Winning the Resume Battle
Winning the Resume Battles
By Timothy Y. Aboh, PhD
Smashwords Edition, Copyright © 2010 Timothy Y. Aboh, PhD
Smashwords Edition, License Notes;
This e-book is licensed for your personal use only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. Copyright © 2010 Timothy Y. Aboh, PhD. All rights reserved.
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While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of its contents and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials.
The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. The publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services, and you should consult a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss, profit, or other commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Copyright © 2010 by Timothy Y. Aboh, PhD
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law
EPIGRAPH:
He or She will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight
INTRODUCTION
For years, we were told that, to be most effective, a résumé should be only one page. This just does not apply any longer! Today’s résumé is creative and unique.
Aside from the most essential and key elements, a résumé should reflect the personality and need of the job seeker—it shouldn’t be some cookie-cutter rendition of what is “acceptable and expected.”
Standards in résumés and cover letters have changed dramatically. Everyday, employers read all of the standard résumés—they are required to go through each and every one! But, which one will catch their eye?
Acceptable formatting for résumés and cover letters has expanded, too. When you consider that your résumé will be your own, personalized form of marketing yourself, it’s logical to incorporate all manner of unique communication and expression.
Again, so long as the essential elements are included in each résumé and cover letter, you are at complete liberty to make a résumé that will impress…and with a bang!
Just how, exactly, does one do this?
This e-book is chock full of the most recent and cutting-edge résumé and cover letter writing techniques and guides.
“WINNING RESUME AND COVER LETTER WRITING BATLE” covers all the aspects of crafting professional resume and cover letter:
1.A Professional Approach to Résumés and Cover Letters
2.A Variety of Résumé Samples
3.Cover Letters
4.Effective Résumé and Cover Letter Writing
5.Elements of a Résumé That
6.Learn How to Craft a Professional Résumé to Find Your Dream Job Easily
7.Making Sure You’re Ready
8.Parts of the Résumé
9.Résumé Formatting
10.Résumé Presentation Is Key
11.Résumé Samples
12.Résumés
13.Sample Cover Letters
14.Sample Reference Sheets
15.The Cover Letter
16.The Importance of Writing Cover Letters
17.The Purpose of Your Résumé
18.Things to Keep in Mind
19.What is a Resume?
20.Wow the Employer
21.Writing an Electronic Résumé
22.Writing Your Résumé with Power
23.Your Résumé—a Work of Art
WINNING THE RÉSUMÉ BATTLE
Learn How to Craft Professional Résumé To Find Your Dream Job Easily
Everyone in the business world knows that having a good, strong résumé can mean the difference between getting a job and not getting a job. You will need to have a résumé that is crafted professionally and that will reflect you, your job abilities, and your experience.
Having a good-looking résumé is so important when you are searching for a job that it should be your number one priority. There are all sorts of ways you can go about crafting a résumé that works, but there is no magic formula for a résumé that will work all the time.
The choice of putting together a résumé up to you, but there are certain nuances that you will need to include in your résumé, nuances that every employer looks for.
It is not difficult to put together a résumé that works, but it is important that you not overlook what makes your résumé most effective. This one - or two -page document speaks about you, your abilities, your experience, your education, and your accomplishments. It is the first thing that a potential employer will see before he or she meets you, so you want it to really be compelling and make them want to pick up the phone and call you for an interview.
There are all sorts of schools of thought regarding how a résumé should look, what information it should contain, and how to put it together. However, most business people agree that when they look at a résumé of a potential employee, they want it to be concise, to the point, and easy to read.
Whichever school of thought you, as a job seeker, subscribe to, you will still want your résumé to be what a potential employer wants to see. That is why you will want as much information about résumés as possible, so you can have something that you can be proud to send out as an introduction to you and what you can do for a company.
What we will do in this book is show you different ways to craft a résumé. We will cover the important parts of this document and show you ways to make your résumé a work of art. We will also give you some tips and tricks to get your résumé noticed over another applicant’s.
