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RESUME TIPS

Advertising yourself online by posting resumes may sound good, but it isn't easy. It requires a meticulous approach and effective techniques, more so because organizations and placement professionals now increasingly rely on the Internet to source talent. The job seeking community also tends to log on a lot more and, given the huge number of other potential candidates, your resume had better be good.

The most crucial element in an online resume is catching a prospective employer's attention and conveying the essence quickly. You might have the potential and skills to excel in the corporate world… But is YOUR Resume reflecting your abilities, strengths and experience in a trujly impressive manner? To stand out in a tight job market, you must have a flawless, skillfully crafted marketing document.

Recruiters and HR managers, on an average, spend merely a couple of minutes on each resume. "It is extremely important that the résumé captures one's attention within 5 seconds". Its structure needs to be such that a reader gets the right information in the easiest manner." Your résumé should make you stand out from the rest, highlight your uniqueness and point to your abilities with reference to the job in question.

1) What is a resume?

2) Why you need a resume ?

3) How to prepare an effective resume ?

4) Action words

5) What Employers want ?

6) The Litmus Test


1) What is a resume?
 

A resume is a self-promotional document that presents you in the best possible light, for the purpose of getting invited to a job interview. A resume does its job successfully if it does not exclude you from consideration. To prepare a successful resume, you need to know how to review, summarize, and present your experiences and achievements on one page.

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2) Why you need a resume ?

It's unlikely you will gain an interview without a succinct, compelling cover letter and resume. The combined factor of the two is the greatest asset you have for marketing your skills and attributes to a prospective employer. In today's competitive business world companies aggressively market their products and services to the public. Likewise, you are no exception when it comes to job-hunting. Your cover letter and resume is the greatest advertisement you can have working on your behalf.

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3) How to prepare an effective resume ?

Use the 5 C's when writing your CV

Clear - well-organized and logical (remember most CV's are faxed, so choose a font that will fax well)

Concise - Your CV should be no more than 1-2 pages of relevant and necessary information. Lengthy CVs are typically overlooked. Keep it simple by eliminating non-medical work experience for example.

Complete - includes everything you need for the position you are applying for. Include your contact information including phone number(s) and address at the top.

Consistent - don't mix styles or fonts (make it easy to read)

Current - up-to-date, including your current position

Before you write, take time to do a self-assessment of your self. Outline your skills and abilities as well as your work experience and extracurricular activities.

The Content of Your Resume

All your contact information should be mentioned at the top of your resume. Name, address, telephone, e-mail address, web site address

Avoid nicknames.

Use a permanent address.

Use a permanent telephone number and include the area code.

Add your e-mail address. Many employers will find it useful. (Note: Choose an e-mail address that sounds professional.)

If you have a professional web site then include the web site address.

Objective or Summary

An objective tells potential employers the sort of work you're hoping to do.

Be specific about the job you want.

Tailor your objective to each employer you target/every job you seek.

Avoid pronouns and flowery language.

Focus on what you have to offer rather than on what the job can offer you. This may sound backwards, but employers are not so much interested in what you hope to get out of a job with them, so much as they want to know whether you fit their needs.

If you are not clear on your career goals, you probably should not include an objective on your resume.

Education

Typically a new graduate does not have related work experience from which to draw in order to make a strong first impression. Unless a candidate's education is in a highly sought after area, competing with more experienced candidates can be a challenge, thus they need for a well designed résumé with emphasis on work experience which should be listed first. Alumni can list it after the work experience section.

Your most recent educational information is listed first.

Include your degree (A.S., B.S., B.A., etc.), major, institution attended, minor/concentration.

Mention academic honors.

Work Experience

Briefly give the employer an overview of work that has taught you skills. Use action words to describe your job duties. The way you arrange your resume depends on how well your experience seems to prepare you for the position you want. Basically, you can either describe your most recent job first and work backwards (reverse chronology) or group similar skills together-that is, put your last job first and work backward to your first, relevant job.

Don't feel that you must limit this section to paid work experiences, especially if you are still in college or a recent graduate. Employers understand that the most valuable or most challenging experiences often occur in internships, volunteer work or other extracurricular activities.

Be specific. A vague description of your duties will make only a vague impression.

Identify accomplishments. If you headed a project, improved productivity, reduced costs, increased membership, or achieved some other goal, say so.

Include both your duties AND your accomplishments. Duties tell the employer you can do the job. Accomplishments indicate that you will go above and beyond the call of duty.

Remember one good advice not to say anything if you cannot say something nice. Leave all embarrassing or negative information off the resume

Have someone else proofread the master copy carefully.

Include:

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.

References

Ask people if they are willing to serve as references before you give their names to a potential employer. Do not include your reference information on your resume. You may note at the bottom of your resume.

Resume Design:

These tips will make your resume easier to read and/or scan into an employer's data base.

Use white or off-white paper.

Use 8-1/2- x 11-inch paper.

Print on one side of the paper.

Use a font size of 10 to 14 points.

Type your resume, using a standard typeface. (Printed resumes are becoming more common, but employers do not indicate a preference for them.)

Choose one typeface and stick to it.

Avoid italics, script, and underlined words.

Do not use horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading.

Do not fold or staple your resume.

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4) The action words

These are used to describe your experience and accomplishments. Here are some actions words to use:

achieved developed informed surveyed
acquired discovered interviewed supervise
adapted doubled tested addressed
drafted launched trained administered
edited marketed analyzed eliminated
motivated anticipated enforced negotiated
assembled established operated audited
expanded organized budgeted explained
originated calculated forecasted oversaw
centralized prevented performed demonstrated
implemented planned designed improved

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5) What Employers want ?

Employers say they are impressed by job candidates who have excellent communication skills, good grooming habits, and relevant work experience. Employers say they want employees who can move right in, get along with their co-workers, and get the job done without having to be told what to do at each step.

Top Qualities Employers Seek :

1. Communication skills (verbal and written)

2. Honesty/integrity

3. Teamwork skills (works well with others)

4. Interpersonal skills(relates well to others)

5. Motivation/initiative

6. Analytical skills

7. Flexibility/adaptability

8. Self-confidence

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6) The Litmus Test

To know how well you have performed in creating your resume that allows employers to process information quickly, have someone or your friend perform the 15-20-second litmus test on your resume. Simply time your reader for twenty seconds as he or she reads your resume. What all did he or she learn about you? If your reader noticed within twenty seconds what you want employers to learn about you, then most likely you have created an effective resume. If not, try moving important information to the first quadrant, checking that you have used sans serif and serif fonts consistently, and limiting the tools for emphasis you use in your document.

Summary

1. Don't expect the person reading your resume to know and understand industry "jargon". Explain the term in "layman" language.

2. Start each sentence with a powerful action word.

3. Know and understand your attributes and aspirations, and succinctly describe this to the reader.

4. Check your dates. Are there any gaps or overlaps?

5. Forget about fancy fonts. Not only can it be hard to read, but it also makes it unreadable for scanning software.

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