I want to get down to pure basics in today’s blog item and talk about the resume.If you are new in the job market or are going to be in one pretty soon, you’ll need to know what is a resume and what you should put into it. Here are some useful pointers:
- For starters, the resume is the most important tool in a job search. It contains a brief summary of your education, qualifications, skills and experience, and it is usually accompanied by a cover letter which talks about the position you are applying for and how you can use your skills and experience in this position.
- Always write your resume with a purpose in mind. That way, you are focused on a specific job title and you also address the employer’s requirements for the position. The more you know about the duties and skills required for the job, the better you can organise your resume around these points.
- Select your most relevant accomplishments, skills and experience (note that the key word is “relevant”) and include them into your resume.
- When you first sit down to write your resume, recall information about yourself and list down the most important details such as your pertinent course work, paid and volunteer work experiences, academic awards, projects, activities and skills. A suggestion: don’t leave anything out. You can always review them and delete items that are not relevant to the position you are applying to. Then, fill in the details: dates, titles, names, responsibilities and achievements.
All these will not be easy and it can take you many hours, but you’ll need to persevere to come up with your first draft. It’s quite normal for anyone to have several drafts written because you may realize that an earlier draft wasn’t written clearly enough or you may have forgotten to add an important point.
Always ask yourself if your latest draft accurately represents your skills and experience, and whether or not it demonstrates that you are an ideal candidate for the job you have in mind. If you haven’t achieved this, keep on writing.
After you’ve completed a final draft to your satisfaction, proofread it. Better yet, give it to someone else who can help you to proofread it. If you can, get it read by someone from the same industry as the job you are eyeing.
But you should remember that everyone has their own idea on how to write an effective resume. This can confuse you so the best advice I can give you at this point is that you can consider them but you don’t have to accept all their ideas. Ultimately your resume should reflect your style, your goals and your personality.