While we’re at it, we’ll also give you some advice about the job interview and what you can do to land that job. Finding the job of your dreams isn’t always as simple as just filling out a job application and then waiting for a call. It takes some aggression on your part and the right tools. We think we can help.
What Is a Résumé?
The résumé is a selling tool that outlines your skills and experiences so an employer can see, at a glance, how you can contribute to the employer’s workplace. Your résumé has to sell you in short order.
While you may have all the requirements for a particular position, your résumé is a failure if the employer does not instantly come to the conclusion that you have what it takes. The first hurdle your résumé has to pass—whether it ends up in the consider file or the reject file—may take less than thirty seconds.
The most effective résumés are clearly focused on a specific job title and address the employer’s stated requirements for the position. The more you know about the duties and skills required for the job—and organize your résumé around these points—the more effective the résumé.
You will need information to write a good résumé—not just information about jobs you’ve held in the past but also information from which to select the most relevant accomplishments, skills, and experience for this position. The more you know about the employer and the position, the more you can tailor your résumé to fit the job.
Some people think of a résumé as their “life on a page,” but how could anyone put everything important about himself or herself on a single piece of paper (or two)? Actually, a résumé is much more specific, including only relevant information about you for specific employers.
Like life, a résumé is always growing and changing. As career goals shift or the job market changes, and as you grow personally and professionally, chances are you will need to rewrite your résumé or at least create new versions of it. Writing a résumé is a lifelong process.
How do you know what in your life—past, present, and future—is most relevant to prospective employers? How do you choose which information to include? The quick answer to both questions is “it depends.” It depends on your individual career goals as well as on the professional goals of the companies hiring in your area or field of interest.
In the end, only you, through research, planning, questioning, and self-reflection, can determine the shape and content of your résumé, but the strategies below, along with those on the job search, can help you ask the right questions and begin exploring your options.
Depending on whom you ask, a résumé may be viewed as the single most important vehicle to securing your next job, or it may be viewed as an unnecessary nuisance. In both cases, this is incorrect. A résumé is a professional introduction meant to encourage a one-on-one interview—the opportunity for communication that can lead to a job offer.
It is a rare candidate who is hired based on his or her résumé alone. It is just as rare to be offered an interview without one.
A résumé is often the first line of contact. It establishes the first impression of a potential job candidate’s skills, background, and work values. If written well, this impression can be a positive one, offering the reader a sense of the candidate’s “fit” for the position and for the company being targeted.
If written really well, it may convince the reader that the candidate is ideally suited for the job. When coupled with an effective cover letter, the résumé can be a very strong marketing tool.
Preparing a résumé may be seen as a nuisance, but having a well-constructed, well-designed résumé is an important part of your job search. Consider that for each available job opening, there may be as many as one hundred to one thousand résumés submitted.
If your résumé fails to adequately and accurately convey your hiring value (for the specific position), fails to establish your hiring value over competing candidates, or is difficult to follow, your ability to compete against those one hundred to one thousand professionals vying for the same position your are will be greatly diminished.
If your résumé secures an interview, it has done its job. If it sets you ahead of the competition in the mind of your interviewer, then it has given you a distinct advantage, and has done more than its job.
A great résumé does what all good marketing pieces do: it sells the consumer (the potential employer or hiring manager) on the product (you). Like it or not, the job of looking for employment is a sales and marketing job. The product you are selling is you, and the customer, who has unique needs and interests, needs to be sold on the fact that you have what it takes to get the job done and to meet the needs of the position.
The potential employer is going to want to know how you are going to solve the company’s problems, and he or she is going to give your résumé about fifteen seconds or less to speak to those concerns. Fifteen seconds is the average time a hiring manager will allot to a new résumé before giving it a potential yes or no response.
The résumé will not get you the job (well, it has happened, but it is extremely rare), but it can certainly secure your chances of being seen and interviewed, just as it can cause you to be passed over in favor of a candidate who offers a better presentation.
