Step 1- getting started

WHAT IS A RESUME?
A resume is a one or two page brief summary of your skills, accomplishments, experiences, and education created to capture a prospective employer's interest.

You can write your resume for various reasons, like promotions within an organization, as attachment for a business plan, etc. The most common reason is to apply for a new job. Whatever your reason for writing a resume, its basic purpose is the same:

• The resume will communicate your experience.
• The resume will communicate your skills.
• The resume will show your education related to a specific position to an employer.

NOTE: Your resume is not an autobiography, or a place to report every experience you have had. Keep it brief! It is a place to report your qualifications related to a specific position.

WHY IS A GOOD RESUME SO IMPORTANT?
Finally your resume will highlight your strengths and accomplishments and will be your marketing tool designed to get an interview.

HOW LONG SHOULD A RESUME BE?
Your resume should be as long as it needs to be. The simple rule is: One page covers the last ten years of experience. A maximum of two pages, occasionally three is permissible in case the employer has specially asked you for a detailed Resume, or you apply for a senior position and you have more than 10 years relevant experience.

HOW TO MAKE A RESUME?
Compile information's about yourself. Identify your skills and accomplishments. Choose a resume format. Write the first draft, add style and proofread the final document.

Step 2- personal data

PERSONAL DATA FOR YOUR RESUME
Before you can write an effective resume you must make a self-assessment. Collect, identify and write down all of your personal data, skills, attributes, and experiences.

Don't worry about the final format at this stage - your main objective is to identify relevant information and accomplishments.

NOTE: Once you have determined what to include on your resume, it will be easier to choose a format that best highlights your relevant skills and experiences. You will collect your data for each headline if applicable.

1. Name & Address
2. Education
3. Work Experience
4. Interests
5. Activities
6. Awards
7. Miscellaneous
8. References

1. NAME & ADDRESS
Record your full name and your main home address. Provide a phone number where you can be reached at all times with area codes. If you have an e-mail address write it down.

2. EDUCATION
Note: Employers are not interested in details of your primary schools. Make sure you have all your certificates to present them on request. The education sections contents the subsections:

• Further Education
• Professional or Occupational Qualifications
• Training Courses
• Military Service

3. WORK EXPERIENCE OR CAREER HISTORY
List all jobs held-full or part time, paid or unpaid. Begin with your first job and list your jobs till to the present day or the last job you had in a yearly format (1985 – 1990). Important: For each job you must identify the skills you used or learned. List:

• Dates
• Employed Employers’ Details
• Job Title
• Your Key Tasks and Responsibilities

4. INTERESTS
This is an optional category on your resume. It is your chance to introduce a human element into your resume. List here hobbies, travel experiences, special talents.

5. ACTIVITIES
This is an optional category on your resume. Include this section if you have available space. Include social or civil activities, health, fitness, or sports activities, which indicate how you spend your leisure time.

6. AWARDS
This is an optional category on your resume. Be sure to list awards that relate to the kind of job you're seeking. List scholarships, class standing, special recognition, and academic achievements.

7. MISCELLANEOUS
List everything you left out thus far.

8. REFERENCES
Do not list references on your resume. Better you state on your resume that your references are "Available upon request." Prepare a separate list of professional references (3-5), including name, title, address, and business phone number of each person who agreed to be a reference for you.

IDENTIFY YOUR SKILLS
Skill is defined as the ability to do something well, especially as a result of experience. Most skills are transferable to other work settings and can be grouped in many ways. One way is to show functional skills of working with people, data or information, and things or objects. Another way is to look at intellectual, attitudinal, creative, leadership and problem-solving skills.

There are two types of skills that employers look for!

TECHNICAL SKILLS
Also called hard skills Hard skills demonstrate your ability or knowledge base. Although "hard skills" tell what a person can do. For example: computer languages, typing speeds, years of management and tools utilized. Questions that may assist you finding hard skills:

• What could you have learned by doing this?
• What skills did you develop?

