Drafting A Great Resume – It Shouldn’t Be A Nightmare Now

Prior to committing your pen to paper (or fingers to the keys), start by determining your objective (do this prior to writing the resume). You should clearly state what sort of a job you want, and know what kinds of skills and experiences are needed to do well in that job. Even if you decide to change your job objective later, it is very important that you decide on a temporary objective for now. After your objective is determined, you can structure the content of your resume around that objective. As noted above, you have a very small window of time to get the interest of a hiring manager; therefore being general and scattered will insure that your resume is filed in the “circular file” – i.e. – the trash can. Therefore, it is essential that you take the time before you start your resume to form a clear and targeted objective.
Now that you have your purpose, you’re on your way. Now let’s begin the resume writing process. Keep in mind, the single and most important objective of a resume is to obtain an interview. It’s a marketing tool to get you in the company and in front of your potential boss – that’s it. Once in, you will need to do the sales pitch, and close the deal. With that said, you do not want to go into detail about every accomplishment in your resume. Strive to be clear and concise, as the sole purpose is to have a potential employer contact you for an interview. Bottom line – you should put yourself in the shoes of the resume reader – when looking at the job qualifications needed for the position; what would you be looking for in a candidate – Obviously, that is what you should include in your resume.
In the body of your resume, use bullet points with short sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs. As noted above, resumes are read quickly (usually 10-30 seconds). Therefore, having key phrases standing alone and bulleted will help the reader see the important information at a glance – while at the same time absorbing the most important information. Again, don’t worry about the specifics; you will go into the details during the interview.
Employ action words – words like prepared, managed, developed, monitored, and presented will cause your resume to stand out. In addition to standing out to a reader – you are also insuring that if your resume is scanned, the computer will pick up on the words. You read correctly, some companies now scan in your resume, and have computers pick the resumes to be looked at. The computers are looking for one thing – they’re looking for keywords that have been picked by the hiring manager. These are action key words that relate to the position; therefore not including them could mean your resume is disregarded as a “non-match”.
Emphasize your strengths, and what is most relevant to the potential employer. Due to the fact that most resumes are typically reviewed in 10-30 seconds, put forth the effort and determine which bullets most strongly support your job search objective. Put the strong and most relevant points first where they are more apt to be read. Doing this will hook the reader, and the rest of your resume will reel them in.
Suit the needs of the hiring company – Review job postings online and in the newspapers for positions that interest you. Each listing will almost always have a brief blurb about the company and the position available. Read the job description closely, and use the key words listed in these ads, and match them to the bullet points in your resume. Chances are that you have some of these as key points already, however if you have missed any, be sure to add them to your resume. It sounds obvious, but its worth mentioning that using a custom resume instead of a generic one will greatly increase your chances of an interview, as you will be a better match in the eyes of the reader – how can you not be? – you’ve tailored your resume to the position.
Above all in your resume and interview – you must be positive. Keep in mind that avoiding the extras is also important, therefore, avoid including negative and irrelevant points. If you feel your graduation date will subject you to age discrimination, leave it off your resume. If you do some duties in your current job that don’t support your job search objective, do not include them. Focus on the duties that do support your objective, and leave off irrelevant personal information like your race, weight, and height.

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