As with any type of marketing campaign, use your résumé as one tool in your search. Continue to network, improve your interviewing skills, and use every avenue available to better your chances and opportunities.
And, after you have secured that next position, do this all over again. Always be prepared for the next opportunity. Keep your résumé up-to-date, and stay career fit.
So, essentially, a résumé is you in short form on paper. That is why having a good-looking, easy-to-read résumé is so important. Let’s look at a few suggestions from the professionals about your résumé.
Things To Keep In Mind
In preparing your résumé, the more you know about the position you are targeting, the better. If you know the company’s missions and goals, if you understand the needs of the position, if you recognize the company’s concerns, and if you know who comprises the company’s competition, you will be prepared.
And if you (and your unique skills and experience) can meet the needs of all the above (you have accurately assessed your own value to those who have employed you in the past), you will have the material necessary to create an effective marketing piece.
As in any type of marketing material, it is important to present the information so that it captures your customer’s interest quickly. Your goal is to encourage the reader to stay with your document as long as possible. Your chance for a more detailed reading increases when, early in the document, you give the reader that information he or she most wants.
One of the best ways to accomplish this is to create a summary section at the beginning of your résumé. A summary section highlights your personal and professional skills that allow you to excel in your chosen field and position.
Items and skills of greatest importance (from your readers’ viewpoint) should be listed in priority, supporting an impression of both “fit” and potential success. In addition, these should be aspects of your background that set you apart from your competing candidates, particularly candidates with skill sets similar to your own. You are, in effect, showing your readers how you will solve their problems better than the competition and why interviewing you will be a worthwhile expenditure of their time.
You are not writing your résumé in order to put your career autobiography out there for posterity. This is not about you, seriously. It is about how you can meet the needs of your reader in this particular position, at this particular company. It is all about them.
Your first opportunity for negotiation takes place during the interview, and you get to discuss what you get out of the deal. But right now, the only person who matters is your reader. They hold all the marbles.
When writing your résumé, keep in mind your specific reader. Listing information that will be of no value to the position or the targeted company is just a waste of time.
Check for redundancy in your statements. If the positions you have held are similar, then repeating the same functions in detail throughout your document is unnecessary (heard it, got it). However, do not short-change yourself on your accomplishments.
Your potential employer is most interested in seeing how hiring you will benefit the company. If you are dealing with a hiring manager or human resource director, you can bet he or she has a lot resting on the fact that, if you are hired, they’d have found the right person for the job.
It is expensive to hire, train, and let someone go, and it is their job to make sure this does not happen. All parties involved want to know they are making the right decision, and it is your job to assure them that they are.
The most effective way to do this is by identifying how you have benefited employers in the past. Take credit for your participation and accomplishment.
Although looking at the various aspects of your background may seem to be of little value to you, those same aspects may be seen as valuable assets to those looking to fill a need.
The layout of your résumé is extremely important. Your résumé needs to maintain a clean and professional appearance (remember, it is representing you!). It should allow the reader to access the information quickly. Neat margins, adequate white space between groupings, and indented highlighted text aid in the ease of reference and retention of the material.
Use bolds and italics sparingly. Overuse of these features actually diminishes their effectiveness in highlighting the material.
Your contact information (how the reader can reach you) is essentially the most important information in the entire document. Make certain your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (if included) are clearly visible at the top of your document (from habit, this is where your reader will look for this information; do not make them search for it).
If you are including additional pages, be certain that your name is on these secondary pages. Consider including your phone number, too, in case your sheets become separated.
The standard for résumé length has changed. It used to be typical for résumé to be one page in length and no longer. For candidates with years of experience at multiple positions or with outstanding achievements, this one-page constraint often results in a document that is unreadable and looks “squashed ”; furthermore, it utilizes a font size so small that the reader is required to squint (no, they won’t actually bother). The one-page standard no longer holds true. Use as much space as you need to concisely, accurately, and effectively communicate your skills, history, achievements, and accomplishments as these relate to the position and company being targeted.
