfortunately, in today's economy, you're competing with dozens and sometimes even hundreds of other applicants for each job you apply for. Therefore it's important that you write a winning resume that will distinguish you from the pack.
Your resume represents you to potential employers and is often the first step in the hiring process. Your resume can determine whether you get the interview and ultimately the job.
A great resume will make you stand out from other candidates by showcasing your skills and strengths. Think of your resume as your sales pitch - you need to sell yourself in the best possible way.
Unfortunately, in today's economy, you're competing with dozens and sometimes even hundreds of other applicants for each job you apply for. Therefore it's important that you write a winning resume that will distinguish you from the pack.
Tips for Formatting Your Resume
- limit your resume to 1-2 pages
- use bullets and short paragraphs
- use standard fonts and a font size not less than 10
Five Deadly Resume Mistakes
Employers receive hundreds of resumes for job listings, sometimes even thousands if the economy is bad. With so much competition, you want your resume to stand out.
To make sure your resume doesn't hit the trash can, make sure you don't make one of these five deadly resume sins:
To make sure your resume doesn't hit the trash can, make sure you don't make one of these five deadly resume sins:
1. Failing to Meet Minimum Qualifications
One of the biggest resume mistakes is submitting a resume that doesn't meet the minimum qualifications for the job.
In today's economy where employers are getting thousands of resumes for a single job listing, nothing says "reject pile" faster than a resume that doesn't even meet the job qualifications.
Seriously, you're wasting your time and the employers if you don't meet the qualifications, so just save your efforts for positions that you are truly qualified for.
In today's economy where employers are getting thousands of resumes for a single job listing, nothing says "reject pile" faster than a resume that doesn't even meet the job qualifications.
Seriously, you're wasting your time and the employers if you don't meet the qualifications, so just save your efforts for positions that you are truly qualified for.
2. Don't Follow Instructions
Failing to follow instructions is another big mistake when applying for a position.
Often times employers will post exactly what they want submitted right in the ad. Make sure you read the ad carefully and provide everything requested.
If a potential employer requests salary history and your resume package doesn't contain that information you could hit the reject pile even if you are the most qualified candidate.
Often times employers will post exactly what they want submitted right in the ad. Make sure you read the ad carefully and provide everything requested.
If a potential employer requests salary history and your resume package doesn't contain that information you could hit the reject pile even if you are the most qualified candidate.
Post Your Resume on 75 Career Sites Instantly
3. Typos and Other Mistakes
You'd be amazed at how many resumes are submitted with typos or other grammatical errors in them.
With spell check in virtually every word processor there is no reason for a resume to ever have typos in it.
Even with spell check it's important to proofread your resume to make sure there aren't any grammatical or other errors that might not get caught by spell check.
With spell check in virtually every word processor there is no reason for a resume to ever have typos in it.
Even with spell check it's important to proofread your resume to make sure there aren't any grammatical or other errors that might not get caught by spell check.
4. Bad Formatting
Another deadly resume mistake is cramming your resume onto one page (using small font) or other formatting errors.
Yes, employers would prefer to have a one-page resume, but if you have a lot of experience, you're better off submitting a two-page resume than trying to change the formatting to squeeze it all into one page.
You also want to make sure you use proper margins and white space so the resume is easy to read.
Remember, your future employer is sorting through hundreds of resumes, you want yours to stand out, but not because it was too difficult to read!
Yes, employers would prefer to have a one-page resume, but if you have a lot of experience, you're better off submitting a two-page resume than trying to change the formatting to squeeze it all into one page.
You also want to make sure you use proper margins and white space so the resume is easy to read.
Remember, your future employer is sorting through hundreds of resumes, you want yours to stand out, but not because it was too difficult to read!
Resume Writing Help From Amazon
Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer (Resume Magic Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer)
Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 12/26/2009) 
Resumes For Dummies
Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 12/26/2009)
Knock 'em Dead Resumes: Features the Latest Information on: Online Postings, Email Techniques, and Follow-up Strategies (Resumes That Knock 'em Dead)
Amazon Price: $9.76 (as of 12/26/2009)
The Resume.Com Guide to Writing Unbeatable Resumes
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/26/2009)
5. Missing Deadlines
Don't apply for a position if you've missed the posting deadline.
Unless the job ad specifically says they will continue to accept resumes after the posted deadline (for future positions, for example), you're just wasting your time applying for a position where the deadline has already passed.
It looks bad to the employer, and they've most likely already made a decision by then anyway.
Unless the job ad specifically says they will continue to accept resumes after the posted deadline (for future positions, for example), you're just wasting your time applying for a position where the deadline has already passed.
It looks bad to the employer, and they've most likely already made a decision by then anyway.
What's Next? Acing The Interview
You wrote a winning resume and got the interview. What's next? Now you have to answer those tough interview questions. Check out the Top Job Interview Questions for tips on acing the interview.-
Top Job Interview Questions
-
In today's economy, it's harder than ever to find a job. Unemployment is on the rise, with some states reporting record-breaking claims for unemployment. Companies are laying people off left and right, or going out of business altogether, which mean...
Resume Maker Professional
Is your resume helping you move forward or holding you back? Advance your career and never miss another career opportunity!
ResumeMaker is packed with powerful features to help you write a better resume, land a better job, and earn a higher salary.
Whether you're actively searching for a job or just want to get your resume in shape, trust your resume and your career to Resume Maker Pro.
More Resume Writing Tips From The Web
- 44 Resume Writing Tips
- Having a solid and effective resume can greatly improve your chances of landing that dream job. That is beyond discussion. How does one make sure that his resume is top notch and bullet proof, however?
- Resume Tips From Monster.com
- Find Resumes & Letters and other work related articles. Get your job advice from the career experts at Monster.
- Resume Writing Tips on About.com
- Tips and suggestions for writing a perfect resume, along, plus advice on how to market your resume successfully.
by EbizTaxTips
Online Business Owners! Check out the Ebiz Tax Tips blog to get your online biz tax questions answered and to learn how to save money on taxes for you... (more)
