Monday, August 12, 2013

Getting the Most Out of Your Resume

A resume does much more than simply list your employers and responsibilities in chronological order. Realistically, a prospective employer just as easily gets this information through the actual application or an interview. So what, then, does a resume do?

Through choices made of what you include or exclude and how you organize that information, a resume reveals a lot about you as an individual. By implementing a few simple tips, you can put the art and science of resume writing to use in capturing the attention of employers.

  • Keywords are for more than just blogs. In this day and age, just about everything is subject to examination by a computer, including resumes. A company's computers can scan an applicant's resume for the presence of specific keywords, tagging them for further advancement in the hiring process. You can get an idea of potential keywords by examining job descriptions and hiring advertisements. Then, incorporate those words naturally into the body of your resume.

  • Flexibility is vital in a number of career areas, beginning with the format of your resume. For example, if a job seeker has a poor or spotty employment history, then organizing a resume chronologically by employer would probably not be the best choice. Feel free to individualize your format. If you would benefit from organizing your information by specific skills, then do it.  Play on your strengths.

  • Use the flexibility of the English language to your benefit. "Retail cashiers" become "sales associates",  "pumping gas" transforms into "ensuring the safe and profitable transfer of petroleum products to a mobile demographic". This is not time to be shy. It's always important to be honest. However, a resume is where you let your light shine, in the best way that it possibly can.

  • There's an old saying that states that "the devil is in the details". From the perspective of a resume, that principle definitely holds true. Spelling and grammatical errors could easily lead a potential employer to dismiss a given resume all together. Taking time and effort smoothing out the details now will more than pay off in the future. That applies in the other direction as well. Investing a few more dollars in using high quality materials such as a lightly tinted, heavy bond paper and matching envelopes will add a professional and classy touch to your resume and cover letter.

  • Have your goal or objective firmly in mind, and stick with it. Tailoring a resume to the restaurant industry, and then attempting to use it for a corporate executive position would not be the most successful approach. Take the initiative to specify your resume as often as needed in order to speak most effectively to your target audience.
A resume is not strictly about transmitting information. Rather, a resume is a reflection of your individual personality and character. A resume is your opportunity to show why you stand apart for a given job. For more information on how you can put your resume to the best use, please contact us.


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