A two-page document, if presented well, will not diminish the effectiveness of your marketing strategy as long as the information you provide is relevant and valuable to your reader’s goals and interests.
A three-page résumé, however, requires much of your reader’s time (and patience), and it may not be as effective as a more concise presentation. In academic fields and European markets, it may be necessary to go over two pages in length, but only do so if you absolutely cannot present your history and achievements in less space.
If you are certain your readers will agree with you, they will not mind reading a résumé over three -pages long. An overly long presentation may leave your reader wondering if you can be concise in anything you do.
Document in detail your most recent ten to fifteen years of employment and/or experience—or longer, if you held the most recent position for ten years or more. Be certain to document growth in a company where you’ve held multiple positions, including promotions and increased responsibilities. List positions held prior to the most recent position in decreasing order and detail, unless a previous position more effectively documents relevant skills for the position you are currently targeting.
You want to entice you reader into wanting to meet you (the interviewee) to learn more. Current history and recently utilized skills will hold the most value.
Remember, you will have an opportunity to expand on the information in your résumé during the interview. So entice your reader to want to learn more, but don’t forget to leave something for the interview.
How do you put together a résumé that will get attention? Let’s take a look at each section one by one.
Parts Of The Résumé
Before you write, take time to do a self-assessment on paper. Outline your skills and abilities as well as your work experience and extracurricular activities. This will make it easier to prepare a thorough résumé.
When you do this, be sure to write down dates as it can be very important, especially in showing that you have a consistent work history. Gaps in work history do not bear well with potential employers as it gives the impression that you are not reliable.
Gather together the names of the businesses you have worked for, along with their address and phone number and the name of your immediate supervisor at the time. Do not include salary history on a general résumé. If salary comes up, it will be during the interview or at the time you are—hopefully—offered the job.
Note special achievements and awards you have received, along with the date you received them. You may also want to include a blurb about the qualifications that needed to be met in order to receive that award. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s begin with the heading of the résumé.
The Heading
The heading of your résumé provides basic contact information about you. That means your name, address, any telephone numbers you are available at, and your e-mail address. You can arrange this information in a variety of ways. The simple way is like this:
Michelle Smith
555 My Bright Way
Your town, IL 54321
Home Phone: (555) 555-5555
Cell Phone: (555) 444-4444
E-mail: micsmith@yahoo.com
As you can see, the name is in larger print than the rest of the information and in bold. The rest of the contact information is in smaller print and not bolded.
Another format you can use for the heading looks like this:
Michelle Smith
555 My Bright Way *
Your town, IL 54321 *
Home Phone (555) 555-5555 *
Cell Phone: (555) 444-4444*
micsmith@yahoo.com
Yet another way that you can construct the heading is like this:
Michelle Smith
555 My Bright Way
Your town, IL 54321
Home Phone (555) 555-5555*
Cell Phone (555) 444-4444*
micsmith@yahoo.com
The important thing to remember about the heading is that it contains your up-to-date, pertinent information and highlights your name. Here are some other pointers to remember when writing the heading of your résumé:
Avoid nicknames.
Use a permanent address.
Use your parents’ address, a friend’s address, or the address you plan to use after graduation.
Use a permanent telephone number, and include the area code. If you have an answering machine, record a neutral greeting.
Add your e-mail address. Many employers will find it useful. (Note: choose an e-mail address that sounds professional.)
Include your Web site address only if the Web page reflects your professional ambitions.
The next section is your objective statement.
The Objective Statement
There are two schools of thought regarding an objective statement. Some people say you shouldn’t include this on a résumé because that is what your cover letter is for. Other people say that stating what you want to accomplish in your career is probably the most important part of the résumé.
You can choose to include an objective statement if you like, but if you do, you need to know a few things. First and foremost, this statement should be brief and concise—not more than a sentence or two. An objective tells potential employers the sort of work you’re hoping to do.
Be specific about the job you want—for example: to obtain an entry-level position within a financial institution requiring strong analytical and organizational skills.
