Tips In Developing A Winning Resume

By Marlene McIntyre, CPC

You are sitting in front on your computer screen with a new document open and your name at the top, you ask yourself, “Now where do I go?” The thought of writing your own resume is daunting for everyone. It’s difficult to know what to include. It is always hard to write an autobiography and that in effect is what you are attempting to do in two pages. Here is some help for you to tackle the task of writing a winning resume.

Know what your career objective is prior to writing the resume. Once you know the position you are aiming for, you can structure your resume around the objective. Tailor your resume so that it is backing up your ideal job. If you are unclear of your career objective your resume will be unfocused as you try to touch all of your interests. You will miss the target.

Marketing Comes Before Sales. Think of your resume as your marketing tool with you being the product. You need to in a clear succinct manner get your salable and unique features and benefits out to your customers - your potential employers. Your resume is making your first impression, make it a positive impression.

No Resume Ever Got Hired. Your resume is your brochure, your tickler file that generates interest in what you have to offer. Accent your most salable accomplishments that are directly related to your career objective and let the rest be assumed. Be clear and concise in your writing style. The interview is when you can expand on your talents and accomplishments using your resume as the road map.

No First Person On A Resume. Remember back to your school days, leave off all the I’s, me’s. etc. Resumes are written bulleted format. Your resume will likely only have seconds to make the first cut by the interviewer, so spend time and wordsmith it.

Put Punch Into Each Sentence. The sentences start with an action verb and are short and carry a lot of punch. Action words give your resume life. Make each point a bulleted sentence that is short and has impact.

Can You Pay Your Way? That is the question that interviewers are asking as they read your resume. Numbers, dollars, and percentage signs stand out in your resume. They add credibility to your statements; they are verifiable. Show how you paid money, saved money, increased efficiencies, decreased lost time, etc.

You Have Less Than 30 Seconds. On average you have 15 to 30 seconds to tell your story to make the first cut of resumes. Of course if you make it to the second round your resume will be scrutinized more thoroughly. Put your strengths upfront and center.

Play The Game. With the popularization of the computer, it is much easier to tailor your resume and it is almost mandatory. Take the advertisement whether newspaper or on-line and seek out the key words, then use those words in your objective and your bullets to add impact and familiarity to your resume. People buy what they are comfortable with; make your resume comfortable to the reader.

Know Your Specialty. Use the words of your career. Each career has its own language and set of acronyms; however make sure you use it correctly. If you use an acronym make sure you use it correctly and know dead cold what it stands for or you will have committed a resume no-no.

The Whole Truth and Nothing But And No More Than Necessary. Never, ever lie on a resume or it may come back to bite you even after you are on the job. It is not necessary to recount all your schooling only your most recent and highest attained. Your graduation year is irrelevant since you have applicable work experience and may actually work against you by divulging your age. Focus on the job you are seeking and leave off what may be negatives for that position. Do not share information that may be cause for discrimination, such as your date of birth, sex, family status, etc.

Companies Want People Who Have A Breadth Of Knowledge. The breath of your experience shows that you may fit into other growth jobs, are able to learn many skills and that you bring a broad perspective to the job at hand. It is always an asset to be currently enrolled in a night school course as it shows your willingness and ability to learn new things.

Nothing Wrong With Bragging A Little. If you reported directly to the President or General Manager you may wish to show a sentence that shows the reporting structure. If you were named “Employee of the Month” or received similar recognition, make room on your resume for it.

White Space Sells - Large Fonts Sell More. Give the interviewer a break; make your resume easy to read. Set it up so there is white space and use a relatively large font, certainly no smaller than ten- (10) point. If your resume is more than two pages make sure that it is worth taking those extra pages, ideally it should be no more than two pages. Resumes read easier when you design it so that it is flush left with a ragged right margin. Make your resume scannable. Many agencies and larger business use scanning technology to log and track your resume making it available to many of their appropriate people. To be scanned easily, your resume needs to:
• Have no lines, shading or borders on it.
• Use a font such as Arial or Courier and only use one,
• You may use various sizes and bolding
• No underlining.
• With a minimum of a 10 point font.
In today’s world it is more advantageous to send your resume via e-mail, especially if you are in a technology-based career.

You Cannot Proof Your Own Work. It is your creation, your baby, it is you and you are too close to it to edit it. Have a family member or friend proofread it. Have them tell you what they get out of your resume. Do they see you as you hoped someone reading your resume would? Have them ask questions from your resume and answer as you would on an interview. Take the time to do the fixes and then trash all the older versions, so you don’t inadvertently pick up the wrong one and send it. Make a separate disk with your resume on it and put it away where it is safe unless you want to redo this exercise.

Getting A New Job Is Playing The Odds. The more often you send your resume the better your chances of getting a new job. Do not just send out one and then wait to see what will happen. If the job is a close match to your skills and career objective send it, the job may be adjusted to fit you. Life is all about taking the chances to grow, this is just another step in that direction.

Keep A Log Of All Of Your Efforts. In one book or one document keep all your job search activity. Include the name of the company, position applied for, name of contact and the date you submitted your resume. Should you receive a call from the interviewer you can quickly know which position they are calling about.

Stretch, grow and earn.

Article reprinted with permission of Copyright ©McIntyre Management Resources