SOFT SKILLS
Those are conveyed as a result of your accomplishments. Examples of this type of skill are communication and interpersonal skills, and motivation levels. Soft skills should be transformed into accomplishment statements. The key to marketing your hard and soft skills successfully is developing effective accomplishment statements. Skills assessment and identification is the most time-consuming part of preparing your resume, and, it is the most important. Identifying your skills is essential not only for writing an effective resume, it is also important for the interview, to give a strong impressing of yourself.

Questions that may assist you finding soft skills:

• Did you introduce a new system or procedure?
• How did you save money on behalf of the organization? (How much) ·
• Did you increase the production? (How much) · Did you develop new techniques for getting the process done faster?
• Did you improve the quality of a product or service?

Create accomplishment statements

During your process of collecting your personal data’s, you will have a list of skills and functions you have utilized. Start now to create powerful accomplishment statements.

1.      Think of a problem you had at work, an area where you knew things could be done better. Write this down.

2.      Recall what action you took to solve that problem and what skills you utilized. Write them down. Then write down the results of your action.

More help on Skills
Technical skills are the skills required “to do” a specific task - Generic skills are those, which are valuable in many work settings. Describe your accomplishments positively and accurately. This is not the place for modesty or exaggeration. Use quantities, amounts, dollar values where they enhance the description.

• Analytical/Problem Solving skills
• Flexibility/Versatility skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Oral/Written Communication skills
• Organization/Planning skills
• Time Management skills
• Motivation skills and Leadership skills
• Self-starter/Initiative skills
• Team Player skills
• See list of verbs..

Use action words to begin effective resume phrases!

Step 3- resume format

Choose Your Resume Format Based on your collected personal data files you decide which kind of resume style you will use. Read below about the different resume types and choose that fits best with your needs.


A. Chronological Resume
The chronological resume puts the focus on your previous work experience and the responsibilities you had while there. Employers, when viewing a chronological resume, look at the dates first. They are looking at how long you have worked at one place and if there are gaps in your employment history.

> You can use the chronological resume:

• If you have a good work history.
• If you have no time-gaps in the past.
• If you have not numerous job changes.
• If you look for another job in the same field.
• If you have worked for a prestigious company that carries some weight in your community.

> Advantages:

• Traditional and most widely accepted among employers
• Very easy to read and follow.
• Shows your job stability.
• Show your steady growth in responsibility.
• Emphasizes your job titles and the companies you worked for.
• Describes your duties and accomplishments.

> Disadvantages:

• Emphasize, job-hopping.
• Can infer too much about your age.
• Shows lack of experience.
• Shows gaps in employment.

B. Functional Resume
The functional resume puts the focus on the professional skills and experience that you gained from your employment, your formal education and training, and generally on the transferable skills/functions you have previously acquired. Primarily, this is the "how" type. Many are only one page in length. However, if the information is relevant, one-and-a-half to two pages is acceptable. Only print or copy on one side of a page.

> You can use the functional resume:

• If you focus on skills rather than lengths of employment.
• If you are reentering the job market after absence.
• If you have long time-gaps between employment.
• If you have numerous job changes.
• If you are looking for a job in very different field or industry.
• If you think your age is a barrier (too young, too old)
• If you have had several unrelated occupations.
• If you are a mature individual with numerous areas of expertise.
• If you are a new graduate from high school or college.
• If you are a dislocated worker who is retraining and/or has retrained and want to use newly acquired education to make a career change.
• If you have skills and abilities other than those you are currently using and you desire to make a change.
• If you have extensive military background and experience.
• If you are self-employed and operate your own business.

> Advantages:

• Highlights accomplishments and strengths.
• Allows you to organize your skills in a way that best suits you.
• Eliminates repetition and redundancy of similar jobs.
• Allows flexibility in how you present yourself.
• Can be used to for circulating through networks.
• You can draw from diverse volunteer experience, interests, and skills that have not been a part of your past employment.