Tailor your objective to each employer you target and to every job you seek. Objective statements improve your résumé by helping you emphasize your main qualifications and summarize them for readers; they also help inform your readers of the position(s) you are seeking and your career goals. That way, you establish your professional identity.
To improve your chances for success, it’s always a good idea to tailor your objective statement (as well as your whole résumé and cover letter) to particular organizations and/or positions. This means, for example, calling a position by the name the company uses. You might even indicate the organization’s name in your statement.
Strive to match your qualifications with those desired by the organization. If you are unsure what your résumé’s readers will be looking for, you’ll need to do some research to give your objective statement a competitive edge.
Before drafting or revising your objective statement, you will find it helpful to answer as many of the following questions as possible.
About You
What are your main qualifications (strengths, skills, areas of expertise)
What positions (or range of positions) do you seek?
What are your professional goals?
What type of organization or work setting are you interested in?
About the Company or Organization
Which of your qualifications are most desired by your résumé’s readers?
What position titles (or range or positions) are available?
What are some goals of the organizations that interest you?
What types of organizations or work settings are now hiring?
The most common mistake in writing objective statements is being too general and vague in describing either the position desired or your qualifications. For example, some objective statements read like this: An internship allowing me to utilize my knowledge and expertise in different areas.
Such an objective statement raises more questions than it answers: What kind of internship? What knowledge? What kinds of expertise? Which areas? Be as specific as possible in your objective statement to help your readers see at a glance what you have to offer.
To come up with an effective objective statement, try one of these formulas:
To emphasize a particular position and your relevant qualifications
A position as a [name or type of position] allowing me to use my [qualifications]
To utilize my [qualifications] as a [position title]
A position as a Support Specialist allowing me to use my skills in the fields of computer science and management information systems
To emphasize the field or type of organization you want to work in and your professional goals or your main qualifications
An opportunity to [professional goal] in a [type of organization, work environment, or field]
To enter [type of organization, work environment, or field] allowing me to use my [qualifications]
An opportunity to obtain a loan officer position, with eventual advancement to vice president for lending services, in a growth-oriented bank
To join an aircraft research team, allowing me to apply my knowledge of avionics and aircraft electrical systems
To emphasize your professional or career goal or an organizational goal
To [professional goal]
An opportunity to [professional goal]
To help children and families in troubled situations by utilizing my child protection services background
A specific position desired [position name]
Technical writer specializing in user documentation
Some things to keep in mind when formulating your objective statement include the following:
Integrate key words and phrases used in the job advertisement(s)
Play with word choices to fit your strengths and your readers’ expectations. You might try substituting words such as “use” with words such as “develop ,” “apply ,” or “employ,” etc.; or replacing “allowing me ” with “requiring ” or “giving me the opportunity,” etc.; or changing “enter” to “join ,” “pursue ,” “obtain ,” “become a member,” “contribute,” etc.
Blend two or more of the above generic models or create your own. Depending on the format of your résumé, the objective section should be written in sentence format with its own heading.
The next two sections are interchangeable, depending on which applies the most to the position you are applying for. If you think your job experience is more relevant to the job, then list “job experience” next. If it is your education that will help most, then put that section next.
Job Experience
This is the most complex section of your résumé, and it is required, although you have a great deal of freedom in the way your present your experiences. To get started on this section, make a list of your job titles and the names, dates, and locations of places where you worked.
Break each job (paid or unpaid) into short, descriptive phrases or sentences that begin with action verbs. These phrases will highlight the skills you used on the job, and help the employer envision you as an active person in the workplace. Use action words to describe the work you did.
You may choose special typestyles, bolding, underlining, or placement to draw your reader’s attention to the information you want to emphasize. When the company you worked for is more impressive than your job title, you may want to highlight that information.
Briefly give the employer an overview of work that has taught you skills. Include your work experience in reverse chronological order—that is, put your last job first and work backward to your first, relevant job. Include the following:
Title of position,
Name of organization
Location of work (town, state)
Dates of employment
Describe your work responsibilities
with emphasis on specific
skills and achievements.
