Make your resume appealing to employers

Most employers agree on the elements a good resume should contain.

Your resume is a key component in your job-hunting arsenal.

Employers have different options about what constitutes a perfect resume. Some insist that a resume should be one page, or two pages if you are really experienced, while many others would rather receive a longer resume that includes more information.

There are a few competing resume formats. The chronological resume breaks experience down by dates, while a functional resume groups experience by category. Again, employers have different preferences, although the chronological resume is more widely used.

Still, most employers agree on the major elements a good resume should contain. It should be an informative summary of any skills or experiences that apply to the job you are seeking and it should tell employers how to reach you if your skills are a good match.

Quite simply, a good resume tells employers how the company could benefit by hiring you. If your resume accomplished this goal, it will be effective.

Following is a list of the key feature every god resume should include. By following this simple format, you can help make your resume appealing to the majority of employers

1. Contact information [See Sample Resume]

Your name, address, and phone number are crucial. All the other information you include is irrelevant if the employer doesn't know how to reach you.

Many job seekers also include e-mail addresses. This is beneficial if your resume is posted on line - otherwise most employers will contact you by phone. If you provide an e-mail address, make sure you check your messages often. An employer may loss interest if it takes you a week to reply.

2. An objective [See Sample Resume]

A clear objective will help employers decide where you would fit in the company. Your object can be a basic description of the job you are seeking - "an engineering position in a manufacturing company."

Some job seekers are worried about limiting their options, and thus will provide a vague objective like, "a position with a variety of responsibilities, applying my diverse skills and interests, with opportunities for advancement." This tells an employer nothing, except that you have no idea what you are looking for.

If you are open to a variety of positions, provide a general explanation of what you are seeking, such as "an entry-level marketing position that will utilize my writing, sales, and desktop-publishing skills."

Don't count on one objective to cover every position you might apply for. You can reword your objective as you apply for different types of jobs.

3. Summary of Skills [See Sample Resume]

A summary of skills provides a quick run-down of your qualifications for the job you are seeking. As with the objective, the summary of skills is far more useful if it is specific. "Experience supervising a staff of 10 people" is much stronger than "Leadership skills."

As with your objective, you should adjust your skill list to fit the needs of different employers. If an employment ad calls for experience with Microsoft Word, and you have that experience, specify that in your skill list. On the other hand, if another employer is using WordPerfect, list that instead.

4. Previous Experience [See Sample Resume]

How far back do you go? If you have too much experience to fit on one page, should you include it all?

Your best is to consider the relevance of each position to the job you are seeking. If you have twenty years of experience in your field, go back twenty years in your work history. If, however, you have been an engineer for the five years since college where you worked in the campus bookstore, just include your engineering years.

A few employers still swear by the one-page resume but most have eased up on this rule. If you do use more than one page, make sure you include only relevant information.

List past jobs chronologically, beginning with the most recent. Each listing should include a job title, the dates of employment, the company name, and a summary of your responsibilities at each job. Focus on the skills that relate to the position you are seeking.

Do not include the addresses or phone numbers of previous employers in your resume. You don't want potential employers running a full background check on you before you have even interviewed.

5. Education [See Sample Resume]

Include your most recent education first, and work your way backward. Include the name of the degree or certificate earned, the name of the school, your GPA (if 3.0 or higher), and a list of the courses that are particularly relevant to the job you are seeking.

6. Additional Skills [See Sample Resume]

Through the years, you've probably learned a few things that don't quite fit into your past employment experience. Maybe you learned a software program at home, or maybe you developed your speaking skills in an organization you belong to. This is the place to list such experience.

7. What to leave out [See Sample Resume]

Your resume should not include the names and phone numbers of personal references, your social security number, or your driver's license number. Again, this information invites the employer to conduct a background investigation without getting to know you first. Bring the information with you when you interview.

Unless your personal activities relate to the job you are seeking, do not include them in your resume. You may play a mean guitar or be a champion mud wrestler, but these skills have nothing to do with the job you are seeking.

Also leave out information about your race, religion and marital status. Such details shouldn't matter to the employer.

The easiest way to produce a well-written resume is to keep it simple. People more often err when they write to impress than when they simply write to communicate. Use plain, ordinary language, omitting grammatical errors,

Do not try to add color to your resume by using big words that you found in a thesaurus, especially if you've never used those words before. One job seeker, apparently intending to say that he was looking for an opportunity for growth, said instead that he was looking for an "opportunity for intumescence." An intumescence is actually a swelling, especially of an organ or body part. The manager had no such opportunities to provide.

Before sending out your resume, have someone who writes well proofread it. A little error can be a big embarrassment, and can keep you from getting an interview.

By taking the time to put together an effective resume, you will increase your opportunities to meet potential employers face-to-face. If you are getting interviews, you can be sure your resume is doing its job.

Sample Resume Outline
 
 
 
 

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