Winning Resume

The goal of the resume is to get noticed with a minimum of words. Having a well written, effective resume at one's disposal is an excellent tool in today's ever changing job market. A strong resume may be the sole difference in getting a call for an interview or simply having your resume tossed into the proposed employer's sludge pile. Simply put, an effective resume may win you a job interview. In the world of academia, a strong resume, known as curriculum vitae (CV) may open the door towards a tenured position.

When applying for a job, it is most important to put your best foot forward. Whether your prospective employer uses the term "resume" or "CV" makes sure that you know what he or she is looking for in the document. Once you have this information, you can work on creating a knock-out resume or CV that will help you land your job.

A resume fulfils an important task in the ability to obtain jobs. Even if one must fill out a job application and thus duplicate some information on a resume, handing in a resume with the application gives one a greater appearance of professionalism. When no job application is provided, a resume is the best way to let a potential employer know how your skills, goals and experience will fit in with his or her company.

While no two resumes will look the same, there are certain commonalties in all good resumes. Almost every resume should include the following headings or sections: objective, education, work experience, teaching experience (if applicable), publications of note (if applicable), personal and a references section. At minimum a resume needs to include information on how to reach you. You should include at the top of your resume, your name, telephone number and a physical address. A P.O. Box may be the way you receive most of your mail, but a physical address gives the employer a greater sense that you belong to the community in which you wish to work. You should also include an email address and perhaps a website link if it puts the employer in touch with professional information about you.

Under the "Objective heading, the job seeker offers his or her goal of acquiring a certain position. Don't be afraid to state a bold objective. After looking at your name, the objective is oftentimes the next thing employers read. Here are two examples:

Weak Objective: It is my goal to obtain a sales management job.

Powerful Objective: As someone with an extensive background in pharmaceutical sales, my objective is to obtain a sales management position which would allow me to share my sales experiences and train the next generation of top pharmaceutical salesmen.

Please note that the objective is to be ideally stated in one sentence. In short, try to catch the employer's attention in one sentence in the objective section. If you need an additional sentence, then feel free to use one; but remember you are trying to grab an employer's attention with a short, crisply written message.

The resume should also include a quick summary of your education and any degrees or certificates you hold. If you have not yet finished college or high school, you can include your expected graduation date, and a GPA if it is impressive. Your resume should also include any classes taken that specifically relate to the field in which you are applying.

For college students just entering the job world, you should probably list your "Education" section directly after stating your objective, in reverse chronological order. Stress your high marks here, if you have them. Also, be sure to include your extra-curricular involvement in clubs, sports teams and such similar campus organizations. Make certain you include your part-time and summer employment you had during your college years. Employers want to know that you weren't just loafing around during your off time. It will impress them if you worked to pay your way through college. Stress this fact and let them know that you were able to study, hold down a job, and pay your bills during college.

After the academic profile go for ‘Achievements’, in the reverse order of importance, preferably an individual, a team, an academic and one from extra curricular field. Hence put in 3-5, in bulleted manner. Don’t generalize achievements.

In the "Personal" section, you want to humanize yourself a bit more. Tell the employer about yourself. Go ahead and open up. Do you enjoy photography, boxing, gardening or playing basketball? Share this information. You may find this information being brought front and centre at the interview. It offers areas the employer can talk about and lighten the interview. Put in about 3-5 hobbies and interests & be specific.

Some resumes also include information about your personality type. With more and more companies employing strengths assessment or emotional quotient tests, you might want to list a few bulleted strengths. For example if you are an analytical, assertive, independent and goal-oriented person, these could be listed. You can test these strengths yourself with books like Now, Discover Your Strengths.

The resume should also include all relevant job experience. If you are new to the job market, list classes and volunteer efforts. If you have been working for a long time, list relevant job experience only. Normally, you need not go back more than 10 years in a long job history, unless a job you worked before that time gave you skills that can be beneficial to your new employer.

With each job on the resume, you may want to include some bullets of the types of work you did at the job. Only include those things most relevant to a new employer, and don’t spend lots of words on describing your job. If you want to emphasize particular aspects of your job, save this for a cover letter to the employer.

Make use of your "Reference" section. In the "Reference" section, many job seekers put, "references available upon request. "It's preferable to list the names of two or three people here. When names are listed, you are in effect saying, "Go ahead and call these people. I dare you. "Listing references shows that you have nothing to hide. However, make certain that you inform your references that job employers may be contacting them. If not, your prospective employer will not be impressed when he contacts your reference and it takes two minutes before your reference is able to understand what the telephone call is about.

Putting these elements to work for you, you will be able to complete a good resume. You should also make certain that you include a personalized cover letter. In this world of identity theft, do not include your social security number or driver’s license number on a resume. You should leave out any information that could potentially be stolen. Once you’ve gained employment, you can furnish these details to your employer.

The ideal resume does not exceed a page in length!