You should probably not go back more than your three previous jobs so that your résumé doesn’t get too long. However, you will want to include any job experience that is relevant to the job you are applying for to show you have experience in that field.
Depending on how you are formatting your résumé, there are a couple of ways that you can put this section together. Here are a couple of ways you can try this:
April, 1998—XYZ Corporation; Anywhere, IL
Present Position: Sales Analyst
Duties; To monitor sales activities for 20 sales people, calculate profit/loss margins, make suggestions for improvement hold educational seminars to ensure sales are progressing as they should prepare annual statements, formulate and implement new procedures to improve efficiency.
You may choose special typestyles, bolding, underlining, or placement to draw your reader’s attention to the information you want to emphasize. When the company you worked for is more impressive than your job title, you may want to highlight that information.
XYZ Corporation; Anywhere, IL
April, 1998–Present
Position: Sales Analyst
Duties: To monitor sales activities for 20 sales people, calculate profit/loss margins, make suggestions for improvement, and hold educational seminars to ensure sales is progressing as it should, prepare annual statements, formulate and implement new procedures to improve efficiency
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
XYZ Corporation; Anywhere, IL
April, 1998 – Present
Sales Analyst
To monitor sales activities for 20 sales people calculate, profit/loss margins make suggestions for improvement hold educational seminars to insure sales is progressing as it should prepare annual statements formulate and implement new procedures to improve efficiency
There are many, many more ways that you can lay out this section, and it all depends on how your whole résumé is laid out. As long as you have the basic information about what company you worked for, when you worked for them, your position at the company, and your job duties, then you should be covered.
Next is the education section.
Education
This section can be set up much like the job experience section; it all really depends on what format you are choosing for your résumé. This section is an important one for most students, and it is a required element of the résumé. In this section, you should include the following:
The name and location of your college or university
Your degree and graduation date
Your major(s) and minor(s)
Grade point average (your cumulative GPA and your major GPA are optional)
Use placement of information, bold type, or underlining to highlight the features you want to emphasize. It is sometimes necessary to pinpoint a feature or features that make you stand out among other students.
For example, students bold their university or college if they feel like that is a distinctive feature. Others may decide to bold their type of degree.
New graduates without a lot of work experience should list their educational information first. Alumni can list it after the work experience section.
Be sure the following is included in the education section of your résumé:
Your most recent educational information is listed first.
Include your degree (AS, BS, BA, etc.)
Your
major, institution attended, and your minor/
concentration.
Add your grade point average (GPA) if it is higher than 3.0.
Mention academic honors.
Here are two examples of education sections, with different information emphasized.
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Bachelor of Science, May 1999
Major: Supervision; GPA 5.5/6.0
Bachelor of Science in Accounting May 1999
Minor in Finance, GPA: 5.5/6.0; Major, 5.2/6.0; Overall
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
In your education section, you may want to include a couple of subgroups, especially if you are a recent graduate looking for your first position. The first subgroup is “Related Course Work.”
This is an optional part of your education section, which can be quite impressive and informative for potential employers. Students seeking internships may want to list all completed major-related courses.
Graduates might list job-related courses different than those required to receive the degree (employers will already be aware of those). Include high-level courses in optional concentrations, foreign languages, computer applications, or communications classes. You may choose more meaningful headings such as “Computer Applications” if you wish to emphasize particular areas.
Remember, employers and recruiters are familiar with the basic courses required in your major. Limit these sections to special courses or skills you have to offer.
Another optional subgroup in the education section is “Special Projects.” This optional section may be added to point out special features of your education that are particularly interesting to employers or that may make you more qualified than others for the job you are seeking.
Students often include research, writing, or computer projects. Limit your description to the most important facts. You may expand your discussion in your application letter.
If you like, you can include any awards you received or special achievements in this section, but most résumés will have a separate section for this, covering not only academic awards but also business awards.