> Disadvantages:

• De-emphasizes specific job titles and companies you worked for.
• De-emphasizes longevity.
• Shows limited job duties.

C. Combination Resume
The combination resume is very similar to a functional resume it is a chronological resume which lists accomplishments in functional skill areas.

> You probably should use a combination resume if:

• If you are very clear about the specific job you are looking for.
• If you are skilled and capable but have no direct work experience in a specific areas.
• If you are applying for a position within the company or department where you are currently employed.

> Advantages:

• Shows that you have a very clear understanding of what you want to do and the related skills necessary to do the job.
• Include a "Selected Achievements" category highlighting important accomplishments and recognition's that you have received.
• Allows for more flexibility and creativity in marketing your skills.
• Helps target your resume to a particular job or employer.

> Disadvantages:

• You need to do a different resume for each specific job. This requires time and money.
• Eliminates information about your skills and experience that might exclude you from consideration for another job within the same company.

Summary Resume
The chronological resume lists jobs in order, starting with the most recent job you held and working backwards. Functional resumes group accomplishments under specific areas of skills and abilities. The combination resume formats is more or less a combination of these two basic types.

Step 4- resume writing

Now you have finished your personal data file, your skills and accomplishments and you have chosen a resume format. Now you start with the first draft of your resume and put all together.

YOUR FIRST DRAFT
You will probably need several shots at getting your resume right.
Make sure you have enough paper for the printer available.
Work your way through the draft stages carefully, it may take a little time, but it is important that you are satisfied with the result.

Work now through the following stages:

• Study the advertisement and or any job description
• List the qualifications, skills and qualities being sought.
• Identify which of these are essential or desirable according to the offered job.

MAKE IT LOOK GOOD
Write it on a computer and print it with a good printer by using a high quality paper with a minimum of 20 lb. weight. Use the same paper for your cover letter to show your professionalism.

It is difficult for the reader to find initial information's in full sentences and paragraph form. Use bullet points rather than sentences presented in paragraph form to enable readers to comprehend quickly what you've accomplished.

Use lots of white space to make your resume open and easy to read.

Limit your fonts to one or two maximum families. Select an easily readable typeface like Times or Palatino no smaller than 10 pts, and avoid script fonts and italics.

KEEP IT FREE OF ERRORS
Ask your family or friends to check and proofread your resume for any grammar and spelling errors. Check everything, as many times as possible to make sure that it is perfect. Nothing will kill your chances for success faster than a resume full of grammatical mistakes and misspelled words!

Skill phrases examples >>

MANAGEMENT/MARKETING:

• Created new position of Public Relations Director to fill corporate need
• Strong leadership qualities: able to analyze and solve problems.
• Years of successful supervisory and management experience.

ACCOUNTING:

• Good experience in bookkeeping and general office support.
• Strong grasps of accounting; experienced in all phases of accounting.
• Successful in mastering accounting and technical skills.

OFFICE:

• Managed office operations and client requests.
• Special talent for analyzing situations and resolving problems.
• Strength in creative problem solving and cutting costs.

SALES:

• Professional appearance and manner, ability to utilize all techniques to stimulate sales.
• Managed sales office operations and staff of twelve to record productivity
• Very well organized and skilled in techniques of closing a sale.

TECHNICAL / COMPUTERS:

• Dependable and conscientious - accurate at detail work.
• Highly effective in communicating with engineers and technicians, and translating scientific information into everyday language.
• Sincerely enjoy the challenge of providing high-quality direct service to clients.
• Can be trusted to handle end-user complaints diplomatically and effectively.
• Highly inquisitive, creative and resourceful. Goal oriented.
• Enthusiastic and committed to maintain quality and efficiency.
• Expert troubleshooter and problem solver.
• Committed to excellent service and customer satisfaction.

Action verbs

ACTION VERBS FOR SKILLS

How to best document your experience

How to best use questions on job interviews